about two and a half years ago, when I was in a gathering held by my senior in canberra, I met an australian diplomat that was once posted in my country. having had a conversation with him for a couple of minutes, I grasped very well that he spoke bahasa Indonesia fluently and had a thorough comprehension on Indonesian’s history and culture, which of course indirectly displaying australian government’s earnestness in sending its representative to a country.
anyway, in the middle of our conversation, he suddenly startled me with a question, “have you read the “tetralogi buru” of pramoedya ananta toer?”. he continued, “I admired him so deeply for his thoughts in the books clearly reflect his profound love to Indonesia and his wish to promote Indonesian’s people. I myself was spellbound for a minute or two since I haven’t absorbed any of those “tetralogi buru” at all. I just wished that I could simply fade away from that man’s sight at that very moment. without question, I utterly suffered from a total embarrassment because I am an Indonesian who hadn’t read one of the greatest lifetime literature in Indonesia that has been translated to myriads of languages and has achieved international awards. in a nutshell, I simply didn’t have any idea about my own nation.
anyhow, I now have already managed to read two books of tetralogi buru (one of them is child of all nations). it’s conceivably so awesome and heart-moving! no wonder that australian man admired pram so abundantly. on the other hand, I am completely in confusion because I still keep questioning why the old government of Indonesia had banned these books provided that they can awaken the spirit of this shattered nation. what did the old government try to prove? is absolute freedom to speak out one’s mind a darn forbidden demeanor?
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