Indonesian Riots of 1997: Like

Indonesian Riots of 1997: Like a phoenix, a living spirit and hope arises from the ashes

Once, I was innocent. Before the riots, I never knew anything but kindness, a sense of brotherhood, and a desire for peace. Then my world was suddenly and abruptly shattered in 1997, the year in which my nation of Indonesia was gripped with a series of seismic shocks, deadly riots that temporarily destroyed my belief in human good.

I had never contemplated the potential for such brutality and violence within the human soul. For the first time I saw the ability of people to hate one another for no reason. I saw people take advantage of the politically unstable political situation, gleefully ransacking the city, forgetting even why they were rioting in the first place, and simply delighting in getting lost in the madness of the crowds. The riots left a scar upon my heart that has never entirely healed.

But out of the ashes and hurt, I try to draw strength and insight. I have tried to make the memories of the riots a positive motivating force in my life, rather than to embitter me. I cannot change the past and must accept what has happened in the past, and learn how to change others from my experience, rather than to mirror the hate I saw in my own life. Turning negative energy into something positive and productive is the challenge for everyone who lived through that time.