“Are you sure that all the people buried here are heroes?” Nagabonar asks his three-wheeled bajaj driver when they arrive at the Kalibata National Cemetery. The scene is from the popular Nagabonar Jadi 2 film. Nagabonar was a pickpocket who appointed himself a general during the independence struggle in the 1940s. Today (Tuesday) when the nation commemorated the 64th Heroes Day, it is a proper time to ask, “Do we still have real heroes these days?”
On every Nov. 10 – we call it Heroes’ Day – Indonesians are expected to reflect on their heroes, those who had sacrificed life and limb to rid the nation of its colonial powers. And those who have greatly contributed to the welfare and advancement of this nation.
Yet amid the shameless acts of corruptors and law enforcers, as we are witnessing at present, it would be very difficult to find a hero these days.
To look back to the origins of Heroes’ Day, on Nov. 10, 1945, thousands of our independence fighters were killed and wounded in Surabaya, in the battle against the British-led Allied Forces. The Allied Forces decided to punish Surabayans on that day after the murder of the Forces’ chief in East Java, Brig. Gen. A.W.S. Mallaby, several days earlier. Indonesia declared its independence on Aug. 17, 1945 shortly after Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces.
Tragically, the role of Bung (brother) Tomo, the young Indonesian who led our fighters against the much more powerful enemy at that time, was belittled both by the first and second president, Sukarno and Soeharto. Only 63 years later, in 2008, did the government eventually grant him national hero status.
No Indonesian doubts the heroic acts of Bung Tomo; but while 63 years passed until the hero was officially recognized as a national hero, the government generously granted the honor to many questionable citizens. During Soeharto’s era, Cabinet ministers and military generals were among those who were almost automatically given the opportunity to be buried at the Heroes Cemetery, although not all deserved such a high honor. So the question from Nagabonar in the above film is a very relevant one to ask today.
From the experience of living under the New Order, we have come to know that “heroes” cannot be limited to those officially recognized by the state. But one always needs heroes, as sources of hope, as role models, particularly when there seems to be none. Our historians and researchers continue to filter out many stories buried under the official version of the past. Former enemies of the state were someone else’s heroes, like the hundreds of dissidents jailed under Soeharto.
If police politely stop your vehicle at 8:15 a.m. this morning (Tuesday) do not feel nervous — as often happens when the traffic police stop you on the street — because the government requires all people to stop their activities and observe a 10-minute silence to remember our heroes. Many of our real heroes are unknown. To those who have made a great contribution to the well-being of the nation and to ourselves, they too deserve our salute on this Heroes Day. We should also be remembering anyone in our families, schools and localities, who may never be recognized on a grand scale, but are heroic nonetheless.
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