RI workers win writing prizes in Taiwan

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 10/02/2007 3:45 PM

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

""Please forgive me, time has buried my longing for your love, and I wish you find true love somewhere else.""

These are not lyrics from a U.S. or British hit song nor is this an excerpt from a Western poem, but part of a short essay titled Kinanthi written by Sri Jumitai, an Indonesian migrant worker in Taiwan.

The essay won first prize in a literary contest for foreign workers sponsored by the Taipei city government, held in the Taiwan capital last week.

Anik Krisnawati, another Indonesian worker also won first place in the poetry category, for her poem Happiness Terminal.

""More and more foreigners working in Taiwan are participating in the annual contest,"" a spokesman from the Taipei city administration said Sunday, as quoted by Taiwan's Central News Agency.

This year, the contest was divided into poetry and essay sections, with a total of 2,063 submissions received.

After a three stage review process, 20 winners were selected, including 14 poems and six essays.

The winning pieces were read in their native languages and winners were presented with awards and cash prizes by Taipei city government's Labor Affairs Department Director, Su Ying-kuei.

The winning pieces were also read by radio hosts in Chinese.

The literary competition also saw songs and dance performances by workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Migrant Care founder Wahyu Susilo said the results show Indonesian migrant workers' capacity for creativity, with several migrant workers in Hong Kong having recently published their own novels.

""With good working conditions, our migrant workers can express themselves freely and create excellent work we can be proud of,"" he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Wahyu said many Indonesian migrant workers have formed arts and culture communities to expand their abilities in the field.

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