Stories of Ordinary People
Figures like Nanoq, Dicky and Shuman have paved the way for ordinary people to become writers. Thanks to them, the voices that had been buried in silence for so long could be heard.
Children in North Mollo, South Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara, attend a creative writing class organized by Lakoat.Kujawas.
The emergence of literary communities in various parts of the country has opened up the gates for everyone to tell their stories. Among them are migrant workers who are miserable, villagers who want to share stories of their lives, as well as literacy and literary activists who want to empower residents. Through literature, they speak out loud.
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A decade ago, Nasmawati Nahar (37) could only have hallucinations to publish stories that she wrote based on her experiences as a migrant worker who had become a victim of violence. However, she had absolutely no idea how. The ray of light began to appear when the "miracle" of social media technology slowly connected her with the literary community network in her village, Polewali Mandar regency, West Sulawesi, in 2016.
"I looked for writers on social media. I tried to get to know them and ask for help publishing my book, until finally I was able to contact Syuman Saeha in 2016. At first he didn't want to, maybe he thought I was just joking because I'm a TKW [domestic migrant worker],” said Nas by telephone from Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Thursday (3/3/2022). Syuman Saeha is a writer and theater activist based in Polewali Mandar.
In 2018, Nas again contacted Shuman, who was curious and wanted to read Nas' novel script first. After reading it, he agreed to help with the publication of a novel titled Aku Tak Pernah Perawan (I Have Never Been Virgin) in 2019. The novel is about a girl who was raped when she was 9 years old and was traumatized for life.
However, for the rest of her life she was also blamed. "That's too long. Through this novel that made me very emotional, I wanted to open the eyes of many people to the suffering of rape victims,” said Nas in a trembling voice.
Children read books at the Lakoat.Kujawas library in Taiftob Village, North Mollo, South Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara.
After that, she published a book again—still with the help of Syuman—containing a collection of short stories entitled Rantai di Jalan Rantau (Chain in Rantau Street). This book tells the true story of migrant workers who suffer as a result of many things, including being victims of sexual violence, extortion and oppression by migrant worker recruitment agents and state apparatus.
They don't care about what we go through and feel. We suffer. They are often ridiculed and abused by their employers.
“We TKW are only seen as a tool to earn foreign exchange, the tool of agents and unscrupulous officers to make money, a tool to raise the family's standard of living in the village. They don't care about what we go through and feel. We suffer. They are often ridiculed and abused by their employers,” said Nas,
who has worked as a TKW since 2009 and so far has worked as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Community blessing
Communities such as the one Nas participated in became an important venue for the literary ecosystem in various remote areas, especially in providing a stimulus for its members to explore unrest, and then turn it into literary creativity.
The atmosphere of a poetry musicalization workshop conducted by Lakoat.Kujawas children in North Mollo, South Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara.
It is also reflected in Lakoat.Kujawas, a literary community in North Mollo, South Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara. This community initially came from a small library that was established in 2016, then became a literary community joined by hundreds of villagers. The reality of the disappearance of social identity, such as the ignorance of young people about the history and culture of Mollo, prompted the founder of this community, Dicky Senda, to move more strategically through the path of art and culture, which includes literature.
Lakoat.Kujawas embraces churches, schools, traditional elders and community groups to create a literary ecosystem. Dicky opens a writing class for children or a writing project that involves adults in the surrounding villages.
Lakoat. Kujawas has produced at least five books thanks to that movement. Some short stories were even requested by provincial government agencies to be translated into other local languages, such as Alor, Rote, Tetun and Dawan languages.
Dicky said Lakoat.Kujawas was also active in campaigning for its literary and cultural activities as well as uploading them on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.
In the To the Lighthouse project, for example, Lakoat.Kujawas collaborated with children from St. Yoseph Freinademetz Middle School. They produced an anthology of fairy tales from Kap Na'm To Fena; the poetry book Tubuhku Batu (My Body is Rock), Rumahku Bulan (My House is the Moon); and a collection of fairy tales from Nunuh Haumeni. Dicky said Lakoat.Kujawas was also active in campaigning for its literary and cultural activities as well as uploading them on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.
Children in the Lakoat.Kujawas community perform traditional dances from Timor, East Nusa Tenggara.
Meanwhile in Bali, writer Nanoq da Kansas (55) has since 2012 run the Bali Kauh publication in Moding village, Melaya district, Jembrana. Located 15 kilometers from the city of Negara, the indie publication has published nine books, including two by Nanoq and one by director Ibed Langitna Yuga.
According to Nanoq, Bali Kauh publication was established to provide access for young people in Jembrana to publish books. "Now anyone can write books, young people, farmers, even women in the village," said Nanoq, Tuesday (1/3), from Moding village.
In addition to publishing, Nanoq formed the Dusun Senja community in Moding village, which accommodates the expression of young people in the village. He, for example, established a library with books donated from various institutions. For him, reading from books is very important at this time to "brake" the invasion of digital "garbage" that enters every second on the gadgets of teenagers, including teenagers in the village.
Figures like Nanoq, Dicky and Shuman have paved the way for ordinary people to become writers. Thanks to them, the voices that had been buried in silence for so long could be heard.
Nas, for example, initially did not know about literature at all. The woman who graduated from junior high school and is now a migrant worker acknowledged that since she was young, she enjoyed expressing her emotional turmoil through writing. She carried this habit with her when she worked as a migrant worker.
The founder of Lakoat.Kujawas, Dicky Senda (left), smiling with the children.
“I always ask my employer for a blank book. During my breaks, which sometimes only lasted four hours a day, I spilled my stories in the form of literary stories. Later, I realized that literature is a gateway for me to tell stories and speak out,” said Nas.
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)
