THE PORTRAIT OF WEST KALIMANTAN INDONESIA IN LATEST 5 YEARS

By Yohanes Supriyadi

Background
The province inhabited by plural communities, in latest 5 years has the quality of human resources under the national average. In 2002, Human Development Index only reached 62,9 (National: 62,8). The development in public health is still low comparing to national average, although it has shown a significant increase. The data of 2000 and 2003 show: life age expectation is 64,3 years (National: 67,9), infant’s mortality rate: 50 per 1000 births, (National: 44 per 1000), while the nutrient status of children under five years that is still bad, is high enough that is 14% (National:9%).

In education field, West Kalimantan, so far is still under the National average. In 2003, the average of time length for schooling of about 15 years, reached 6,03 years (National:7,1 years). Participation rate of schooling for 7-12 years old was 92,05% (National:96,42%), while the drop-out rate increased from 1,315% in 2002, to 2,12% in 2003. According to the data of the same years, West Kalimantan reached the rate of pure participation of elementary school, 88,89 (National: 92,55), Junior High School, 50,88 (Natinal:63,49), Senior High School, 29,11 (National:40,56), College, 5,15 (National:8,55). While the percentage of illiterate people above 10 years old is 10,91%, (National:9,07%) and of those who do not go to school is 11,1% (National:8,50%).

In population field, the population growth decreased from 2,65% in 1980-1990 period into 1,53% in 19990-2000 period. This is not ideal for West Kalimantan that has a population of 3.993.580 inhabitants (2003) to live in a region of 146.807 square kilometers. The population growth decreases and the economic growth is still low. In 1996-2002 the economic growth was only 3,30% per year and generaly it was pushed by the people’s consumption, investment in the permanent capital, goods export and service.

In 2003, the percentage of open unemployment was 8,8% or 165.000 persons. (In 2002, 155.000 persons or 8,57%) The persentage of poor people was 14,79% and now it tends to rise.

In this country, act number 32/2004 motivates ethnic awareness strongly that leads to the emergence of ethnic nationalism (Alqadrie,2003). The emerging ethnic awareness was modificated by the authoritative political elites by “dividing” the West Kalimantan area into regency/city areas which directly or indirectly has divided this province based on the ethnic groups. This condition was worsened by the implementation of direct vote in electing the local heads (PILKADA) in 2005. the political violence happened among the teenagers. Thousands of students, from Elementary Schools’ till High Schools’ students were involved in the riots among the supporters of the candidates. They were mobilized by the political elites and their parents to participate in the campaignes which were going on, whereas those under 18 years old were considered children as stated in act number 20,2004 about the protection of children.


High Criminal Rate
In the latest five years, West Kalimantan has been the threathened by the increase of criminal rate. The severance of working relation (PHK) in wood industry, the control of on illegal loging resulted in unemployment. Then the criminal cases (such as robbery, motorcycle plundering) increased more than twice. Based on the city police’s data, in 2003, the robbing cases reported to the police were only 40 cases, while in 2004, they increased into 77 cases,and in 2005, it was reported that the cases dramatically increased to 222 cases and in 2006 up to April, there were already 116 cases. (AP Post, Saturday, April 29th, 2006)

Collective violent actions by the youths increasingly happened from year to year in West Kalimantan. The fights among students did not only happen in the cities, but also in the villages. In 2004, there were 34 students’ fights cases and in 2005 they increased to 56 cases. The causes of the fights were usually personal problems (the fight over girls: 12 cases, sport competition: 12 cases, prestige acknowledgement: 21 cases, and the impact of the school initiation: 6 cases, and the rest due to alcoholic areas: (AP Post, January 27th, 2006)

Gender- Based Violence
The victims of gender-based violence in West Kalimantan lately have been increasingly high, so that they need serious attention from various competent sides. The victims generally consist of urban society members, housewives, factory’s workers and women farmhand. The causes could not be generalized, perhaps due to economic burden and many resulted restricts women’s movement and their ways of dressing including the patriachal culture that place men in higher position. The violence at home still happens up till now. The victims are usually women and children. Because of the arbitrary and unfair action, there are many victims suffer from phsycal and mental disturbance. From many cases happening in Singbebas (Singkawang, Bengkayang and Sambas) Sambas Regency gets the highest position, then followed by Bengkayang and Singkawang (AP Post, Saturday, June 24th, 2006).

West Kalimantan also is being overhelmed by the “trend” of adultery and violation cases, whose victims are young women, particularly in Sambas Regency. In the latest 2 month, in a sub-district there happened 3 cases. Based on the latest cases, there were some causes of the cases. Among others, were pornographic movie, free sex, the weakness of faith and piety and loose control of their parents. (AP Post, Friday, September 22th, 2006). Besides, it is easy to get pornographic VCD, stencilized books and the access of Internet without protection. These are considered as the causes of the “cultural trend”.

The Increase of HIV/AIDS Victims
HIV/AIDS in West Kalimantan has become an epidemic at present HIV epidemic is still concentrated with the low spreading level in general population, but high in certain populations. The threat of their epidemic can be seen through the data of HIV infection that continue to rise, particularly among the groups with high risk in some districts in West Kalimantan.

¬Proverty and Morality
The state of morality correlates with poverty, where criminal cases tend to be high because of the poverty. Iqbal (2004) noted that the high rate of crime in 1999-2005 was caused by unstability in family life in the society, where the deforce rate increased, a family with a single-parent that became a trend, love and inimate relationship in a marriage that decreased. Moreover, according to Iqbal, the crime did not only correlate with poverty, but also with prejudice, poor housing conditon, lack of education, lack of food and healthy sanitation, and poor family environment even having no family at all.

THE TRENDS
Our assistance process in 2 years shows interesting phenomena. Modernization and globalization, signed with the implementation of technology and information has changed people’s life style. One of the growing lifestyle is an instant life style. People tends to simplify their lives or striving ease of life. People try to minimize the difficulties in various dimensions and level of life. The development in science and technology makes many things to happen. In fact, what they are doing are natural and legal, but, for the youths, these things trap them (without being concious) in a situation or life experience that can spoil them to live in an easy life. They can not face or are not accustomed to difficult reality, whereas, life is not always easy, it demands struggle.

Being trapped in the situation. Like this, makes the youths alien to reality of life. They are quite accustomed to something easy, not difficult. On the otherhand, their alien situation paralyses the youths, so that they can not make a certain attitude toward the development of life situation which is happening. They tend to go with the follow in life.

The condition above was supported by the result of research done by some NGOs in West Kalimantan some time ago. Another problem that influenced the methods of teaching at schools was the educational system in Indonesia. The system used did not base itself on value education (Bahari.S, 2005). The lessons at schools were only about modern sciences, while the local knowledge based on the wise culture toward fellow human beings and the environment was not considered at all. The changes the students got from the school made them really confused. The result was the moral degradation in the children’s and youths’ communities. Many of them did not use or respect the wisdom of customs and traditions inherited by ancestors in their daily lives.

Besides, the experience of the long conflict among ethnics groups also influences the youths in West Kalimantan very much. They experienced by themselves, how the interests among the people collided each other, and customary laws, negotiations, and peace efforts were made to settle the conflicts. But when the efforts failed, the struggle continued by using the violent actions, especially those concerning the desputes on the vital needs in life, such as the access to the land, forest and other natural resources, as the important part of their environment.
Ironically, when people did violent actions in conflict resolution, their demands were more often fulfilled companying to using the peaceful ways and negotiations(Krist,2005). This cunduction motivated the children and the youths chose violence actions as the ways to overcome every problem the faced. Therefore, cultural violence as we know, lately increased accompanied by the use of symbols that adhered to the image of head hunters. This was the manifestation of frustrated feeling that was very strong but failed to be understood by the rulling regime, or got the wrong response.

However, we can not blame the youths merely on the situation. The youths were in the situations that conditioned them to behave and to act in certain ways. The first condition was social-economic situation in which money became determining factor or everything. Money has become “New God”. Everything in life was valued and appreciated by the amount of money spent for it. Therefore, life become very materialistic. Values in life, including faith value, decreased and lost its influence in every aspect of life.

People did not hold on to the moral values, but they always asked, “ how much money have I to pay?” So, it was not surprising that corruption, collusion and nepotism happened everywhere. Money was shackling everything; it became the reason, means and purpose of living. We agree that money is important, but it is only the means for doing or achieving something else. But in the latest time, when people talken about values in life, it was as if they talked about nonsese.

The second condition is the socio-political situation in which communalism happened everywhere. What we mean by communalism is the situation in which people do not concern about common necessity, but only about their own group’s. The thinking pattern like this eneourages and trap people in individualism. Common necessity is not a hope that must be struggled for, but becomes a dream with no end. One does not care about others’ necessity, as long as my group is weathy; as long as my group wins; as long as my group is happy. “why should I think about it.” Is an expression that often reflects this inner attitude.

The third condition is the sosio-cultural situation in which the violence become more structuralized. This condition is the end of the first and the second conditions. Feeling of respect toward others and reality in life (nature and environ ment) gradually lost. When it is considered to prevent from doing something, it must be put away, or distroyed if necessary. On the other hand, of something is wanted to selp, it will be aquired in any way, without considering the necesity of others. So the killing toward fellow human beings, the destructing of foresh and the exploiting of natural resorces happen here and there. So, the purpose permits any way, including violence way. The violence becomes the only choice when facing anything or anybody.

So the yourths in West Kalimantan live in there kinds of condition that push them down and influence each other. Basically, they make the youths feel strange to themselves, to then families, to their communities, and at the and, to their god.



PEOPLE’S INITIATIVE FOR DEVELOPING
This program is done as the continuation of the series of facilitation of Cooperation Program of YPPN with Cordaid in the latest 2 years (January 2005 to December 2006). Trerefore, the program will be done integrally and involves the initiative of education community groups. It is meant to avoid people’s “ demoralization” at school institution, since West Kalimantan is priority place for managing the conflicts.

There are three districts that have been made project basis for developing learning process in preparing social aspect of conflict management in peaceful ways done by the youths assisted by YPPN in 2 years (January 2005-December 2006), they are: Pontianak Regency, Landak Regency and Bengkayang Regency. Bat based on the suggestion and recommendation of the people in the workshop on strategic planning and program on 2 to 4 of October 2006, in the period of 3 years to conie (January 2007-December 2009), besides strengthening project basis in the 3 regencies, we also will enlarge the project basis on other 2 regency areas, i.e.. Sambas Regency and Singkawang City.

The enlargement of program area terget is based on the consideration of the lesson of creativity and the care about learning enivironment showed by 30 schools in these there regencies that are important and neccessary for the common learning material, especially within the scope of surrounding communities as well as the communities of the other schools in the scope of West Kalimantan

We found out that during the program time, the youths in the 30 schools showed that the need of freshness of the environment of learning could be fulfilled by investigating the use of learning result, at schools as well as in the society. Together with this, they also showed the pactiee of living together harmoniously. Besides, the effort of good experience disseminating could be used as the way to build larger awareness, and at the same time showing another interesting aspect in supporting peace culture through productive, activity with the high perception of nationality.

The practices are in line within the global trend supported by various international organizations, the ones organized by the government, as well as those organized by NGOs, or the institutions under UNO. One of the organizations is Cordaid that develops its missions, by (one of them) developing peace and increasing the capacity for conflict transformation. Through Peace Building Program offered in Indonesia, Cordaid’s missions closely relates to the initiative that has been developed by the youths’ groups that have been mentioned previously, particularly in three important aspects, namely gender, conflict resolutions, anti-violence promotion.

In developing the program in gender aspect, the assisted youths have shown the clear educational abjectives, namely to make use of space for the emergence of initativess of young girls and boys to make mutual interaction. It has also been shown there are sosial pre-condetions that have been fulfilled, among others are:
(1) Students’ institutions that are special organizations built through the students’ meetings to manage the organizations based on their agreements.
(2) There are norms, values or rules as the basis for developing the organizations’ regulations for gender education and anti-violence continously and
(3) There is a clear description among the teachers about the education model, without considering the legal acknowledgement from the government.

School as an Entry Point
School is an institutations that has an important duty, not just as place for increasing information control and technology mastery, it also has a duty in building the students’ capacity in responsibility and in decision making that is wise in their life.Goverment schools must become the main motivators in free public education, wher the education must be universal, does not take side (non sectarian), and free. As the mani objectives of citizenskip policy (civic virtue) and to creatc the men of character, so it is obviously that education is not for certain groups only (sectarian ends). The falure of moral resoning and values clarification approaches with the resuct that can be felt in social demoralization in 1990’s era han made the anti-climax in moral education in West Kalimantan .
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Based on this reality, on 18 to 20 of September 2005, YPPNs some experts in education, youths’ leaders and ethics scholars who had concern on the condition met in a meeting named Workshop on Strategic Planning and Programming in Wisma PSE, Pontianak and they produced some recommendation as follows. (1) The conviction that the next generation is a decicive factor social, national and state’s lives, therefore the sociaty needs good citizens (caring citizenry) with good-moral characteristics. (2) They also believe that a person does not automatically have good-moral characteristics, so that it is neecessary to think about the efforts to teach the characteristics effectively. (effective character education) (3) The moral education system does not think about whose values that should be taught to the students, but it is neccessary to think about what values that should be taught to the students. (what values should we teach?) (4) Seing from the poin of view of educational method we still see some weakness, because the method being used is concentrated on the left brains/cognitive approach, that only demands the students to know and to memorize (memorization) the concepts and the truths without touching the feeling, emotion and one’s inner self. (5) Besides, the practices of attitude and the implementation of values of goodness and noble character are not done at schools. This is a methodological-basic error in moral education for humans. There fore, it is not surprising if we find a lot of inconsistency between what they get from the schools, and what the studnts practice outside the schools. In this case, the role of parents in education to form the children’s characterstics (read:morale) is absolutety important, since through the parents the children obtain the continuity of values of goodness they already know at schools. And (6) Without the involvement of parents and family, no mather how good the values taught at schools, they will be useless, because the character education (or “akhlak” in Islam) must contain the elements of affection, feeling, inner touch, and the practice (at the same time) in the form of application in avery everyday life.

This program is designed to be implementad based on some basic assumptions, as follows: (1) The trend of violent action increased in the sociely in West Kalimantan lately. It was triggered off by the struggle to obtain an access to natural resource and to local politics, the moral decrease in social association the violence in family, and the spreading of epidemic disease of HIV/AIDS. Now we can see in the middle of globalizatioan and modernization current the violent actions can easily found in information and communication media. The actions return the stigma of racial violence in the past so that it can be a traumatic experience for the children and teenagers which is indicated by: The increase of violence actions, suchas gang fights among the students, The use of “dirty words” in conversation, The negative influence of one group towerd others among the “peen groups”, The attitude or actions of self-destruction such as drinking alcoholic drink, smoking, Free sex and drug addiction, The moral standard begin to fade, replace by superficial “friendship” morality, The decrease of work ethies, such as being lazy in doing the homework, assignments, etc, The decrease of respect attitude towards the parents, or the elders, The attitude of irresponsibility increases, The unfair or dishonest attitude, such as cheating and telling lies to the parents increase. (Megawangi, 2002). (2) The tend to force the practice of the aducation system by the government through The Regulation of National Education System, makes the models of alteanative education that give apportunity to local-based curriculum, unable to accommodate. Most of the subjects are about science knowledge, white the ethics and morals are disregarded. As the result, the social-cultural defence is getting weaker, and the crisis on wisdon in social life increases, while the new values have not been consolidated yes. We can say that the process of transition and transmission of values and attitude are happening in West Kalimantan. The growing of liberal spirit, has pushed permissive attitude (everything is permissible) opportunism, and “now and have” attitude that can shake the foundations of social life. (3) Gender uneguality can ke found in all sectors of life, such as in job field, occupation field in the siciety. The uneguality is due to unegual background in education. Because the women have a lower education level than the men, the women can not get bigger role in society: There fore the opportinity in education should be opened widely and the promotion of gender eguality must be made. The efforts for achieving gender edguality must be stanted by making eguality in education between male and famele students, so that in the futme both of tham will have the same oppartunity in all fields in life.

It the condition above are not emmediately anticipated orprevented they make the communities in West Kalimantan sick. A future society who loves and civilizes violence in the actions and who now is being infected by HIV/AIDS’s virus, is just waiting for the extinction, due to the conflicts or the virus infection of HIV/AIDS. The latest studies show that the children in the eculy age have been suffering chronically; they are sensitive to some kinds of sickness, they don’t have social-emotional sensitivity, having strong tendency to avoid responsibility, having a weak control over aggressive action, having week moral commitment, having unsound perception about god. Therefore, the program is aimed at contributing to the creating of peace culture and helthy culture (without HIV/AIDS infection in West kalimantan in the future. The program activity starts by facilitating the children and the youths and it is expected can disseminate the two kind of culture above among West Kalimantan poeple who are multi-ethnic and multi-religious through formal and non formal education.


APPROACH, METHODOLOGY AND PHASING PROCESS.
Based on our experience and the evaluation result of the program implementation in 2 years, the approach will be used in this program is by using:
1. Cultural integration, that is to integrate various culture and groups of the participants (students) to illustrate basic concept, generalization and the theories in the subjects at schools.
2. The process of idea construction, that is bringing on the students to undersand the cultural implication in the subjech at school.
3. The freedom in presenting, that is to adjust the teaching method to the students’ way of learning in order to facilitate their academic achievement considering their variety in race, culture and social groups.
4. Understanding, that is by identifying the original ethnic characteristics of the students and deciding the teaching method for them.
5. Directed training, by training the students to participate in any activity at school, such as spport activity together with all organizer and other students who are defferent in ethnic groups, in order to build academic culture.

In practice, these approaches will focus on fulfilling the subjects, such as, tolerance; theme desiging about ethnic-cultural and religious differences; the awareness of discrimination danger; conflict resolution and mediation; Human Rights; democracy and pluralism; universal humanism; and other relevant subjects.

The implementation of the appraches that will he used by the program, consists of, (1) Self-tranformation; (2) schools’ transformation and the teaching learning process; (3) society’s transformation, in this condition it is directed to anti-violence education as a part of tolerant and free education for the society in the future.

These can be achieve by the fulfilment of the students’ ability particularly in having the ability in:
1. Self-Confidence
2. Self-control
3. Coorperation
4. Socialization
5. Concentration
6. Empathy and
7. Communication


This method reguires cicled and adaptable process, starting with the discussions among the youths, following the informal way, the participants are, familiar with each other and free to talk. In short, it adjust to the eirclus of everyday activities of the youths.
 The discussion is meant to find aut the relevant experiences of the youths, the stagnation and the degradation experienced by the people, and the violence models that influence the people life, especially in educational system and media life.
 The discussion is expected to show alternative way to increase the youths’ awareness, that can be used as hearning models.
 By mapping the relevance and the alternatives mentioned about, it can be used as stimulus for the youths to do creative active and to develop their axperiences in a larger scope in society.
 The actions that have been done should be refleeted, to see whether they are in line with the basic alsumption stated before.
 The refleetion should give input for the next actions, for the sake of correction, revision, and new actions.

CLOSSING
We think that many efforts to avoid violence action in plural communities of West kalimantan will fail if we do not strart with anti-violence aducation to the students when they are still youg. We expect that this kind of education will train the children solve their problems effectively and peaccfully (without violence) and when they become adults they will be able able to do the same things in the same way, even concerning the bigger and the more conplicated problems in the wider community scope. The point is, the program idea is based on the consideration that children can learn and participate in solving violence action and discrimination among plural people of West kalimantan, and then they can implement the local values for the sake of peace building in West kalimantan in the future.

Besides, the above condction is supported by the existence of the youths’ organizations at schools, that make it stronger and wider, so that it will strengthen the continuation of this program. Besides, the tendency of local autonomy that get stronger and stronger can be use ful for the schools to find out alternative education models. We also belive that the good relationship among students’ organization, including with NGOs is very important for the efforts to build peaceful and heathy communities in West kalimantan in the future. Based on some assumption above, there can be some possibilities, such as:
1. Cantent integration: that integrating various cultures and groups in order to illustrate basic conception, generalization and the theories in the subjects at schools.
2. The knowledge construction process, that is to bring the studenst to implement the cultural concepts into the subjects at schools.
3. An Eguity Paedagogy, that is to adjust the teaching methods to the students, ways of learning in facilitating the students by considering their variety in race, culture, social group.
4. Prejudice Reduction, that is identifying ethnic and religious characteristics of the students to determine the teaching method for them.
5. To train the students to participate in every activity at schools, in oder to interact well among themselves, who are different in ethnic groups, religions, rtc. in order to build academic culture.


Writer; Chairman of Palma Institute in West Borneo Indonesia

Posted in: Konflik dan Pluralisme