61st Anniversary of Independent Indonesia

Posted on August 16, 2006
Filed Under Education, Indonesia

August 17, 2006 is the 61st anniversary of Indonesia’s independence day. We celebrate this day with joy every year. The context of celebration is we have freed ourselves from the colonialism, occupation and justice inequality of one country (Netherlands) against another (Indonesia). We gain this freedom not for free; it’s a hard-fought and hard-earned struggle.. Some lessons we learn after 61 years we drove the Dutch away from Indonesia?

The idea among common people to resist and drive the colonialist and occupier away is that (a) our country is rich with natural resources and we got nothing as the Dutch robbed them all; (b) all people will get equal opportunity to education, the mother of all progress and development.

The facts after 61 years: (a) we are still poor and is still named developing, some say underdeveloped country with continuous “awards” as one of the most corrupt country in the world.; many if not all the so-called natural resources are also subcontracted to the MNC’s company; (b) education subsidy is sinking further which almost close the opportunity for the poor to have decent education to enable them to make decent living.