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span class="inline inline-left">JP/Nani Afrida Dhyah Mada Ruth considers herself lucky to have been born into a very democratic family. She remembers she was free of worry in her youth, because her parents provided her a favorable environment in which to study and make friends.

Being a mother, Dhyah — as she is fondly called — now wants to provide a similar atmosphere for her two sons. Unfortunately for Dhyah, this is difficult because she and her sons were born in different contexts.

“Today’s situation is more challenging compared to when I was a kid,” Dhyah told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta.

According to Dhyah, today children must deal with many security threats, such as from people who hold different beliefs.

Meanwhile, large amounts of unfiltered information from the media also influence children, she says. They often absorb information not knowing whether it is right or wrong. As a consequence, children are vulnerable to becoming involved in radicalism due to their incomplete understanding of today’s situation.

“When I was an elementary school student I learnt about concepts of nationalism in school, but today when I look at my children’s school books, I find nothing about this,” she said.

The 37-year-old believes today’s children must learn about peace, tolerance and nationalism to avoid the possibility of violence, particularly violence in the name of religion, which now is often perceived as being popular among youths.

Concerned about religious-based violence, Dhyah and her friends established Lazuardi Birru, an NGO focusing on efforts to promote ideas around peace, tolerance and diversity among people.

Dhyah, who currently works as a notary, is the chairwoman of the NGO. Her friends thought that Dhyah, who was a 1995 outstanding student at the University of Indonesia, was eligible for the position.

“It’s a new experience for me but I’m enjoying it. I think we should help the government support deradicalization,” she said.

Lazuardi Birru was not the first organization Dhyah joined.

In 1998, she joined the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), advocating for students involved in mass demonstrations aimed at forcing former Indonesian president Soeharto from power. A student of law, Dhyah became very busy at the LBH and seldom went home.

“My mother was very angry, but I was enjoying my activities even though the LBH staff at the time were subjected to serious intimidation,” Dhyah recalled.

Dhyah and her friends were paid little at the LBH, but for her it wasn’t about the money.

“I was happy because I could do something to help people,” Dhyah said.

After working in the LBH, Dhyah then decided to quit and work as a corporate lawyer. She took her master to be a notary, but that change in emphasis didn’t wipe away Dhyah’s spirit to help others.

“As I was worried about both my children and other children in Indonesia, I thought I would come back [to her original motivation to help others],” she said.

Lazuardi Birru often holds deradicalization training for youths as well as taking forward research. The organization works with schools, pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), local governments as well as the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) to reduce radicalism among youths and promote peace.

The staff and volunteers of Lazuardi Birru visit and stay at schools and pesantren and hear the views of many students.

Dhyah said radicalism among youths was alarming and the government should quickly work to prevent it from progressing. Based on Lazuardi Birru’s latest research in 2011, 1.3 percent of people in Indonesia had carried out radical actions to hurt other people’s beliefs, such as directly taking part in attacks against others or through donating money to help the attacks take place.

“The important thing is the majority of that 1.3 percent are teenagers or young people who are still below 25-years-old,” Dhyah said.

Meanwhile, the organization says as many as 13 provinces in Indonesia are vulnerable to radicalism.

“We work in those provinces now,” she said.

In 2011, Lazuardi Birru issued comic books on deradicalization. One of them is I found the meaning of jihad, which tells the life story of Nasir Abas, a former member of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) — elements of which were linked to al-Qaeda. The book tells of how Nasir turned away from the radicalism of jihad to a more peaceful path.

The comic books were distributed to schools and pesantren.

“We believe teaching children about deradicalization using comics is effective,” she said.

However, not all people are happy with Lazuardi Birru’s work. Dhyah said she often had to deal with intimidation from unidentified individuals.

“They accused us of being close to the government, but actually we are working with many people, not only the government,” she said, adding that some people had even claimed she was a BNPT spy.

Dhyah, who is now pursuing her doctorate degree at the University of Indonesia, said Lazuardi Birru tried to support the government to provide a secure environment for Indonesia’s future children.

“We have to help each other. Providing a secure environment is a big and difficult job, and no one can do it alone,” Dhyah said.