From the Mother Language, Afterwards the National Language, and finally the International Language

“Could Our Generation Stand on Mother Language from the Effects of Globalization?”


By: Vitalis Goo

From many elements of the culture, language is one of the important culture’s elements. Because the language is the implement or the realization of the culture that is used by people to communicate or be connected to each other, even through the article, oral, nor the movement (the sign language), with the aim of sending the heart intention to their interlocutor. Through the language, people could adjust to the customs and traditions, the behavior, the community's etiquette, and at the same time easy to mix themselves with all community elements.
The language has several functions that could be divided into the public function and the special function. The function of the language generally are as the implement to express, communicate, and the implement to hold the integration and the social adaptation. Whereas the function of the language specially are to establish relations in the everyday conversation, brought about art (literature), study the old texts, and to exploit science and technology, (quoted from the internet http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/the Culture).
After seeing the meaning and the function of the language above, then we must reconsider the process of the language development that postscript initially used the mother tongue each available ethnic group all over the world. This is very close with reticent connection of an ethnic group against the outside world and didn’t have people, who carried out the adventure to the outside world. Basically at that time, people didn’t know the development in the field of “Triple T” (Transportation, Telecommunication, and Technology) it was not like at this time that felt by us. So as everywhere still used their mother language was their respective and very thick with their culture.
Day by day people experienced any progresses, on way of thinking, the behavior and the action of creating something that new (new thing). From here, people began to explore the earth, and finally found the other ethnic groups outside there and formed one country based on the agreement, the equality histories, the entity (unity), the ethnic group, the subjugation, etc. Then they agreed and determined the national language was based on the very long struggle process. For example, America recently has the national language only after May 18, 2006. Beforehand the USA didn't have the national language. The USA has it about 230 years after independent. The struggle to made English, as their national language wasn’t easy. In the voting of quite a few members of the Senate that wanted another thing: the complexity of the language also like the complexity of ethnicity in the country. In the USA indeed there are people from various ethnicities. They also used various languages there. It is not surprising when emerging the national anthem in Spain. In 1981 was the early to struggle English to be national language of the USA.
In spite of that, the Indonesian emergence its personally not suddenly. Initially the traders in Indonesian Archipelago ports used the Malay language to communicate. Jakarta, Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Manado, Makassar, Ternate, and Ambon were the place port of the trader stopped over. They’re developing the language withered with the local special characteristics: the Betawi language (Jakarta), the Manado language (Manado), the Banjar language (Banjarmasin), withered Makassar (Makassar), and the language withered Ambon (Ambon). However, on the other side of the national language invited the most foreign feeling and not more comfortable it seems, if we are gathering and suddenly had the person that felt more glad discussing with the other colleague used the mother language. Possibly had certain matters that better to be discussed with the mother language, that possibly no more just right if being heard.
Now, emerge a question is, could our generation maintain the mother language or the mother tongue in the middle of the noisiness of the globalization? This is the main matter that ought to be thought by us at this time, if we will bequeath the mother language, how far we for ourselves know and charge it. Because according to my observation, in fact some of us know that most young Papuans who had domiciled at the city territories, where the life of city community that experienced the mixture of the culture from various available ethnic groups in Indonesia. So, want or not the environmental situation around them will be affected their children that generally used the national language, namely Indonesian as the communications equipment in daily conversation on their life. So unintentionally, their children won't use their mother language personally. It’s happened, because of their parents didn’t realize yet how importance is it.
If many people of our generation were tossed about helplessly towards the nationalization of Indonesian, our children or the next generation will forget it and completely in fact, they will forget their national language and will be used international language. That’s why we could raise a predictive question, is if the national language (Indonesian) became the source of destroyed mother language, would the international language namely English become the next turn? Definitely it would like that. I think the people who don't know, even mastered their mother language are as if a foreigner that just meet the community's group that beforehand had known by him or her.
Finally, I stressed that anyone who don't know their mother language, as well as mastered it necessarily returned to their habitat, it’s meaning that they must study their mother language to their friends who often used it, but how nice if they necessarily entered to the village because in there still keep by the culture – in the matter of the language – although experiencing their development and the changes in the language from their authenticity. And we are who know and often used it must be control it and learn more. Who else if our generations don't begin it?


I HOPE SO!!!

Human Rights for West Papua

Evil Mining Company Screws the Natives

Filmmaker Craig Harris and exiled journalist Octovianus Mote

Freeport-McMoRan Corp is destroying the Papuan rainforest

West Papua: Free to Choose

I just saw a no-budget, 20-minute documentary about the human rights struggle in West Papua (formerly western New Guinea - now annexed by Indonesia). The story was so damned compelling that it kicked this writer’s butt enough to start writing Congressmen - as well as writing YOU, my dear Buzzine readers (and please read this article if nothing else).

When New Guinea (the world’s second-largest island - located north of Australia) gained its independence from the Dutch, neighboring Indonesia moved right in with a classic “screw the natives” land grab. The other villain is American-based mega-mining company, the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Corporation, which, in collusion with oppressive military police, operates a humongous land-stripping and utterly polluting cash machine, with barely pennies going to the very people whose land they ruin. It’s obscene.

Filmmaker Craig Harris, a carpenter by trade and passionate human rights activist, keeps the candle burning with this film-in-progress, as he is attempting to go back to West Papua and film some more. Helping him and the subject of our following interview is Octovianus Mote, Papuan human rights activist, respected journalist in his homeland, and visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities, who now lives in exile in the USA - supporting his family with odd jobs at gas stations and delivering pizza, while trying to finish a book to promote social justice for his people.

Richard Elfman: Tell us a little about your background.

Octovianus Mote: I am a journalist and activist from (West) Papua, Indonesia, now residing in the United States. In 1998, I was appointed by the government of Indonesia as a mediator in the national dialogue on Papua between representatives of West Papuan people and the Indonesian government. Following a meeting with West Papuans and the president of Indonesia in 1999, I was blacklisted and denied the right to travel outside Indonesia. Nevertheless, I came to the United States and have held appointments as a visiting fellow at Cornell and Yale Universities.

RE: Can you give us a brief history of the situation in West Papua?

OM: Indonesia maintains control over West Papua, using military might to deny indigenous people human rights and to quell their demands for self-determination. Since the invasion in 1963, an estimated 100,000 Papuans have been killed by Indonesian armed forces and militias:

Papua is rich in natural resources, including natural gas, oil, minerals, and rainforests. The Indonesian government relies on the taxes from foreign sponsored extraction industries which are devastating the environment and that return few or no benefits back to the Papuan people. The military is directly involved, engaging in illegal logging and acting as security teams for mining companies. Papua is now home to the highest concentration of illegal logging operations in Asia. Widespread logging and mining have a serious impact on the livelihood and traditions of the Papuan people, who rely on the land for survival. Traditional land is continually being cleared, which has created conflict amongst the indigenous people, foreign companies, and Indonesian security forces.

USA-based freeport McMoRan is operating in the world’s largest gold and copper mine in the mountainous home of the Amungme indigenous people, who have always opposed their presence. Freeport pays the Indonesian military $5 million per month to maintain security at the mine. These armed forces and militia groups regularly use torture, extra-judicial killings, and forced detention to block Papuans from protecting their traditional lands and expressing their rights to self-determination. According to Yale University and University of Sydney, West Papua is one of ten nations in world that is facing the possibility of the extinction of its indigenous people if there is no international intervention.

RE: What happened that caused you to flee West Papua?

OM: My neighbor and close relative, Obeth Badii, was found dead in a police office. A couple of days earlier, Obeth warned me about some people looking for me. Military persons had been following me around–although I was guarded by Papuan people day and night, I no longer had freedom to work as a journalist.

RE: Is it difficult, living in exile?

OM: On the positive side, for myself and my family, I have security. My children can go to school without any problems. If I were in Papua, my family and I would be threatened. Having political asylum gives me the opportunity to continue in my human rights work, where I can speak and meet freely. Also, since I have had political asylum, I have had the privilege of being affiliated with Cornell and Yale Univeresities, working with important anthropologists and Indonesian experts. Also, I have greater access to influential people in the US. For instance, I meet with US Congressional people, to whom I give data about Papua.

The negative side of having political asylum is that I feel distant from people, Where in the past, as a journalist, I had close connections to my people, now I have to, in part, rely on other people’s reports. Furthermore, there’s an issue with funding. Back home, I had no problems with funding my work, because I had a consistent job as a journalist. I could give full attention to my work as a journalist and human rights advocate. Additionally, I cannot finish my work (on the genocide project and my book, as well as my lobbying activity) because I have to work - e.g., in a gas station, delivering pizza, and transporting medical specimens. This takes up a lot of my time, but I have to keep my family fed.

RE: What can people - Americans and others - do to help the situation?

1. Call your representatives (Senate and House) to support this issue.
2. Lobby the US government to pressure Indonesian government and military to stop their brutallity in Papua.
3. Lobby US government to bring this case back to UN as part of moral responsibility.
4. Make this issue into international radar through variety of media.

My greatest hope is that the world will recognize West Papua and support the Papuan people so they can live on their land peacefully.

For details and up date, see also: www.freewestpapua.org.