Goenawan Mohamad

– A talk at University if Brandeis, to a symposium of the Brandeis International Fellowship Program, October 14, 2004.

During this honored opportunity, I will be speaking about ‘forgiveness’ or ‘forgiving’, an issue intimately related to the theme of the symposium today. It is a happy coincidence that as of tomorrow, Muslims all over the world will start their month of fasting, or Ramadhan. Both Ramadhan and its closing are important moments for a Muslim – since, at least in my country, Indonesia, people traditionally regard them as moments of self-purification, to be followed by an act of giving and forgiving.

As the religious law dictates, on the last evening of the fast, all Muslims save the very poor will have to allot at least 2,5 kilograms of staple food for people who are hungry, needy, or ensnared by debt. There is also an additional norm in our local tradition: we are expected to prepare special dishes –plenty of meat, and a wide variety of delicious spices — for relatives, friends, neighbors, and other guests.

In the village I grew up, I remember doors would be open even to total strangers. In the afternoon, a kind of fiesta would be organized, involving an elaborate costumed parade and a boat race. They were never made into a competition; no jury would announce a winner, no prize would be awarded. Needless to say, the whole celebration was very costly, but the people in the village of my childhood, who were not particularly rich, seemed to expect nothing in return.

Lanjut..

Maka yang paling brutal pada malam itu adalah bahwa bahasa seakan-akan tak diperlukan. Juga perlambang. Juga pathos dan sejenis kepahlawanan. Yang hendak ditekankan hanya: pembantaian, perusakan, ekspresi kebencian, penyebaran ketakutan.

Apa yang terjadi, ketika teror menyentak dan membantai, tapi juga membisu? Ketika semua berlangsung tanpa perlambang, tanpa bahasa, tanpa teater? Kuta, Bali, 12 Oktober 2002, dan Manhattan, New York, 11 September 2001: betapa berbeda.

Ketika dua bangunan World Trade Center yang menjulang hampir setengah kilometer itu dihantam dua kapal terbang, dan 3.000 orang tewas, dan gedung yang jangkung bagaikan menara itu terbakar dan runtuh secara mengerikan, drama itu punya panggung yang luas: langit pagi, musim panas yang cerah, cuaca yang tanpa cacat.

Hari itu dunia pun menyaksikan sesuatu yang spektakuler yang mengharu-biru. Sebuah film? Sebuah berita? Kita sejenak tercengang. Kemudian kita sadar bahwa sebuah pembantaian besar yang riil terjadi—dan kenyataan akhirnya merenggutkan kita yang selama ini hidup diterpa bertubi-tubi simulacra, tak tahu persis lagi apa gerangan arti “kenyataan”.

Lanjut..