O

ne day a friend of mine grumbled to me about how he was prevented from entering park land nearby our residence. That was in early evening, when the sun was becoming an orange, circle shape surrounded by a beautiful cloud, coloring the sky red color ahead of the evening. The satpam (private security guard) who guard the gate of the park welcomed him and straightly asked him: "Where do you live, sir?" My friend replied: "In sector one, why?" Then a conversation occurred between them:

"Have you got permission to enter this park?" asked the satpam politely.

"No, I haven't, why should I have such permission? It is a public place, isn't it?"

"No, sir, this place provided especially for residents living in houses managed by "XYZ" developer (the satpam mentioned the name of developer)."

"But I also live in this area, just 1 kilometer from here, what's the difference? And, there is no forbidden sign here, how can you prevent me entering the park?"

"You could, sir, but you should get a permission."

"To whom I should get it?"

"The real estate management office, sir."

"Ridiculous! Why it's so hard? Why there is such rule like that?" my friend replied, irritated.

"Sorry, sir, I just do the order of my boss, that's it!" the satpam replied.

Not far from the two quarrelling guys, my friend's two sons, 7 and 5 years old, enjoyed riding bicycles in the park, laughing and chasing each other on the beautiful green grass, abandoning their father, who was still arguing bitterly with the satpam.

"I have been living in this area even before your damned developer building the housing complex came here, you know?" my friend slammed the satpam angrily.

The satpam said nothing.

"My wife is a marketing agent and so far has been selling several houses owned by your developer, you know?"

The satpam kept quiet.

"So let me enter the park, play with my sons and take some pictures there."

"Sorry, sir, you can not unless you get permission."

"That's crazy. I will not seek permission for this, you understand?" my friend raised his voice.

"So you can not be in the park, sorry, sir, I just follow the orders of my boss," the satpam said, still with a cool expression.

Feeling that the argumentation was in vain, my friend called his sons: "Hai kids, let's go. Bring your bicycles in to the car right away"

He pulled his sons's hand and got into his car. The satpam said to him: "Sorry, sir, I just follow the orders of my boss."

Before he left, he yelled to the satpam: "Next time use your brain to think correctly about an order from your boss. Would you jump to a well if your boss ordered you to do so?"

The satpam stood, muted, watching the car until it disappeared from the park.

"A tough evening for you, friend?" I sighed after listening to his story. That's a funny and sad incident experienced by him. And, indeed its true.

Another time when I was going to the park I saw that another family was not allowed to enter the park. Looking at the performance, the family was probably from a neighboring kampong nearby the park. They seemed prepared to go on a picnic to the park as they surely thought that it would be a cheap adventure compared to the other places in Jakarta, which always require spending a lot of money. Oh green-green-grass.they probably imagined how happy their family would be.

The satpam came to them quickly. A short conversation occurred between the father and the satpam. The family, with disappointed faces, left the park, walking slowly out of the area. However, minutes after they walked for some of distances, they stopped at the side of the road. They wiped the sweat, rolled-out the mat to sit on, opened the heavy bag and prepared the supplies.

They then ate the food together sitting on the mat, with cars and motorcycles running up and down along the road all the while. They didn't look bothered.

I am cornered with the tragic scenes because I am living in a house that is managed by "XYZ" developer. It is too hard for my brain to understand policies like this. Is it the present situation in our society that everything is divided? Everything? Yes, everything! Even a park where people try to relax for awhile, enjoy green grass and an artificial waterfall, breath fresh air because they rarely have it in their own home in dense and crowded kampongs.

Sadly, the park is not for you, sir, because you are different. You are not entitled to enjoy the park that we built for our special residents. Why so arrogant? Why say that some place can only be enjoyed by special group? Why does our society turn to ugly behavior like this nowadays?

-Titus Jonathan