(Nemangkawi in Mount Cook Picture)
of the pictures you sent, there was one
entrapped me in obscure ambiguity.
It was quiet snowy flat on mountains peak
I saw you. Silhouette lonely behind the tourists,
looked shabby, perhaps chilled in your thick jacket
I could not read your face, “Were you lost
in your thoughts?” There was roaring howl
escaped your mind, it was the muted cries
of children in third world countries,
echoed through mountain slopes then ended
tearing my heart. Conscience.
I wanted to touch your eyes, shift the gaze
from where you were looking into the empty air
because while you curled embracing yourself,
the gentle breeze came out from the picture.
Caressed our drying wounds, it brought white
feathers for our once broken wings. Spirit.
Metro, 02/06/2010
© Era Fiyantiningrum
Sort of explanation:
I believe the oppressed, the victims, need to be understood as human above all. When the emergency aids had been carried out, empowerment efforts should aim at the process where they can take part actively as the main actors to restore their dignity. However, in many cases, in handling the poor victims at the areas of conflicts/military operation, too many times the activists/human rights workers create dependency. Worse, it’s often done in the name of goodwill (of the first world).
Nemangkawi is the golden snowy peak of the Cartenz Pyramid, West Papua. In indigenous languages, it is also named as Ngga Pulu. Indonesian Government named it Puncak Jaya or Sukarno Mountain, in the past the westerners prefer it as Cartenz Toppen (EF)
