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View all search resultsIndependence, peace and the power of diplomacy
Eighty-one years after proclaiming its independence, Indonesia has been fortunate to enjoy relative peace and stability, both at home and across its borders. But that achievement is something we can never afford to take for granted.
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President Prabowo Subianto speaks on Sept. 23, 2025 during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City, the United States. (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)
O
n a bright August afternoon, I found myself sitting in a barber’s chair in Grønland, a vibrant neighborhood in eastern Oslo. Mid-haircut, my barber caught me off guard with a simple yet heavy question: Would the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran ever come to an end?
For a moment, I paused, wondering whether he was looking for a serious analysis or just making casual conversation. But knowing his background, I knew his interest was genuine. He was a Syrian-born refugee living in Norway, who had once studied law at the University of Aleppo. For anyone forced to leave their homeland behind, questions of war, peace and human survival are never just academic exercises, they carry deep, personal weight.
I told him that wars ultimately end only when the involved parties find the genuine goodwill to seek a resolution. Despite President Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric, I doubted he would want to entangle the US in another endless conflict in the Middle East and deal with the inevitable domestic political fallout.
Sooner or later, Trump would need an exit strategy. Diplomacy and negotiated settlements remain the only realistic tools for ending an armed conflict while offering every side a path to preserve a measure of dignity.
The barber nodded quietly, perhaps reflecting on the fate of his own homeland. The path to rebuilding the nation and securing lasting peace remains steep. Syria still grapples with deep internal divides and heavy external security pressures, including ongoing Israeli military operations that stretch into southern Syria beyond the occupied Golan Heights.
That brief exchange turned my thoughts back home, to Indonesia.
Eighty-one years after proclaiming its independence, Indonesia has been fortunate to enjoy relative peace and stability, both at home and across its borders. But that achievement is something we can never afford to take for granted.
