Ramadhan, ‘reason’ for quiet celebration

Jakarta, NU Online
“I don’t know what to celebrate today because for me Indonesia is yet to be independent. Life seems to be harder in this country.

“How can you be a nationalist when you have to struggle hard just to provide the very basic daily meals for your family?” said 28-year-old Eva Yanti, who lives near the Indonesia Miniature Park (TMII) in East Jakarta.

For Eva, an employee of a private bank in Jakarta, the Independence Day celebration is a mere annual commemoration with speeches from politicians and government officials, and flag-raisings here and there, but with no essential changes within the society.

“An independent country is a country that guarantees the rights of the people to live better, to worship or to express their opinions in public, and Indonesia, for me, fails to do that,” said the devout Christian as quoted by The Jakarta Post. For her, such a ceremony is just “the privilege of certain groups”.

Eva prefers to stay at home or hang out with relatives instead of attending communal celebration activities around the neighborhood.

In Jakarta, many households did not raise their red-and-white flags on Wednesday, although the sub-district chiefs reminded Jakartans several days ago on their obligation to honor the national flag. Flag and pole traders have complained that their sales were very low compared to their business in previous years.

The national holiday is usually accompanied by folk festivals, fanning out from local neighborhood units (RT) to the country nationwide. In addition to widening skepticism toward the government, Ramadhan, which coincides with Indonesia’s 66th Independence Day, seems to offer another reason for the slump in celebrations. Last year the situation was very similar because Ramadhan started on Aug. 9. This will continue until next year, when the national holiday will again fall during the Islamic fasting month.

Taslim Hartman, a resident of Buncit neighborhood in South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post that it would be too exhausting to participate in communal competitions that involve physical activities.,

“We don’t want to waste too much energy during our fasting,” Taslim added.

He said that Ramadhan, however, proved no obstacle to organizing non-physical activities for people in his neighborhood after the breaking of the fast.

“We organized a Koran reading contest for elementary children last night after the tarawih [evening prayer during Ramadhan] at Jami Al Mujtamin Mosque in Warung Jati,” he said.

Rangga, an elementary student who lives in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, said that there seemed to be no contests during the whole day in his neighborhood to celebrate Independence Day.

“Mom and Dad didn’t say anything about having to prepare myself for any contests, as they used to do. They only said that I must not break my fast, and not to forget to attend the Koran reading activities. They didn’t say anything to me about Independence Day,” he said. (dar)