Grace Susetyo takes a trip to Ende, where the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, was exiled between 1934-1938. President Sukarno used his time on the island to write plays and poetry with hidden meanings, reflecting on his vision of an independent Indonesia.
It had been ten days since I'm going up and down the cool Flores mountains when I felt the warm breeze on my face while contemplating the beautiful Mount Wongge my motel window. In this coastal town surrounded by mountains, I was eager to meet the womb that conceived the nation of Indonesia.
I first heard of Ende in my history lessons in primary school. Sukarno, later the first president of Indonesia, was exiled here in 1934-1938 because of his political activities were considered a threat to the government of the Netherlands Indies. I imagined Ende is a romantic place that inspired Sukarno writing passionate letters, poetry and plays.
As I walked the beaches of South Island Ende, I felt the black volcanic sand on my bare feet and waves of clear blue-green water on my legs. Children's pool and paddling their canoes called to my camera with big smiles. It was on the shores of the beaches that Sukarno trained people in dramatic vocal exercises as they told the dreams of a future ruled by sovereign Indonesia Indonesian founding father.
It would be easy for a travel writer to call this place the "paradise" picture. But Ende in 1930 was anything but that for Sukarno.
Tugu Pancasila
In the mid-1930s, with a population of only 5000, Ende was considered a primitive outback of India, where Sukarno and his family would be foreign Javanese strangers in the land of speakers Ende-lio. It was at least a month boat ride away educated European Javanese-Malay elites engaging in the fiery speech of independence in Batavia (Jakarta). Intensive contact with them
would have been crucial for the political work of Sukarno. At the time, the only way to stay in touch is through letters that would take months to return to Java and Flores.
In other words, exile in Ende was one of the Dutch government attempts to cancel the design of the Republic of Indonesia.
Sukarno made use of his four years here meditating on his vision for an independent Indonesia and interacting with locals to participate. To connect to their level, Sukarno wrote a dozen plays and founded the Club Toneel Kelimutu which involved the local population in productions at Immaculata building.
"When Sukarno requested permission of the local parish to use the Immaculata building, Dutch priests in charge of the parish were worried that Sukarno would indoctrinate the locals with his nationalist ideas," said Maria Marietta Bali, professor of literature and the Indonesian theater Universitas Flores, Ende. A friend of Sukarno assured priests fearing that Sukarno activities would be harmless and under responsible supervision.
Indonesia 1945 , a game of fiction and futuristic on the Pacific war and the rise of the uprising Japan against the United States and Britain, accurately predicted Indonesia's independence in the year 1945
another game, Dr. Sjaitan , talking about a mad scientist who is able to bring the dead bodies to life by transplanting the heart of another living organism. 17 km of Ende, eight parts of a robot and thousands of pieces of shrapnel were found. To bring the broken robot to life, it must be connected to the 45 electric poles, which must be wired and capture the energy of the Great lightning.
"The shrapnel represents many Indonesian islands scattered between the oceans. The lightning symbolizes God. When a nation gets suspended animation in the power of God, as this robot receives electricity he can stand up and come back to life, "Bali said the Frankenstein-inspired play. She added that 17km, 8 parts and 45 poles prophesied the date of the independence of Indonesia on August 17, 1945, but it was never written explicitly in the script.
During his exile in Ende, Sukarno and his family lived on Jalan Perwira. Their house is now known as Situs Pengasingan Soekarno, a national heritage museum run by former friends of Sukarno family. The museum houses property owned and used by Sukarno during his stay in Ende. Visitors to the museum have reported Sukarno visits enjoyable recalling the design of the Republic of Indonesia in the womb is
Ende through old photographs, newspaper clippings, quotations of prayer and exhibitions 'time.
Pantai Naganesa
Unfortunately I did not manage to enter the house during my visit to Ende because the museum guard decided not to report to work on weekends. The neighbors are not his number. According to a Endenese knowledge that is related to him, the guard is a low salary, paid by the hour worker who always takes his boat fishing to live.
I came Ende waiting to meet romantic walks in the past
who give me euphoric shouts of Indonesian dreams of the last century. Instead, I spent the afternoon waiting for the goalkeeper missing a museum poor warung Padang that the waitresses were busy watching a sappy sinetron (soap opera ).
Seeing how some Indonesians today seem to struggle on other Indonesians who are different from them as human beings, it is embarrassing that Sukarno's vision of the last century to unite Indonesia may have been replaced in favor of cheap serials charged with false drama and hardened palm oil, high cholesterol, spicy curries.
other, positive developments have taken place in memorials Sukarno to Ende. Since receiving funds from Yayasan Bung Karno in collaboration with the government Ende regency, Immaculata building is currently under renovation. During my visit in December 2013, the building was heavily damaged and infested with wild vines.
This year, production of Universitas Flores Dr. Sjaitan to be made in a small tent in the streets outside Immaculata Building. The production was performed in honor of the 102nd anniversary of Sukarno and then attended Vice President Boediono. "We look forward to playing in the new building Immaculata in the future and see the memorials Sukarno better supported," said Bali.
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