Learning for Peace

When I took an Inter-religious Class, my professor said that all people have prejudice. At first, I did not believe it. People describe me as a peace-loving individual. I always try to put myself in others' shoes. I always try to understand others. I advocate for peace, something which has been very close to my heart.  How come I also have prejudice? I asked myself. A few minutes after he said so, I came to realise a moment whereby I was prejudiced. It reminded me of the days I could not sleep because a particular group made lots of noise until midnight. When I was studying in the study room, the same group also spoke in high volume, which made me lose concentration. I did not make generalisation. But seeing people of this group behave similarly in almost all settings and everywhere unconsciously made me ask myself, why was this group noisy and inconsiderate? I still befriend with them. My interaction with them has always been positive. It is just I disliked it when they talked...

Working in the issue we are passionate about does not mean we will feel happy all the times. At some point, when work is too overwhelming, it can also lead to stress. A friend of mine who usually enjoys interfaith events cannot feel the same excitement organising interfaith events. He simply just has too much work to do. I feel taking care of my mental health was a lot more challenging when I was working in advocacy. Activists are faced with the dilemma of helping others in need while also taking care of their own mental health. It is also the dilemma of helping others or spending time with our loved ones. Incidents occur at unpredictable times, so we need to be ready to respond at any time. A couple of emergency meetings might come when we are on a tight deadline or during festive seasons. My research deadline was fast approaching and I got an emergency meeting invite for the next 2 hours. I was so stressed out. Not only dealing with the stress, it also made me feel so guilty of not b...

I believe research should be a means to promote a just society whereby everyone has equal opportunity to be heard and to be understood. As a researcher, we play a crucial role not to replicate dominant narratives, but also bringing up the voice of the marginalised. And when I mention the marginalised, it is not enough to only cover those religious minorities. They are not monolithic. We need to also be aware of the power structure within their communities. This can refer to various things. First , there are diverse religious denominations. Some are more well-known than others, thus are better represented in focus group discussion or quoted more in research. Our effort to engage the lesser-known denominations is essential. Second , there is organisational structure within each religious community. Chairpersons or those holding authority are generally better represented in public discussion (seminar), interview, and other events. We need to also engage laypersons in research and events. ...

I never considered myself an activist. I once thought activists are those marching and protesting on the road. I thought activism conveys a negative tone: those who solely make noises and oppose government policy. I also thought activists are those voicing human rights discourse with foreign supports and thus harming Indonesia's interests, something which has been against my heart. I had always dreamed of becoming a diplomat for my beloved homeland. Even when I no longer dream of serving my country as a diplomat as I have another calling now, I still love this country and would not want to cause any harm. When I first started working at the SETARA Institute, I did not call myself an activist. Well, I realise I do research and advocacy, but I called myself a researcher who conducts both research and advocacy. Only until a senior activist I admire invited my colleague and I to meet over a cup of coffee, I started to rethink the definition of 'activist'. He sent me a Google ...

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Four days ago, I attended a discussion on a draft law on interreligious harmony in Indonesia. This discussion was attended by representatives from NGOs. Everyone was expected to share his/her own view or feedback to the draft law. I saw most of the participants were youth while some other were more senior and experienced activists holding an important position in the NGO or a government institution. As in other discussion involving both youths and seniors, there is a tendency that the youth play a more passive role compared to the senior. This is because, as youth, some of us might feel insignificant and inferior. We choose not to speak and just let seniors speak. Of course there are also youth who are confident enough to speak up, but I often see the unconfident ones. And to be honest, I sometimes fall to the unconfident category, too! When the forum is dominated by seniors, I tend to just remain silent. I have some ideas on my mind, but I'm not sure if this is good enough. I some...

Some days before my bachelor’s thesis defense, I was very nervous if I could not answer examiners’ questions. But after days of self-talk, I began to stop worrying as I calmed myself that I had done my best and no matter how much effort I put to do my research well, there would always be things I still did not know. I realised I was not expected to know everything I researched about. I also realised that even though it is a thesis defense, it doesn’t mean I have to defend everything in my thesis. Instead, when the examiners spot some weaknesses in my thesis, I have to admit them. I reassured myself: Isn’t it what researchers are supposed to do?   Researchers (and generally all humans) should be humble to acknowledge their limitations as human beings , be willing to receive feedback with an open heart, and learn to be better from the feedback. I then recalled attending a conference where an Australian professor gave a public lecture. During the Q&A session, one conference partic...