Beyond Condolence

At this moment whilst the many dead bodies are not yet burried, when the injured are literally waiting in the rain for medical care, when cries are being wept, condolences and sympathies are only good for politicians and bureacrats. They woud hardly save a soul or make the wounded feel any better or wiser. Nearly 5,000 lives ended and many homes destroyed sicne my last post! I wanted to express this sorrow of course, but what the Yogyakartans need more is real help. NOT WORDS.

At this moment I'm ashamed of and would like to curse myself--for thinking this way, and for not being able to reach out let alone help out. No one can be really prepared for such ever-clandestine disasters; still first-aid emergency measures could have been better. A better system needs to be in place. NOT ONE, EVER, RELYING ON CHARITY.

Long Weekend At...

See how a local government advertises half-page of its outrageous stupidity, blatant folly, and unethical vision in Kompas today.

The Government of Kabupaten Sleman.
Jl. Pasaramnya, Beran, Tridadi, Seleman, Yogyakarta
http://www.sleman.go.id.

Witness the minute to minute eruption of Mount Merapi, a rare natural event in the world...
LONG WEEKEND AT...MERAPI

blah, blah, blah...

Merapi Slope, 25-28 May 2006

Information contact: 0274-898350/868405 ext. 1150.
This public service commercial for "Kaliurang and Tourism Recovery" is from the Government of Kabupaten Sleman.

To Will Oneself Free

"To will oneself free is to effect the transition from nature to morality by establishing a genuine freedom on the original upsurge of our existence."

"Bertindak bebas adalah bertindak etis, penuh petimbangan dan kepedulian, bukan didorong oleh impuls sesaat."

Simone de Beauvoir quoted in Mengungkap Selubung Kekerasan: Telaah Filsafat Manusia by E. Kristi Poerwandari, 2004.