I have been visiting Jakarta this past month in the effort of pursuing a life, work, future, chance, opportunity, and experience. I’m not surprised by how the city will treat a newcomer like me, my memories of Arema Indonesia tour Batavia 2010 created a strong impression between Jakarta and hard life. That journey when young and restless people like me saw how big Jakarta was the first time I thought of myself that Jakarta is a city with big promises, but it turned up by the shocking scene behind a tall huge wall in which you may make a BIG SALE for your big dreams. The struggle may end up in the railway from Jatinegara to Pasar Senen, which becomes a welcoming scene of Jakarta from the train window. And that day when I first came to Jakarta I promise myself to get back there and smell its
stinks.
Yep, I’m back. And here I am standing with a little foot between thousands of people going there, there, and there, alienated. Until I realized that on every way and on every fffking situation they have their hands up and heads down. Suddenly I remember the movie about Indonesia struggle for Independence when Indonesia first President, Soekarno declared the independence of Indonesia by raising his hand up with bright face facing straight up bringing the big spirit of freedom and yelled “MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!!”, and it responded by millions of Indonesian also by raising their hands up and yelled “MERDEKA!!”, That sounds played repeatedly and reverberating in my mind, and as time goes by, the voice gets down, down, and down until its finally gone, muted! And here I am now, I see just a raising hand appears in front of me. The spirit and the yelling voice of the independence are gone eaten by the pressure on each heads! Totally gone and muted, I don’t know where. This is Jakarta, the place where Soekarno declared the Independence; there must be a big memories and big spirit left here. But no, it’s gone and just a hands up left, with a heads down. Jakarta 2012, af
