I was with IKOHI, a national association of victims of human rights violation, and AFAD, an Asian federation of organizations working directly on issues of enforced disappearances, and later with INFID, as Program Director. Currently, I work as an Advisor at the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia (KSP). I can be reached at mugiyanto@gmail.com.
Monday, May 30, 2011
From the Liu Institute of the UBC, Vancouver
From beautiful complex of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, during the two-day workshop on Historical Memory, I found interesting encounters;
"You are so lucky that you can still use your local dialect to express your feeling and thought. We lost mine, and forced to speak the language of the alien, English, French or Spanish..." The First Nations representative at the workshop shares with us their concern on the fact that their culture as an Aboriginal peoples of Canada has been eliminated.
A woman colleague from South Africa said to me, "TRC is still very far from successful. There are still so many unfinished businesses. More problems even more worrying than during the Apartheid regime". I believe this statement as very valid. She is working on the historical archives during and after the Apartheid.
In the morning of May 26, I congratulated a Croat colleague for the arrest of Bosnian Serbia war criminal Ratko Mladic. She said, "Yes Mugi, I am very happy today. Our long struggles achieved one of their objective. Justice will prevail!"
Well, more than that, I was able to walk through the UBC campus, crossing North West Drive into the Trail 6 of the Wreck Beach. It was about to sunset and day turned dark. The end of Spring is just like its beginning, freezing. I did not really see the nude beach (where clothing is optional) in detail. But from a distance, in the darkness, I saw a girl posing under the camera blitz..
The other good thing, however is that I was able to enjoy the beautiful Stanley Park at downtown Vancouver, and see the Beluga at the Vancouver Aquarium!
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