Educate Indonesian Youth to Live Without Prejudice

Dear supporters of peace,

When the Pluralism Trail 2017 came to its last day, we saw an obvious challenge right away: how to maintain the bonding we had built during our 4 days and nights together? How to keep these good young people networked and motivated to spread the message of tolerance to wider audience? Through a lively discussion, all participants agreed to start a campaign titled PLURAL(is)ME.

This campaign invites anyone who has experiences or reflections about diversity, tolerance, multiculturalism or pluralism to write about and share them through a common platform, i.e. the Medium. The participants of the Lasem Pluralism Trail 2017 pioneered by writing any wisdom gleaned from their journey. We also invited participants of previous Trail to write there, too. Many interesting stories came up. And we hope more will.

You can visit and read the articles here, but please take note that all are written in Indonesian language: https://medium.com/plural-is-me

One of Indonesian literary giants, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, said that writing is like working for the sake of eternity; anything that is not written is doomed to be forgotten. We hope that our stories and reflections written in the PLURAL(is)ME campaign will have a share in that eternity, expanding the message of tolerance to all who read them, so that instead of being forgotten, more people will join our cause.

Links:

• "This is the reality of pluralism in Lasem" by Maria.
• "How diversity is represented architecturally" by Juli.
• "Temple Cu An Kiong and a dark history of intolerance" by Arief

Dear generous donors,

Thanks to you, ten young people from different islands of Indonesia can learn together about how to live with differences but without prejudice in Lasem last October 12-15, 2017. The journey is fun as well as inspiring. They visit historical and cultural places, meet local figures and listening to their personal stories, and listen to scholars explaining the root of religious conflicts, stereotypes and prejudices, and models of reconciliation.

"Before this I thought tolerance was already dead in Indonesia," said Antonio (21), a Chinese Buddhist from North Sumatra currently studying in Bandung, West Java. "I and my family suffered so many discriminations, we are afraid of the so-called pribumi, 'native' Indonesians. I and my Buddhist friends in Bandung constantly live under fear out of the hatred campaigned against Chinese descendants and Buddhists because of the Ahok and Rohingya cases. We really don't know what to do." One lesson he gets from this Trail is: the fearful situation bred from intolerance will not change unless there are persons who are willing to fight to change it.

"This Trail really opens my mind," said Lintang (19) from Purwokerto, Central Java. "In the past I have joined rallies in the name of my religion to urge people choosing only Moslems to lead Indonesia. Now I realize how ignorant I am about the big picture." This Trail also became Lintang's first experience going far from home alone without her parents' companion, an exciting thing for her, makes her feel more self-confident in herself.

How serious and joyful this Trail for the 10 participants are recorded in many, many pictures. Here are some of them. Enjoy!

Links:

• 2017 Pluralism Trail Day 1 (video)
• 2017 Pluralism Trail Day 2 (video)
• 2017 Pluralism Trail Day 3 (video)