SAYID WASRIPIN DAN SATINAH: 2009

Desember 22, 2009

PIGS IS PIGS

from American Magazine Pigs is Pigs by Ellis Parker Butler Mike Flannery, the Westcote agent of the Interurban Express Company, leaned over the counter of the express office and shook his fist. Mr. Morehouse, angry and red, stood on the other side of the counter, trembling with rage. The argument had been long and heated, and at last Mr. Morehouse had talked himself speechless. The cause of the trouble stood on the counter between the two men. It was a soap box across the top of which were nailed a number of strips, forming a rough but serviceable cage. In it two spotted guinea-pigs were greedily eating lettuce leaves. "Do as you loike, then!" shouted Flannery, "pay for thim an' take thim, or don't pay for thim and leave thim be. Rules is rules, Misther Morehouse, an' Mike Flannery's not goin' to be called down fer breakin' of thim." "But, you everlastingly stupid idiot!" shouted Mr. Morehouse, madly shaking a flimsy printed book beneath the agent's nose, "can't you read it here -- in your own plain printed rates? 'Pets, domestic, Franklin to Westcote, if properly boxed, twenty-five cents each.'" He threw the book on the counter in disgust. "What more do you want? Aren't they pets? Aren't they domestic? Aren't they properly boxed? What?" He turned and walked back and forth rapidly; frowning ferociously. Suddenly he turned to Flannery, and forcing his voice to an artificial calmness spoke slowly but with intense sarcasm. "Pets," he said, "P-e-t-s! Twenty-five cents each. There are two of them. One! Two! Two times twenty-five are fifty! Can you understand that? I offer you fifty cents." Flannery reached for the book. He ran his hand through the pages and stopped at page sixty-four. "An' I don't take fifty cints," he whispered in mockery. "Here's the rule for ut. 'Whin the agint be in anny doubt regardin' which of two rates applies to a shipmint, he shall charge the larger. The consign-ey may file a claim for the overcharge.' In this case, Misther Morehouse, I be in doubt. Pets thim animals may be, an' domestic they be, but pigs, I'm blame sure they do be, an' me rules says plain as the nose on yer face, 'Pigs, Franklin to Westcote, thirty cints each.' An' Mister Morehouse, by me arithmetical knowledge two times thurty comes to sixty cints." Mr. Morehouse shook his head savagely. "Nonsense!" he shouted, "confounded nonsense, I tell you! Why, you poor ignorant foreigner, that rule means common pigs, domestic pigs, not guinea-pigs!" Flannery was stubborn. "Pigs is pigs," he declared firmly. "Guinea-pigs, or dago pigs or Irish pigs is all the same to the Interurban Express Company an' to Mike Flannery. Th' nationality of the pig creates no differentiality in the rate, Misther Morehouse! 'Twould be the same was they Dutch pigs or Rooshun pigs. Mike Flannery," he added, "is here to tind to the expriss business an' not to hould conversation wid dago pigs in sivinteen languages fer to discover be they Chinese or Tipperary by birth an' nativity." Mr. Morehouse hesitated. He bit his lip and then flung out his arms wildly. "Very well!" he shouted, "you shall hear of this! Your president shall hear of this! It is an outrage! I have offered you fifty cents. You refuse it! Keep the pigs until you are ready to take the fifty cents, but, by George, sir, if one hair of those pigs' heads is harmed I will have the law on you!" He turned and stalked out, slamming the door. Flannery carefully lifted the soap box from the counter and placed it in a corner. He was not worried. He felt the peace that comes to a faithful servant who has done his duty and done it well. Mr. Morehouse went home raging. His boy, who had been awaiting the guinea-pigs, knew better than to ask him for them. He was a normal boy and therefore always had a guilty conscience when his father was angry. So the boy slipped quietly around the house. There is nothing so soothing to a guilty conscience as to be out of the path of the avenger. Mr. Morehouse stormed into the house. "Where's the ink?" he shouted at his wife as soon as his foot was across the door-sill. Mrs. Morehouse jumped, guiltily. She never used ink. She had not seen the ink, nor moved the ink, nor thought of the ink, but her husband's tone convicted her of the guilt of having borne and reared a boy, and she knew that whenever her husband wanted anything in a loud voice the boy had been at it. "I'll find Sammy," she said meekly. When the ink was found Mr. Morehouse wrote rapidly, and he read the completed letter and smiled a triumphant smile. "That will settle that crazy Irishman!" he exclaimed. "When they get that letter he will hunt another job, all right!" A week later Mr. Morehouse received a long official envelope with the card of the Interurban Express Company in the upper left corner. He tore it open eagerly and drew out a sheet of paper. At the top it bore the number A6754. The letter was short. "Subject -- Rate on guinea-pigs," it said, "Dr. Sir -- We are in receipt of your letter regarding rate on guinea-pigs between Franklin and Westcote, addressed to the president of this company. All claims for overcharge should be addressed to the Claims Department." Mr. Morehouse wrote to the Claims Department. He wrote six pages of choice sarcasm, vituperation and argument, and sent them to the Claims Department. A few weeks later he received a reply from the Claims Department. Attached to it was his last letter. "Dr. Sir," said the reply. "Your letter of the 16th inst., addressed to this Department, subject rate on guinea-pigs from Franklin to Westcote, rec'd. We have taken up the matter with our agent at Westcote, and his reply is attached herewith. He informs us that you refused to receive the consignment or to pay the charges. You have therefore no claim against this company, and your letter regarding the proper rate on the consignment should be addressed to our Tariff Department." Mr. Morehouse wrote to the Tariff Department. He stated his case clearly, and gave his arguments in full, quoting a page or two from the encyclopedia to prove that guinea-pigs were not common pigs. With the care that characterizes corporations when they are systematically conducted, Mr. Morehouse's letter was numbered, O. K'd, and started through the regular channels. Duplicate copies of the bill of lading, manifest, Flannery's receipt for the package and several other pertinent papers were pinned to the letter, and they were passed to the head of the Tariff Department. The head of the Tariff Department put his feet on his desk and yawned. He looked through the papers carelessly. "Miss Kane," he said to his stenographer, "take this letter. 'Agent, Westcote, N. J. Please advise why consignment referred to in attached papers was refused domestic pet rates.'" Miss Kane made a series of curves and angles on her note book and waited with pencil poised. The head of the department looked at the papers again. "Huh! guinea-pigs!" he said. "Probably starved to death by this time! Add this to that letter: 'Give condition of consignment at present.'" He tossed the papers on to the stenographer's desk, took his feet from his own desk and went out to lunch. When Mike Flannery received the letter he scratched his head. "Give prisint condition," he repeated thoughtfully. "Now what do thim clerks be wantin' to know, I wonder! 'Prisint condition,' is ut? Thim pigs, praise St. Patrick, do be in good health, so far as I know, but I niver was no veternairy surgeon to dago pigs. Mebby thim clerks wants me to call in the pig docther an' have their pulses took. Wan thing I do know, howiver, which is they've glorious appytites for pigs of their soize. Ate? They'd ate the brass padlocks off of a barn door! If the paddy pig, by the same token, ate as hearty as these dago pigs do, there'd be a famine in Ireland." To assure himself that his report would be up to date, Flannery went to the rear of the office and looked into the cage. The pigs had been transferred to a larger box -- a dry goods box. "Wan, -- two, -- t'ree -- four, -- foive, -- six, -- sivin, -- eight!" he counted. "Sivin spotted an' wan all black. All well an' hearty an' all eatin' loike ragin' hippy-potty-musses." He went back to his desk and wrote. "Mr. Morgan, Head of Tariff Department," he wrote. "Why do I say dago pigs is pigs because they is pigs and will be til you say they ain't which is what the rule book says stop your jollying me you know it as well as I do. As to health they are all well and hoping you are the same. P. S. There are eight now the family increased all good eaters. P. S. I paid out so far two dollars for cabbage which they like shall I put in bill for same what?" Morgan, head of the Tariff Department, when he received this letter, laughed. He read it again and became serious. "By George!" he said, "Flannery is right. 'Pigs is pigs.' I'll have to get authority on this thing. Meanwhile, Miss Kane, take this letter: "Agent, Westcote, N. J. Regarding shipment guinea-pigs, File No. A6754. Rule 83, General Instruction to Agents, clearly states that agents shall collect from consignee all costs of provender, etc., etc., required for live stock while in transit or storage. You will proceed to collect same from consignee." Flannery received this letter next morning, and when he read it he grinned. "Proceed to collect," he said softly. "How thim clerks do loike to be talkin'! Me proceed to collect two dollars and twinty-foive cints off Misther Morehouse! I wonder do thim clerks know Misther Morehouse? I'll git it! Oh, yes! 'Misther Morehouse, two an' a quarter, plaze.' 'Cert'nly, me dear frind Flannery. Delighted!' Not!" Flannery drove the express wagon to Mr. Morehouse's door. Mr. Morehouse answered the bell. "Ah, ha!" he cried as soon as he saw it was Flannery. "So you've come to your senses at last, have you? I thought you would! Bring the box in." "I hev no box," said Flannery coldly. "I hev a bill agin Misther John C. Morehouse for two dollars and twinty-foive cints for kebbages aten by his dago pigs. Wud you wish to pay ut?" "Pay -- Cabbages -- !" gasped Mr. Morehouse. "Do you mean to say that two little guinea-pigs --" "Eight!" said Flannery. "Papa an' mamma an' the six childer. Eight!" For answer Mr. Morehouse slammed the door in Flannery's face. Flannery looked at the door reproachfully. "I take ut the con-sign-y don't want to pay for thim kebbages," he said. "If I know signs of refusal, the con-sign-y refuses to pay for wan dang kebbage leaf an' be hanged to me!" Mr. Morgan, the head of the Tariff Department, consulted the president of the Interurban Express Company regarding guinea-pigs, as to whether they were pigs or not pigs. The president was inclined to treat the matter lightly. "What is the rate on pigs and on pets?" he asked. "Pigs thirty cents, pets twenty-five," said Morgan. "Then of course guinea-pigs are pigs," said the president. "Yes," agreed Morgan, "I look at it that way, too. A thing that can come under two rates is naturally due to be classed as the higher. But are guinea-pigs, pigs? Aren't they rabbits?" "Come to think of it," said the president, "I believe they are more like rabbits. Sort of half-way station between pig and rabbit. I think the question is this -- are guinea-pigs of the domestic pig family? I'll ask Professor Gordon. He is authority on such things. Leave the papers with me." The president put the papers on his desk and wrote a letter to Professor Gordon. Unfortunately the Professor was in South America collecting zoological specimens, and the letter was forwarded to him by his wife. As the Professor was in the highest Andes, where no white man had ever penetrated, the letter was many months in reaching him. The president forgot the guinea-pigs, Morgan forgot them, Mr. Morehouse forgot them, but Flannery did not. One-half of his time he gave to the duties of his agency; the other half was devoted to the guinea-pigs. Long before Professor Gordon received the president's letter Morgan received one from Flannery. "About them dago pigs," it said, "what shall I do they are great in family life, no race suicide for them, there are thirty-two now shall I sell them do you take this express office for a menagerie, answer quick." Morgan reached for a telegraph blank and wrote: "Agent, Westcote. Don't sell pigs." He then wrote Flannery a letter calling his attention to the fact that the pigs were not the property of the company but were merely being held during a settlement of a dispute regarding rates. He advised Flannery to take the best possible care of them. Flannery, letter in hand, looked at the pigs and sighed. The dry-goods box cage had become too small. He boarded up twenty feet of the rear of the express office to make a large and airy home for them, and went about his business. He worked with feverish intensity when out on his rounds, for the pigs required attention and took most of his time. Some months later, in desperation, he seized a sheet of paper and wrote "160" across it and mailed it to Morgan. Morgan returned it asking for explanation. Flannery replied: "There be now one hundred sixty of them dago pigs, for heavens sake let me sell off some, do you want me to go crazy, what." "Sell no pigs." Morgan wired. Not long after this the president of the express company received a letter from Professor Gordon. It was a long and scholarly letter, but the point was that the guinea-pig was the Cavia aparoea while the common pig was the genus Sus of the family Suidae. He remarked that they were prolific and multiplied rapidly. "They are not pigs," said the president, decidedly, to Morgan. "The twenty-five cent rate applies." Morgan made the proper notation on the papers that had accumulated in File A6754, and turned them over to the Audit Department. The Audit Department took some time to look the matter up, and after the usual delay wrote Flannery that he has had on hand one hundred and sixty guinea-pigs, the property of consignee, he should deliver them and collect charges at the rate of twenty-five cents each. Flannery spent a day herding his charges through a narrow opening in their cage so that he might count them. "Audit Dept." he wrote, when he had finished the count, "you are way off there may be was one hundred and sixty dago pigs once, but wake up don't be a back number. I've got even eight hundred, now shall I collect for eight hundred or what, how about sixty-four dollars I paid out for cabbages." It required a great many letters back and forth before the Audit Department was able to understand why the error had been made of billing one hundred and sixty instead of eight hundred, and still more time for it to get the meaning of the "cabbages." Flannery was crowded into a few feet at the extreme front of the office. The pigs had all the rest of the room and two boys were employed constantly attending to them. The day after Flannery had counted the guinea-pigs there were eight more added to his drove, and by the time the Audit Department gave him authority to collect for eight hundred Flannery had given up all attempts to attend to the receipt or the delivery of goods. He was hastily building galleries around the express office, tier above tier. He had four thousand and sixty-four guinea-pigs to care for! More were arriving daily. Immediately following its authorization the Audit Department sent another letter, but Flannery was too busy to open it. They wrote another and then they telegraphed: "Error in guinea-pig bill. Collect for two guinea-pigs, fifty cents. Deliver all to consignee." Flannery read the telegram and cheered up. He wrote out a bill as rapidly as his pencil could travel over paper and ran all the way to the Morehouse home. At the gate he stopped suddenly. The house stared at him with vacant eyes. The windows were bare of curtains and he could see into the empty rooms. A sign on the porch said, "To Let." Mr. Morehouse had moved! Flannery ran all the way back to the express office. Sixty-nine guinea-pigs had been born during his absence. He ran out again and made feverish inquiries in the village. Mr. Morehouse had not only moved, but he had left Westcote. Flannery returned to the express office and found that two hundred and six guinea-pigs had entered the world since he left it. He wrote a telegram to the Audit Department. "Can't collect fifty cents for two dago pigs consignee has left town address unknown what shall I do? Flannery." The telegram was handed to one of the clerks in the Audit Department, and as he read it he laughed. "Flannery must be crazy. He ought to know that the thing to do is to return the consignment here," said the clerk. He telegraphed Flannery to send the pigs to the main office of the company at Franklin. When Flannery received the telegram he set to work. The six boys he had engaged to help him also set to work. They worked with the haste of desperate men, making cages out of soap boxes, cracker boxes, and all kinds of boxes, and as fast as the cages were completed they filled them with guinea-pigs and expressed them to Franklin. Day after day the cages of guinea-pigs flowed in a steady stream from Westcote to Franklin, and still Flannery and his six helpers ripped and nailed and packed -- relentlessly and feverishly. At the end of the week they had shipped two hundred and eighty cases of guinea-pigs, and there were in the express office seven hundred and four more pigs than when they began packing them. "Stop sending pigs. Warehouse full," came a telegram to Flannery. He stopped packing only long enough to wire back, "Can't stop," and kept on sending them. On the next train up from Franklin came one of the company's inspectors. He had instructions to stop the stream of guinea-pigs at all hazards. As his train drew up at Westcote station he saw a cattle car standing on the express company's siding. When he reached the express office he saw the express wagon backed up to the door. Six boys were carrying bushel baskets full of guinea-pigs from the office and dumping them into the wagon. Inside the room Flannery, with his coat and vest off, was shoveling guinea-pigs into bushel baskets with a coal scoop. He was winding up the guinea-pig episode. He looked up at the inspector with a snort of anger. "Wan wagonload more an' I'll be quit of thim, an' niver will ye catch Flannery wid no more foreign pigs on his hands. No, sur! They near was the death o' me. Nixt toime I'll know that pigs of whativer nationality is domistic pets -- an' go at the lowest rate." He began shoveling again rapidly, speaking quickly between breaths. "Rules may be rules, but you can't fool Mike Flannery twice wid the same thrick -- whin ut comes to live stock, dang the rules. So long as Flannery runs this expriss office -- pigs is pets, -- an' cows is pets, -- an' horses is pets, -- an' lions an' tigers an' Rocky Mountain goats is pets, -- an' the rate on thim is twinty-foive cints." He paused long enough to let one of the boys put an empty basket in the place of the one he had just filled. There were only a few guinea-pigs left. As he noted their limited number his natural habit of looking on the bright side returned. "Well, annyhow," he said cheerfully, "'tis not so bad as ut might be. What if thim dago pigs had been elephants!"

Desember 19, 2009

UNTITLED

25 kata tak jua

menggugah sadarmu akan pastiku

miris dalam untaian lamun.

Kadang,

ku sibak guratan cinta di pucuk keningmu

samar,

bergantung pada tepi ragu ini

aku cemburu

pada diri yang setia di sini.

Kekasih tak dianggap

bukan lakon roman picisan

hanya sedikit buah non fiksi

dalam pecahan pecahan permata dulu kau tanam di manisku

aku cemburu

pada diri yang setia di sini.

Ku kutip salinan lembar ke tujuh berlabuhnya kita

prakata yang tergurat di punggung pantai

mantra yang menjadi benang pengikat syaraf cinta dusta

tetap saja berebut ombak ombak jelita

kau tetap terbawa arus, dan

aku cemburu

pada diri yang setia di sini.

Sekarang,

dalam sampan kecil ini

ku jamahi lautan, tetap

mengiring pangeran ikan ke palung tak bertepi

mungkin kisahku tak seramai putri buruk rupa dan pangeran kodok

dongeng ber-asa sama jua, tetap

aku cemburu

pada diri yang setia di sini.

Dan,

25 kata tak jua

menggugah sadarmu akan pastiku

miris dalam untaian lamun.

November 10, 2009

Friendship or French ship

FRIENDSHIPS LOST
(Scars That Can Never Heal)
© 1996 Bronwyn P
I see your smile
I know your mind
No words need be said
I understand.

Focused on each other
We listen and we care
Laughter ripples like water
Together, we are.

Others are here, yes,
And we value them, yes,
But a special bond remains,
A line between us two.

Each friendship is special
Each is unique
And so is ours
We know.

And then time begins to roll
and rear it’s ugly head
Change begins
Now a little less than before.
Slowly, surely,
Not knowing why
Faster, stronger, without care
Our world shifts and shimmers and splits.

Shattered shards cascade down
Spurred by angry, lashing words
Contorted faces, stone deaf ears
Outside the whirlwind,
We die inside.

The scars run deep
Jagged clefts in our souls
We have suceeded in hurting
And hurt ourselves.

So you move on
And I remain
We keep on living
Turn our faces apart.

Now I glance across
At you from outside
Shaded eyes dry with tears
New friends, new life.

Laughter, smiling (clenched teeth)
The flippant toss of the head
The enclosure surrounds you
I cannot come near.

From behind my glass window
I know more than those within
I see the hurt in your eyes
I know the pain in your smile
I have been there before - I love you
Why do you pretend?

I hate to see your pain
And I cry inside
Tears deep within my soul
I cannot help you anymore.

What we had once
We can never have again.

The scars run deep,
But I still care.
You were my friend.

http://www.friendship.com.au/poetry/broken/broken3.html#lost

November 06, 2009

NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU

TAK KAN ADA YANG MENGGOYAHKAN CINTA KU PADAMU
(NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU)
Glenn Medeiros / Translated by M. Sayid Wijaya

Jika aku harus menelusuri hidup tanpamu di sisiku
(if I had to live my life without you near me)
Hari hari berasa hampa
(the days would all be empty)
Malam seakan tak berujung
(the nights would seem so long)
Bersamamu senantiasa ku benar benar mengerti
(with you I see forever oh so clearly)
Mungkin sebelumnya aku pernah jatuh hati
(I might have been in love before)
Namun, tak pernah hatiku merasa sebegini kuatnya
(but it never felt this strong)

Mimpi kita masih baru, dan
(our dreams are young)
Kita berduapun tahu jika mimpi itu bisa saja mengantarkan kita
(and we both know they’ll take us)
Kemanapun kita ingin
(where we want to go)

Chorus 1:
Sekarang
Dekaplah aku
(hold me now)
Jamahlah aku
(touch me now)
Tak ingin ku hidup tanpamu
(I don’t want to live without you)

Chorus 2:
Tak kan ada yang menggoyahkan cintaku padamu
(nothing’s gonna change my love for you)
Sebaiknya sekarang kau tahu betapa aku mencintaimu
(you ought to know by now how much I love you)
Yakinlah satu hal,
(one thing you can be sure of)
Bahwa aku tak kan pernah meminta lebih kecuali cintamu
(I’ll never ask for more than your love)

Chorus 3:
Tak kan ada yang menggoyahkan cintaku padamu
(nothing’s gonna change my love for you)
Sebaiknya sekarang kau tahu betapa aku mencintaimu
(you ought to know by now how much I love you)
Bisa jadi dunia merubah seluruh hidupku,
(the world may change my whole life through)
Namun tak kan ada yang menggoyahkan cintaku padamu.
(but nothing’s gonna change my love for you)

Jika nantinya jalan yang kita tempuh tak kan mudah
(if the road ahead is not so easy)
Cinta kan membimbingnya untuk kita
(our love will lead the way for us)
Layaknya bintang penunjuk
(like a guiding star)
Aku kan selalu ada saat kau memang membutuhkanku
(I’ll be there for you if you should need me)
Tak perlu kau rubah apapun
(you don’t have to change a thing)
Aku mencintaimu apa adanya
(I love you just the way you are)
Ayo bersamaku dan berbagi pandangan
(so come with me and share the view)
Aku kan menyertaimu melihat selamanya jua.
(I’ll help you see forever too).

Chorus 1
Chorus 2
Chorus 3
Chorus 2

Oktober 24, 2009

Speech Contest 2009*

*Winning "Lomba Pidato (Bahasa Arab dan Inggris) dan MTQ yang diadakan Pusat Bahasa STAIN JUSI Metro 23 Oktober 2009

The audience
Munir Said Thalib was born in Malang, East Java, 8 December 1965 and passed away in Jakarta 7 September 2004, when he was 38 years old. He was an activist of human rights in Indonesia.
Munir was named Man of the Year by the leading Muslim periodical, UMMAT, and as a “young leader for the Millennium in Asia” by Asia week in 2000.
Some cases which were handled by him:
• Legal Counsel for students and farmers in Pasuruan, in the case of riots at PT. Chief Samsung, the accusation was the criminal acts of investigation, 1995.
• Legal Counsel in the case of disappearance of 24 activists and students in Jakarta, 1997 through 1998.
• Legal Counsel in the case of the shooting of the students in Semarang tragedy I and II, 1998 and 1999.
• Various cases of human rights violations in issues concerning labor, land, environment, and civil and political rights.

He died two hours before airplane GA – 974 landed at Schipol Amsterdam airport, 7 September 2004.
After performing autopsy, Forensic Institute of Netherland confirmed that they found chemical compound ‘arsenic’ in Munir’s food. It was clear that he died because of being poisoned.
In 20 September 2005, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was suspected as the murderer and was sentenced to be in jail for 14 years.
In 19 June 2008, Muchdi Pr was arrested because he was suspected as the director of the murder. All strong evidences and witnesses went to him. Unfortunately, in 31 December 2008, he was sentenced to be free.
To remember one year of Munir’s death, a documentary movie entitled: “BUNGA DIBAKAR” by Ratrikala Bhre Aditya was presented in Goethe-Institute Jakarta. It was all about Munir’s life story.
Since 2005, every 7 September, the day when Munir died, was proclaimed by the activists of human rights in Indonesia as “Protector of Human Rights of Indonesia Day”.

The audience
The point of what I am about to convey is Munir was murdered in Democratic Era and Openness and also in the hope that presented an Indonesian dream is going to be real. He died because he fought for protecting human rights, protecting the oppressed people.
Now, let us see several unsettled cases, such as Trisakti, Semanggi I and II, May’s riot, kidnapping activists, Tanjung Priok, Talang Sari, Murder of Munir, and many more cases of human rights violence. This is proved that government, as the implementer of law, has not successfully built human rights in Indonesia. The professionalism of our government in upholding law must be questioned. If there is intervention of the third person in upholding law, the law itself is, as if, prevailed just for the general people. Thus, it is revealed that justice principal in upholding law in our country has not been implemented well yet. Here, the figure of Munir must be revived.
Protection of human rights means protection of law. There are many Legal Aid Services (LBH/Lembaga Bantuan Hukum) in Indonesia which are pro-society fight for their rights against the government which takes side with the industrialist and the rich. If only the government one - sidedness is to the society, it needs no opposition between society and government. If it happens, LAS is the answer. Consequently, the youth gathered and founded a legal aid service to help the oppressed people in the case of law. It is not proposed to opposite the government; however, it gives a real picture of the implementation law in Indonesia.
Reflecting to Munir case, it is sure that human rights in Indonesia is not fully Indonesian. It seems that the Constitution 1945, section 28 is only a camouflage. In fact, it is very clear that Forensic Institute of Netherland stated that Munir died because of being poisoned. It is quite impossible someone as Pollycarpus had a strong reason to commit murder. Then, Muchdi Pr was sentenced to be free. This is only fake. This is irrational. May be, Democratic era is just a general term which still professes the New Order.
Now it is true that law is a game. When we won a match, it doesn’t mean we won the game. Nevertheless, the youth touch is needed. They are as the nation generation must be able to be the front guard in case of building human rights in Indonesia. They are as the heirs of this nation must be able to be the moving machine of human rights protectors so that all citizens have their rights. In this case, their one-sidedness must be clarified because this is concerned with our nation future.
By LAS which will be the media for the youth to criticize, to check and balance the upholding law that is out of regulation, it can regenerate the next Munirs who will fight for human rights in our beloved country Indonesia. However, we must be wary, because Munir was murdered in Democratic Era. Don’t let the second or the third Munir be murdered. The youth role, in the case of law, will determine our nation future. An old man said: “Don’t ask what your country can give you! Ask what you can give your country!”

Presented by
M. SAYID WIJAYA

Oktober 14, 2009

DALAM REMANG – REMANG

Meski hari ini langit tampak cerah, awan tidak tampak berkerumunan di jagad atas, terik matahari seraya lebam di pori kulit ku. Ya. Sepanjang perjalanan ku berjalan kaki dari pondok baca “Jemari” ke tempatku bertinggal, udara yang senyap membalut tiap penampang pori gelapku. Aku berfikir bahwa ini hanya akal bulus udara dengan kandungan padat polusi. Dengan berjalan di pinggiran jalan tol seperti ini, bukan hal yang mustahil untuk tidak terkontaminasi dengan gas-gas beracun dari bokong kendaraan yang tidak punya tata krama. Apa boleh dikata. Mereka tidak bersekolah. Aku juga tidak bersekolah. Tapi setidaknya, aku belajar banyak hal dari membaca buku di pondok baca “Jemari”. Begitu pula beberapa orang temanku. Aku rasa teman – teman ku lebih baik dalam hal ini.
Belakangan ini, aku dan teman – teman sering mengunjungi kakak Seta di pondok baca “Jemari”. Meski tempatnya tidak seluas sekolah yang berada tepat di sebelah pasar Ginting dekat gubukku tinggal, buku – buku yang tersusun di rak - rak bertingkat tiga yang panjang lebih banyak dari buku – buku yang di jual di emperan pasar. Hanya majalah dan koran yang ada di sana. Di situ pun aku tidak diperbolehkan untuk memegang lebih – lebih membacanya. Di pondok baca di mana kak Seta sering mengajari kami membaca dan menulis abjad, tersedia buku – buku yang lebih menarik dari sekedar koran dan majalah. Aku dan teman – teman sangat senang sekali di sana. Kami sering menghabiskan waktu hingga sore hanya untuk membaca. Hanya saja, beberapa hari ini, aku harus pulang lebih awal. Ayahku jatuh sakit.
Meski aku baru berumur 13 tahun, aku selalu membantu ayah memulung sampah. Got. Tong sampah. Penampungan sampah. Di tempat – tempat itu kami bekerja. Ayah mendorong gerobak sampah dari kayu. Aku mengiringi dari samping. Kami berdua memikul keranjang dari anyaman bambu dan capit. Ukuran keranjangku lebih kecil. Kami selalu berkerja semenjak pagi. Maklum saja, pekerjaan yang kami tekuni ini sangat beresiko sekali. Sering ayahku beradu mulut dengan sesama pemulung. Ada yang pernah mengatakan bahwa kami telah menyabotase wilayahnya. Ada pula yang menuduh kami berkoalisi dengan pemulung lainnya untuk pemekaran wilayah operasi. Aku hanya menonton saja. Meski badanku bongsor, aku tidak mau mengambil bagian dalam pertengkaraan mereka. Jika mereka mulai mencelakai ayahku, baru aku turun tangan. Aku harus punya strategi jitu. Wajar saja, persaingan di dunia pemulungan ini sangat keras. Seperti pribahasa yang kubaca dari buku “1000 Pribahasa Indonesia”. Yang kuat, dia yang berkuasa.
Tepatnya empat hari lalu. Krumunan pria dan wanita berjas hijau yang sebagian mengenakan ikat kepala putih beramai – ramai berjalan sembari berteriak tidak jelas membawa kain putih panjang bertuliskan “Pemilu cacat. Bubarkan KPU. Indonesia penuh noda”. Saat itu, seperti biasa, aku dan ayah sedang memulung di emperan jalan tidak jauh dari kerumunan yang semakin memekakkan telinga itu. Kami kemudian melanjutkan ke lokasi pemulungan selanjutnya. Karena salah satu jalur adalah melewati kerumunan itu, ayah sempat ragu. Ia memintaku untuk sejenak berhenti di rimbunnya bawah pohon pinggiran jalan. Belum sempat aku mengistirahatkan sepasang kakiku, ayah memintaku untuk bangun. Kami berjalan. Dari pinggiran jalan, kami menelusuri kerumunan itu dengan arah yang berlawanan. Hanya saja, mereka tidak memberikan celah bagi kami. Tiba – tiba seorang dari mereka di sebelah seorang pria tepat di sampingku berteriak, “Mata – mata. Ada polisi preman. Ada polisi preman.” Kerumunan yang tadinya hanya terfokus berjalan tiba – tiba berhamburan dan berlari ke arah kami. Ayah menarikku dan berlari menjauh. Kami terkejar. Seorang menarik kaos yang dikenakan ayah. Ia jatuh tersungkur. Massa mulai menegerumuni kami. Ayah mendorongku keluar dari kerumunan. Aku lihat massa yang sesak itu satu persatu menjatuhkan hantaman dan injakan ke tubuh renta ayahku. Aku berteriak. Aku menjerit. Aku menangis. Aku coba masuk kembali ke dalam kerumunan tersebut untuk melindungi ayah. Aku tak mampu. Ada yang menarik baju kusuhku menjauh dari kerumunan.
“Tetap di sini, Hamid.”
Sejenak aku tatap wajah berkacamatanya. Aku rasa aku mengenalnya. “Kak Seta?”
Dengan tersenyum dia menatapku, “Tenanglah!”
“Ayah”, aku beranjak menangis. Kak Seta mendekati kerumunan masa yang sedang menghakimi ayah. Kedua tangannya mulai memilah - milah masa sehingga menyisakan ayahku dan kak seta. Dengan ditemani seorang wanita berkacamata ia membopong ayah ke bibir trotoar menjauh dari kerumunan masa. Aku berlari menghampiri mereka.
“Kita harus segera memberikan pertolongan kepada bapak ini”, wanita tersebut memandang tajam kak seta. “Kamu kendalikan masa. Bubarkan atau bawa kembali ke basecamp. Jangan sampai kejadian ini berulang. Saya yang akan membawanya ke puskesmas terdekat.”
Kak seta tak merespon. Wajahnya tampak datar. Tangannya melambai memanggil tukang becak yang menonton kejadian itu. “Puskesmas atau rumah sakit. Terserah yang mana. Cepat.” Pintanya pada tukang becak bertopi bundar itu.
Aku membantu wanita itu menaikkan ayah ke atas becak. Wantia itu duduk tepat di samping ayah. Aku tidak mendapat tempat di sana. Aku merengek. Tanganku meraih besi – besi atap becak tersebut yang pipih. Aku coba untuk menahan mereka pergi. Namun, kak seta menarik tanganku.
Kedua tangan kak seta mendorong perlahan punggungku. “Pulanglah ke taman Baca. Nanti kak akan jemput kamu di sana. Kak seta janji.” Aku mengangguk. Kemudian dia beranjak pergi ke kerumunan manusia yang telah menghadiahkan memar di renta tubuh ayahku.
Beranjak aku pergi menuju ke pondok baca. Di dalam perjalanan, otakku tak hentinya memutar balik kejadian itu. Rasanya air mataku ingin sekali mendobrak keluar dari ke dua mata sayuku. Aku merasa layaknya seseorang yang sedang dicuci otaknya. Aku pusing. Teramat pusing. Trotoar jalan mulai meninggalkanku. Mobil dan motor di samping kananku seakan menghilangkan dari pengelihatanku. Hingga pandanganku nampak kabur. Benar – benar kabur.

M. SAYID WIJAYA

Agustus 15, 2009

Hand Seals Guide

Hand Seals Guide
Jutsu, or skills/techniques, are the mystical arts a ninja will utilize in battle. To perform a jutsu, the ninja will manipulate their chakra and may use some form of hand seal. Some techniques like Taijutsu do not require hand seals, however the ninja may use them to focus their chakra to certain areas of their body. Also some Ninjutsu like Rasengan and various weapon utilizations do not require any hand seal use. By forming hand seals, the ninja is able to mold their chakra and manifest the desired jutsu. Because of the extensive number of hand seals and different combinations, there are thousands of potential jutsu to be discovered and used. The hand seals themselves come from the twelve signs of the Chinese Zodiac. The appearance of the seals stem from Hindu and Buddhist iconography, and are called "Mudra" meaning "seal" or "sign" in Sanskrit. These hand gestures helped identify the nature and function of the deity who used them. Over time the positions and traditions changed as they were adopted and moved from country to country. In addition to these hand seals, certain jutsu have their own unique hand and finger positions, such as the gestures used in Kage Bunshin, Shintenshin, etc.. Every ninja in the series save for one has used both hands to form seals. Haku used one-handed seals in his Hyouton bloodline limit techniques. It is unknown if this was a skill unique to the whole of the bloodline or merely Haku himself. Note this is different than the one handed chakra focusing gesture one sees a lot of ninja use.
Ne - Rat
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Ne.gif$	Ne is the First sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Rat. It is associated with North and the month of November. Note: Rat is used in the Nara clan's shadow manipulation.
Ushi - Ox/Cow
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Ushi.gif$	Ushi is the Second sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Ox. It is associated with North-Northeast and the month of December.
Tora - Tiger
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Tora.gif$	Tora is the Third sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Tiger. It is associated with East-Northeast and the month of January. Note: Tiger has been associated with Fire Element manipulation.
U - Rabbit/Hare
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\U.gif$	U is the Fourth sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Rabbit. It is associated with East and the month of February.
Tatsu - Dragon
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Tatsu.gif$	Tatsu is the Fifth sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon. It is associated with East-Southeast and the month of March.
Mi - Snake/Serpent
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Mi.gif$	Mi is the Sixth sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Snake. It is associated with South-Southeast and the month of April. Note: Snake has been associated with Earth Element manipulation.
Uma - Horse
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Uma.gif$	Uma is the Seventh sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Horse. It is associated with South and the month of May.
Hitsuji - Ram
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Hitsuji.gif$	Hitsuji is the Eigth sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Sheep. It is associated with South-Southwest and the month of June. Note: Ram has been officially depicted in the manga as having either the right thumb or index finger extended upwards.
Saru - Monkey
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Saru.gif$	Saru is the Ninth sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Monkey. It is associated with West-Southwest and the month of July.
Tori - Bird
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Tori.gif$	Tori is the Tenth sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Rooster. It is associated with West and the month of August.
Inu - Dog
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\Inu.gif$	Inu is the Eleventh sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Dog. It is associated with West-Northwest and the month of September.
I - Boar/Hog
$D:\Browsing_Files\Just_naruto\hands.php_files\I.gif$	I is the Twelfth sign of the Chinese zodiac, the Pig. It is associated with North-Northwest and the month of October