[~]% host `dig +short www.polizei.de`
;; Truncated, retrying in TCP mode.
38.153.156.62.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer www.plozei-deutschland.de.
[...]

gw seneng, karena plo uda selesai, sehari sebelum pengumpulan. :D

gw pun merayakan kemenangan ini denggaaan...

MAKAN ES DUREEN bersama toil!

*nyummnyumnyum*

malemnya.. pas gw abis nge print plo, gw melupakan satu hal yang sangat krusial dalam pengumpulan plo. MAP KUNING!!!

jeng..jeng.. gw lupa aja gitu, beli map kuning.. padahal kan tadi lewat gramed.hiks.

akhirnya..

gw memberanikan diri keluar kosan jam 9 malem, mencari angkot, untuk numpang sampe ke daerah balubur.. rencananya, gw mau beli di ganesha stationary..

di angkot gw dugem *duduk gemetar..* abis, penumpangnya mas2&bapak2 semua.. horor geelaaa.. mana taman sari udah gelap banget lagi.. apa lagi pas lewat BonBin.. buset.. gelap aming.. gw bedoaaa terus dalem angkot. mudah2an selameeet gw sampe kosan lagi.

gw pun turun di depan ganesha stationary. ternyata.. ganesa stationary uda tutup cing! doh.. untung aj potokopian di sebelahnya buka.

pas pulang.. gw dugem lagi. untung aja banyak mba2 dalem angkot.. gw merasa agak aman gitu.. :D

huuuuhh,,

gininih.. kalo jadi orang pelupa.. hhhuuuuhhh..

gw punya tips buat orang pelupa kaya gw :

1. Kalo inget sesuatu, langsung kerjakan, ntar keburu lupa.
   
2. mengasah otak, main sudoku, main game2 otak, membaca, dll.
   
3. catet hal2 penting, taro ditempat yg gampang diliat
4. stel alarm, reminder, whatsoever yg bisa ngingetin
   
5. Jangan sok2 lupa.. ntar lupa beneran..
6. kasitau orang lain, jadi ada yg ngingetin kalo lupa..
7. terakhir.. Berdoa, mohon agar penyakit lupanya cepet ilang.. jangan2 kutukan tuh..

yaudah ah.. udah dolo.. ngantuk, bsk pagi mo ngumpulin plo.

ddaaahh.. :)

Kindhearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development files suit against US government after latter orders all its assets frozen citing affiliation with Hamas. Group denies all allegations

An Ohio-based charity that the United States government said is linked to Hamas is demanding that officials unfreeze its assets.

Attorneys for Kindhearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development sued Thursday in federal court in Toledo.  Read more...

Call Me Barry 08

Apparently, this year they are making one scenario about Israeli checkpoints in Palestine. A student wrote in and complained about it. I quote her letter below in its entirety. Following the letter will be my reply, one that first outlines problems in this letter, and then explains exactly what checkpoints are, how they affect Palestinian lives, and why it is not one-sided. Here is the letter:

I am a senior at Boise State majoring in Business. I am writing this letter as a response to the proposed theme of this year’s “Tunnel of Oppression” that is put on yearly at BSU by your students. I am an Observant Jew and not only a supporter of the State of Israel but also of the proposed Palestinian State. The Palestinian people have lived in the land of Israel for a very long time and deserve a sovereign nation of their own. I have studied both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian situation and feel that I can write this letter in complete confidence of my knowledge.

A reliable source contacted me and forwarded me both the Youtube video entitled “Pregnant Palestinian Stopped at an Israeli Checkpoint!” which was apparently shown to the students in your class, and the proposed outline for the ‘Checkpoint’ scene in your tunnel. After reading the proposed idea and viewing the Youtube clip, I felt alarmed at the blatant one-sidedness and appalling misinformation that is portrayed by your project. You are portraying an Israel that only exists in western (and eastern – the blood libel has reappeared recently in Arab newspapers) media, the great “Zionist oppressor” that only the likes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talk about. (I have personal friends that are Israeli and have served with pride in the Israel Defense Forces and they would be the first to tell you that none of it is true. I have personal friends that have lived in and visit Israel regularly and who are equally comfortable around Israelis and Palestinians.)

You are forgetting the other side of the story. Why don’t you tell your students to imagine Idaho being hit by several thousand rockets fired by a fringe-group of extremists from Canada? Why don’t you tell them the truth, which is that the checkpoints exist only because they must? There is a reason that every mall, Synagogue, school, and Mosque requires armed guards; it’s not because Israelis like being searched at every destination, it is due to the very real, everyday threat of terrorist attacks funded and supported by Islamist fanaticism. Why don’t you tell your students to imagine being killed by a suicide bomber during Christmas dinner at a local hotel? You’re forgetting that part. You also fail to mention that the Palestinians are regularly cared for at Israeli hospitals by staffs that comprise of both Jews and Muslims that work together seamlessly on a daily basis, treating peoples of all races, religions, creeds, and political affiliations. But I don’t need to mention any more because there is no truth to the portrayal of Israel and Israelis suggested for this farce.

This presentation is not only one-sided but also blatantly anti-Semitic. The representation of American Christians as being duped by a hidden cabal of Shylock-esque Israelis is clear. The Muslims are clearly supposed to be the helpless victims in this caricature, the Christians clueless but well-meaning, and the Jews are left to be characterized as bloodthirsty thugs “aroused by the sudden chaos” into beating civilians at random. I believe any Jew would be offended by this.

I have already made Boise’s small but very close-knit Jewish community aware of this atrocity along with the Idaho Statesman and the Arbiter. If you decide to allow this presentation to continue as it is written, I will contact the Anti-Defamation League and the ACLU for blatant Anti-Semitism on a college campus. I am in the process of forming a group of Israelis, American Jews, and fellow supporters of Israel of all faiths to protest your Tunnel of Oppression and hand out fliers from standwithus.org that show in plain fact, the truth in the Holy Land.

Dear Comrades,

The first claim this student makes is that Palestinians have lived "on the land of Israel" for a "very long time." Actually, Palestinians have always lived in Palestine NOT Israel; Israel did not exist before 1948. These Palestinians have been and are Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In fact, the city of Nablus, where I now live, is home to a community of Jews called Samaritans. These Jews identify as Palestinian Jews and when the state of Israel was created, they refused to move to the other side of the Green Line (the 1949 Armistice Line also known as the pre-1967 border). The Jewish Zionists who came to Palestine, starting in the late 19th century to colonize the land were European, also known as Ashkenazi Jews. They use the language of "return" to suggest that they were originally from here. But Israeli historian Shlomo Sand makes it clear that this is a myth; these Jews who colonized Palestine and ethnically cleansed the land of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948 were Jews who converted to Judaism in Russia and Europe.

Second, the student argues that the Tunnel is only presenting one side of the story. I think what s/he really means is not that it's one-sided, but rather that it is not the side that s/he wishes to have at the forefront. The fact of the matter is: if you live in the U.S. and you breathe you get the other side of the the story on a daily basis. If you watch the presidential and vice presidential debates you not only hear the word Israel numerous times, you also hear the candidates' profession of love for Israel. In contradistinction, the word Palestine or Palestinian is never mentioned. That, my dear comrades, is one sided. The reason that some of us who do work in the U.S. trying to educate people about Palestine do not tell the so-called other side of the story is that we are working to bring to bear a side that is not represented, that is vigorously silenced. The only way one can understand the issue of sides is to think about the fact that the two sides are of colonizer and colonized. Of occupier and occupied. Imagine, for instant, that we wanted to present a narrative of slavery in the U.S. Would we (meaning those who oppose human rights violations, oppression) tell that story from the point of view of the slave owner? Or what if we wanted to tell a story about what happened in to gay people, Jehovah's Witnesses, handicapped people, and Jews in Nazi Germany--would we tell that story through the eyes of Adolf Hitler? Or if we wanted to talk about violence against Mexicans crossing the U.S. border would we use Chris Simcox of the Minute Men to tell that story? Or if we wanted to narrate a piece about the Native American genocide would we rely upon the words of those who conquered and colonized the Americas? I think you get my point.

The analogy s/he tries to draw with a made-up scenario of Canadians firing rockets into the U.S. doesn't quite work. One would have to tweak the scenario a bit. It would work as an analogy if about 60 years before the rockets started firing Americans had invaded, stolen and conquered Canada. If Americans massacred thousands of Canadians. If Americans made 750,000 Canadians refugees for 60 years. If throughout that time Americans stole Canadian homes, water, agricultural lands, murdered innocent civilians on a daily basis, built a 20 foot high concrete wall to confiscate more land and water and displace more people. If Americans set up a system of controlling Canadians through over 650 checkpoints on a daily basis. If Americans invaded Canadian homes, villages, and refugee camps every day, killing civilians and kidnapping them to warehouse 11,000 Canadians in American jails. If all of these things--and so much more--were true, then we would understand, I think, why Canadians would be firing rockets on to American soil. They would be using armed resistance and they would be legally allowed to do so under international law. (Oh, and by the way, there are no rockets being fired by Palestinians in the West Bank, where all 650 checkpoints are into Israel.) Moreover, armed resistance in Palestine has only in recent years had become Islamic. Over the course of Palestinian resistance for the last few decades it has been predominantly secular, and oftentimes Communist. The rise of Hamas after the first intifada had a lot to do with the state of Israel itself bolstering Hamas as a way to weaken the then-stronger Fatah movement. This should come as no surprise as colonial regimes have always relied upon the tactic of divide and rule. The latest phase of this meddling in Hamas-Fatah politics, including U.S. involvement, was revealed in an article in Vanity Fair last year.

A third point the student brings up is about Antisemitism. S/he compares creating a scene about Israeli checkpoints in Palestine to blood libel. First, blood libel is certainly anti-Semitic; it involves a mythology about Jews using the blood of children for their matzah during their holiday Passover. The mythology is just that. Anti-Semitism actually refers to prejudice directed at any of the three peoples who speak or spoke one of the three Semitic languages: Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic. But over the course of the last century--and more specifically, since World War II--Jews have worked to dislodge the original meaning of the word to only mean anti-Jewish. But even if we take this Zionist definition of the word at face value, through this student's logic being anti-Jewish is the same as being anti-Israeli or anti-Zionist. These are three distinct categories. I think the first is self explanatory. The second, being anti-Israel, means critiquing the state of Israel and its policies. It is no different than critiquing the U.S. for its policies. But because the state of Israel is a Jewish state by definition (legally speaking there is no Israeli nationality; on Israeli Jews' identity cards it reads "Jewish" and some Israelis have tried to change this in court without success) some people choose to conflate the two. Importantly, there are many Palestinians who also live inside what is now Israel, all of whom are subjected to a set of laws that resemble Jim Crow segregation in the U.S. One must be Jewish to have equal rights in the state of Israel. The third term, Zionism, is an ideology. People who believe in Zionism believe that Jews have a right to conquer and settle a land even though that land, Palestine, belongs to an indigenous population, the Palestinians. This ideology began as a secular one, though there are of course religious Zionists today, many living in illegal settlements in the West Bank. One of the primary tactics used to silence people who wish to speak about the reality here in Palestine is to call them anti-Semitic in order to get them to shut up. It is worth noting that this tactic is especially used by the Israel lobby (organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC] as well as the Anti-Defamation League [ADL] this student refers to in her/his letter) to force politicians to submit to unconditional support of Israel. Barack Obama is a perfect example of this as before he ran for office he had strong personal and political relationships with Palestinian Americans in Illinois. In any case, those of us who are committed to justice and human rights for Palestinians and all oppressed people around the world, the issue is not bashing a state. Rather, it is asking that state to comply with international law and uphold human rights; when a state violates these codes it deserves to be critiqued and challenged at the very least. The organizations this student is working with in the threats directed at you are Zionist organizations of the worst order. The ADL and Stand With Us disguise work that they do as upholding human rights. In fact, these organizations are stealth. In Congress and on American university campuses alike they work on a number of levels to ensure that nothing negative is ever said about the state of Israel. They work to silence student activism on the subject and by equal measure they work to fire or make sure faculty are not tenured if they conduct research on Palestine or are critical of Israel. Just following the ADL's campaign against Jimmy Carter for writing Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid, which was in many ways very tame and did not go far enough to explain the horrors that Israel unleashes on Palestinians every day and you may get a sense of what I mean. These organizations try to work with people of color in the U.S. united under some kind of "we're all oppressed" banner; but the reality is that most Jews in the U.S. are white folks like me. They have white privilege and use it to their advantage. I'll give you an example. The "Tunnel of Oppression" originated at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. I went there a few years ago thinking that it would be a museum highlighting the oppression of all peoples. I was horrified to see that in fact 90% of it was about a history of anti-Jewish persecution and the remaining 10% about African Americans and Native Americans; this is especially appalling when you measure the number of indigenous people who suffered genocide under the hands of brutal European colonialism. No other genocide in history can quite match this. For me what this is all about is a kind of Jewish supremacy (I use this term with a nod to white supremacy). What I mean by this is that such organizations like the ADL which feign interest in the suffering of other people always do so with an eye towards making sure that no one ever compares their suffering to what happened to Jews during World War II. Take a look, too, at the Washington DC Holocaust Museum. They have a genocide watch page which tracks more recent genocide around the world. But they are very clear that the world holocaust can never be used again to describe the suffering of any other people. And it is worth asking the question: why is it that we have a museum about something that happened in Europe in Washington DC? This museum was erected before the Native American museum was built and we still have no such museum about slavery or the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. But you don't have to go that far to see how this works. The Idaho Human Rights Education Center chose to build an Anne Frank memorial. Why is that exactly? The land on which Boise as a city, or the monument more specifically, is land that once belonged to tribes who were forcibly removed, ethnically cleansed, massacred, and who now live on reservations in Idaho. Why is it that we are not looking at those human rights violations? And on the adjacent memorial wall, why are there no quotes by any Arabs or Muslims?

So the checkpoints. From the letter I gather that you all chose to do a scene this year about the checkpoints here in Palestine. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) released a report this week updating the number of checkpoints in the West Bank. As of this week there are 630 such military checkpoints. These checkpoints take various forms. One is a permanent structure that is like a land border crossing as if you are crossing an international border. Right now, as far as I know, these only exist if you are going to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem is part of Palestine (however the Annexation Wall has annexed Jerusalem in such a way that if you want to go there you must cross through one of these checkpoints. If you are on foot, you walk through a maze of steel turnstiles, each one locking you inside the next space (there are several such spaces you must walk through in order to pass). The first one checks your ID card (Palestinians have several kinds of IDs: 1) if you live in 1948 or what is now known as Israel; 2) if you live in Jerusalem; 3) if you live in the West Bank; 4) if you live in Gaza. Depending on your ID you may or may not be allowed to cross. And even if you have proper papers, you still may not be allowed to pass (sometimes even if you have legitimate papers from an embassy or from a hospital in Israel the soldiers will most often turn you away). After the double ID check you are locked into an area where it resembles an airport as you are required to walk through a metal detector and then put your bag on a metal detection machine. Only here in some of these checkpoints there are armed soldiers pointing guns at you from planks above as you do this. Then there is yet another hoop at the end where you must put your hand on a computer-generated hand print machine before you may pass. And even then, you still may not be able to pass. Everything is at the whim of the soldiers. There are not any laws here; even Israeli laws do not apply to the West Bank. The law is basically the whim of a soldier on a particular day.

A couple of examples. A few years ago I was taking a friend to the American consulate in Jerusalem because she was going to study in the U.S. We had all the proper papers and an appointment at the consulate. She was 19 years old at the time. We went to the checkpoint, but they refused to let us go through to Jerusalem from Bethlehem. Another example, from a couple of years ago: I was with a couple of girlfriends in a rented car driving from Ramallah to Bethlehem. We drove through a checkpoint, known as the Container Checkpoint, which is in a neighborhood of Jerusalem called Abu Dies. We were told we could not pass because I there was a foreigner in the car with Palestinians. On that night--it was around 9 PM--we were told that it's illegal for foreigners and Palestinians to be in the same car. Another example: a few weeks ago a student invited me home for iftar (breaking the fast during Ramadan). The checkpoint near Nablus (the city I live in) is called Huwarra. By all accounts it is the worst (meaning the soldiers are the most lethal and violent with the people and are least likely to allow you to pass in either direction) checkpoint in the West Bank. This checkpoint is outdoors like the old ones used to be when you would go to Jerusalem. You just stand in line and wait for hours, especially if you are a Palestinian man, and this waiting is entirely a form of harassment. Most of the time we stand and watch the soldiers laughing, talking on the phone, eating, hanging out, even playing cards, rather than allow us to cross. This checkpoint, by the way, is deep inside the West Bank. It is nowhere near the Green Line or the Israeli-imposed border. Crossing Huwarra means crossing from one Palestinian area to another--which is the case for at least 80% of these checkpoints. On this day the soldiers were standing on the railing above us, threatening to shoot us. One of the women in line asked me to go speak to the soldier. I did, though I lost my cool, and called him a name he didn't like. He told me that my choices were either to go to prison or home.

There is another kinds of checkpoint, too. This is called a "flying checkpoint." These are checkpoints that move from place to place every day and you never know where they will be. They are always in a different location. If you would like to have more of a context for checkpoints in general, there are reports on the Israeli human rights organization B'tselem's website.

Why do the checkpoints exist? The student who wrote to you would have it that they exist for "security" reasons. But for whose security? United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, written at the end of the 1967 war in which Israel conquered and annexed Gaza and the West Bank, it was made clear that:

Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,

UN Resolution 242 has been the main document used in all negotiations between the state of Israel and Palestinians. However, since 1967 the state of Israel has been in direct violation of this UN Resolution, as well as a host of others (most importantly UN Resolution 194, which states that Palestinian refugees have a right to return to their homes, and which UN Resolution 242 upholds later in the document). One of the ways it has violated this resolution is by building illegal settlements. These settlements, or colonies, are illegal because they violate UN Resolution 242. It is also illegal because it violates the Fourth Geneva Convention which states:

The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.

The real reason for these checkpoints, which also prevent Palestinians from driving on Jewish-only roads, is to protect their illegal settlements. These settlements help to create facts on the ground; what this means is by continuing to build them and offer tremendous savings to Israelis who wish to live there (most who live in them do so because they can purchase houses for half the price of those inside the Green Line; the other population living in these settlements are religious Zionists who believe that it is their God-given right to occupy and control all of historic Palestine by force). There are also what is known as illegal "outposts" which are basically a group of mobile home units. Israelis come into the West Bank, plop them down, and presto, you have the beginning of an illegal settlement in the making. To give you a sense of what these facts on the ground mean in terms of checkpoints and the related military infrastructure here is a description of what Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions calls the "Matrix of Control":

A second set of controls derives from Israel's policy of "creating facts on the ground" - virtually all of them in violation of international law (including the Fourth Geneva Convention signed by Israel itself). These include:

* Massive expropriation of Palestinian land;

* Construction of more than 200 settlements and the transfer of 400,000 Israelis across the 1967 boundaries: about 200,000 in the West Bank, 200,000 in East Jerusalem and 6000 in Gaza (the latter occupying a fourth of the land, including most of the coastline);

* Carving the Occupied Territories into areas -- Areas "A," "B," "C," "D" in the West Bank; "H-1" and "H-2" in Hebron; Yellow, Green, Blue and White Areas in Gaza; nature reserves; closed military areas, security zones, and "open green spaces" of restricted housing over more than half of Palestinian East Jerusalem - which confine the Palestinians to some 190 islands all surrounded by Israeli settlements, roads and checkpoints;

* Carving the Occupied Territories into areas -- Areas "A," "B," "C," "D" in the West Bank; "H-1" and "H-2" in Hebron; Yellow, Green, Blue and White Areas in Gaza; nature reserves; closed military areas, security zones, and "open green spaces" of restricted housing over more than half of Palestinian East Jerusalem - which confine the Palestinians to some 190 islands all surrounded by Israeli settlements, roads and checkpoints;

* A massive system of highways and by-pass roads designed to link settlements, to create barriers between Palestinian areas and to incorporate the West Bank into Israel proper;

* Imposing severe controls on Palestinian movement;

* Construction of seven industrial parks that give new life to isolated settlements, exploit cheap Palestinian labor while denying it access to Israel, rob Palestinian cities of their economic vitality, control key locations and ensure Israel's ability to continue dumping its industrial wastes onto the West Bank;

* Maintaining control over aquifers and other vital natural resources;

* Exploiting holy places (Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and others in and around Jerusalem) as pretexts for maintaining a "security presence," and hence military control.

This carving up of the Palestinian landscape is done with the Jewish-only roads, the illegal settlements, and, of course, the checkpoints. You can't isolate one from the other. For instance, because it is a Jewish holiday right now we are under what is called "closure." This means everyone who lives in the West Bank is sealed up and everyone basically becomes a prisoner of their own village or city.

There is violence that targets Palestinians every day. Some of it comes from these illegal Israeli settlers that the Israeli army is here to protect. Some of it comes from the army itself. Here are some recent links about the checkpoints and also about its context.

The Israeli army forces Palestinian men to remove their cloths at a checkpoint near Jenin city

Palestinian toddler almost dies due to Israeli checkpoint

World Bank: Israeli siege is strangling Palestinian economy

Three Palestinian residents wounded by Israeli army fire at a Nablus checkpoint

UN facing increased delays at Israeli checkpoints

Settlers increase attacks on Palestinians as olive picking season begins

UN says number of West Bank checkpoints on the rise

Gaza patients continue painful wait for urgent medical treatment

Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 25 Sep. 08 Oct. 2008

Rights org: Eight years of intifada, international failure

I hope this offers you some context and I hope it gives you some tools to fight the silencing work of Zionist students on campus.

In solidarity,
Marcy

[caption id="attachment_1368" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Israeli Checkpoints in the West Bank"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1369" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Qalandia Checkpoint, summer 2005"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1370" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Qalandia Checkpoint, summer 2005"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1371" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Flying Checkpoint, Abu Dis (summer 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1372" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Flying Checkpoint, Abu Dis (summer 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1373" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Approaching Checkpoint sign, Jerusalem (summer 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1374" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Jerusalem Checkpoint (summer 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1375" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Bethlehem Checkpoint (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1376" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Flying Checkpoint, Abu Dis (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1377" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Qalandia Checkpoint (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1378" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Qalandia Checkpoint (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1379" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Hebron Checkpoint, inside the Old City (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1380" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Hebron Checkpoint (inside the old city) (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1381" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Beit Jala Checkpoint (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1382" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Bethlehem Checkpoint (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1383" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Flying Checkpoint, Beit Sahour (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1384" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Flying Checkpiont, Beit Sahour (fall 2005)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1385" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1386" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1387" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1388" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1389" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1390" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1391" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Bethelehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1392" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1393" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1394" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1395" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1396" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1397" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1398" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1399" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Qalandia Checkpont (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1400" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1401" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1402" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1403" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1404" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Qalandia Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1405" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (winter 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1406" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Bethlehem Checkpoint (summer 2006)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1407" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Handprint Detector, Bethlehem Checkpoint (fall 2007)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1408" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Flying Checkpoint, Jenin (fall 2007)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1409" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Flying Checkpoint, Jenin (fall 2007)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1410" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Beit Hanina Checkpoint (fall 2007)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1411" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Huwwara Checkpoint, Nablus (fall 2008)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1412" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Huwwara Checkpoint, Nablus (fall 2008)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1413" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Huwwara Checkpoint under construction, Nablus (fall 2008)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1414" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Huwwara Checkpoint, Nablus (fall 2008)"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1415" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="New Huwwara Checkpoint Under Construction, Nablus (fall 2008)"][/caption] ]]> http://sherryx.wordpress.com/?p=83 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:37:41 +0000 sherryx http://sherryx.da.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/goodbye-mahmoud-darwish-alwida-palestine/ "I thought poetry could change everything, could change history and could humanize, and I think that the illusion is very necessary to push poets to be involved and to believe, but now I think that poetry changes only the poet.”

“We should not justify suicide bombers. We are against the suicide bombers, but we must understand what drives these young people to such actions. They want to liberate themselves from such a dark life. It is not ideological, it is despair.”

Mahmoud Darwish

“Darwish is the Essential Breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging…”

Noami Shihab Nye

9 August 2008 , a text message is delivered on my mobile, “Darwish” is dead! In my ears ring the poems of his friend Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ae erz e Watan— Ae erz e watan— kyon Noch Noch keh pehk diye , in aankon ne apne Neelum, chan chan–chan chan chan chan

Palestine is dying, the Palestine for which the progressives had waged a battle with history, from people without history, from people without name , from people without identity, from people without land , Arafat, George Habash, Darwish created everything . History, Name , Identity , land till the thugs came to loot and kill, to plunder and destroy what we had achieved .

Just like Arafat and Habash , Darwish died a lonely man, a man whose ideas died on streets of Gaza with rise of fascist Hamas! The struggle melting into web of imperialism and suicide bombings.

It was no other than Abu Mazen , president of Palestine who announced the death of the greatest of living poets of our times , who was Palestine’s national poet, and one of greatest living Arab and progressive poets of resistance.

Darwish started with “Rakah”, communist party of Israel, his struggle was against capitalism,imperialism and Zionism. He studied in USSR and was stripped of his Israeli citizenship. He continued , listening to call of motherland Darwish joined PLO and became voice of Palestine all over the world

It was the time when world was in grip of the myth that Palestine was “empty” desert when Jews came! Darwish rose to the challenge . He gave Palestine , history and Identity

He was a celebrity in progressive circles all around the world from Cuba to Pakistan. His poetry influenced the thought in Pakistan through Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ahmad Faraz

When he wrote his famous poem “Identity Card” it created ripples in the world, the whole anguish of Palestine issue came forward

Identity Card

Write down !

I am an Arab

And my identity card number is fifty thousand

I have eight children

And the ninth will come after a summer

Will you be angry?

.

Write down!

I am an Arab

Employed with fellow workers at a quarry

I have eight children

I get them bread

Garments and books

from the rocks..

I do not supplicate charity at your doors

Nor do I belittle myself at the footsteps of your chamber

So will you be angry?

.

Write down!

I am an Arab

I have a name without a title

Patient in a country

Where people are enraged

My roots

Were entrenched before the birth of time

And before the opening of the eras

Before the pines, and the olive trees

And before the grass grew

.

My father.. descends from the family of the plow

Not from a privileged class

And my grandfather..was a farmer

Neither well-bred, nor well-born!

Teaches me the pride of the sun

Before teaching me how to read

And my house is like a watchman’s hut

Made of branches and cane

Are you satisfied with my status?

I have a name without a title!

.

Write down!

I am an Arab

You have stolen the orchards of my ancestors

And the land which I cultivated

Along with my children

And you left nothing for us

Except for these rocks..

So will the State take them

As it has been said?!

.

Therefore!

Write down on the top of the first page:

I do not hate people

Nor do I encroach

But if I become hungry

The usurper’s flesh will be my food

Beware..

Beware..

Of my hunger

And my anger!

Darwish stood as firm believer of ideology. When he wrote his poem “I am Yousaf” one of his best, it was set to music by great Arab composer Marcel Khalife; The Islamic fascists created a storm of hate against Khalife. He was accused of blasphemy because a verse of Koran was used in the poem! Darwish came forward to defend. In a passionate article he gave the progressive position on freedom of arts and expression. The article was named “In defense of freedom of creativity “Darwish wrote what most of us need to understand today

“Globalization besieges our path to future and Islamic fundamentalism besieges present pushing us to past from which bright pages only the margins of intellectual censorship are selectively read. Such fundamentalism does not bother asking what qualifies it to appoint itself a guardian of sacred and a monopoly of faith. we refuse religious oppression as much we refuse the political oppression. our defense of Khalife today is defense of freedom of creativity , unbound and unshackled—”

Such a beacon of creativity, clarity and freedom is no more. When he is needed the most. Palestine is dying ,to quote his own words “suiciding on the streets”

Alwida Dawish, Alwida Habash, Alwida Arafat: Alwida Palestine?

Long Live Palestine: Long Live Freedom

Shaheryar Ali

From WorldNetDaily

WASHINGTON – When Taysir Saada served as a trained assassin for Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization in the late 1960s, he admits he hated Christians.

If he found a home belonging to followers of Jesus, he would sometimes throw a grenade inside and shoot it up with bursts of machine-gun fire.

He has no idea how many people were killed and wounded in such attacks.

Today a non-uniformed Saada, now known as Tass, patrols the dangerous Hamas-dominated streets of the Gaza Strip – no longer hunting down Christians or bearing arms; the Palestinian-American has traded in his automatic weapons and grenades for the Bible, humanitarian service and apologies to Arab Christians he once persecuted.

His transition from Islamic terrorist to Christian missionary is recounted in a new book, "Once An Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life."

Saada has returned to his roots, having been born in Gaza shortly after the 1948 war.

His family had left a comfortable and prosperous life in Jaffa before the war, heeding calls from Arab leaders to clear the area for the "liberation" forces of the Arab armies who were coming to destroy the new state of Israel. Tired of the refugee life in Gaza, his family uprooted themselves again and made a new home for themselves in Saudi Arabia.

The Saada family did well for itself in their new country, but the youngest child, who never knew his former homeland, grew up with a burning desire to return and fight for the Arab pride that had been stripped away by three successive defeats in 1948, 1956 and 1967.

Without his family's knowledge or consent, Saada traveled to Syria to sign up to fight for his childhood hero, Arafat.

Quickly welcomed into a training camp in Jordan, Saada became a sniper and participated in the pitch battle of Karameh, outside of Jericho – a battle that made headlines around the world and served as a recruiting tool for Arafat and Fatah when Israeli forces found themselves in a daylong standoff with thousands of Palestinian guerrillas.

Saada's role, which still causes him anguish, was to pick off Israeli soldiers with his sniper rifle.

Thirty-four years later, just six months before Arafat died, Saada had an opportunity to evangelize his former boss, telling him about the God of love, peace and forgiveness he had come to know, comparing man's life-giving Creator with the deadly destruction wrought in his former life.

"Do you know how God created man?" he recalls asking Arafat.

"Yes," he said. "From the dust."

"That's right," replied Saada, Arafat's former pupil in terrorism and his one-time chauffeur. "But do you know how?"

"How?" asked the father of modern terrorism.

"He got down and scooped up the earth and shaped it into the form of a man, says the Bible," Saada explained. "Then he bowed down and breathed life into his nostrils. When I think about that, I ask myself how we could take the lives of so many men."

Saada said Arafat welcomed his old student back toward the end of his life and gave him plenty of time to talk in his bombed-out Ramallah headquarters fully knowing of his conversion to Christianity. Shortly after this visit, an Egyptian pastor and friend of Saada also had an opportunity to visit with Arafat who said the terrorist leader "prayed the sinner's prayer" with him, converting to Christianity.

"Do you think he understood what was going on?" Saada asked.

"Yes, absolutely," replied the pastor. "He was very clear. And we were alone in the room, just the two of us."

Months later, on Nov. 11, 2004, Arafat succumbed in a Paris hospital.

"When I saw that he had actually died, my heart broke," says Saada. "I didn't think about all that had gone astray under his leadership. I didn't think about all the graft and misrepresentation in which he had indulged. I only thought about the man himself, now facing eternity. This was my teenage hero, the courageous leader who had dared to call the Palestinian people toward their destiny. He was the man I would willingly have died to protect. Now he was nothing but another human being standing before an awesome God, giving answers to penetrating questions. I don't know what he said in that final court. I could only hope that in the recent months he had come to terms with the Lord of all the earth."

"Once An Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life" takes you from the squalid Gaza refugee camp in 1951 to the Fatah guerrilla camp training to the feverish battles and through Saada's journey to America where he was pleasantly surprised to find opportunity, prosperity, a wife, a family and a spiritual rebirth – a rebirth that brought him right back to where it all started.

From WorldNetDaily

Sebelumnya, mohon maaf apabila ada detail kegiatan yang saya salah tulis atau lupa tertuliskan (tulisan ini dibuat 4 bulan setelah kegiatan selesai, padahal ceritanya dimulai lebih dari satu tahun yang lalu. Saya sendiri bukan orang yang suka menulis diari :wink: ). Maaf juga kalo tulisan ini ditulis dari segi pengamatan saya semata, sehingga mungkin ada sisi lain yang tidak terungkap dari PLO. Semoga tulisan ini bermanfaat… :)

***

Awalnya saya terlibat di PLO karena mendapat amanah di PSDA HMIF sebagai pendamping (sebenarnya lebih cocok disebut pembantu :P ) Mira Muliati (IF 05), biasa saya sebut Teh Mira, sebagai penanggung jawab proker Kaderisasi STEI 2007.

Penggabungan antara IF dan EL menjadi STEI membawa dampak langsung kepada himpunan, yaitu himpunan tidak bisa langsung mengkader mahasiswa tingkat pertama. HME dan HMIF ITB merupakan himpunan pertama di ITB yang melakukan kegiatan kaderisasi bersama di tingkat fakultas untuk angkatan 2006. Sayangnya, kegiatan tersebut memiliki beberapa masalah seperti budaya himpunan yang berbeda, adanya pembanding-bandingan himpunan oleh peserta, kebersamaan semu yang dibangun di STEI, dan banyak hal lain yang tidak terjadi tahun-tahun sebelumnya. So, banyak pihak yang akhirnya tidak ingin melakukan kaderisasi bersama lagi.

Tim Formatur Kaderisasi STEI 2006, awal dari PLO

Untuk menginisiasi perlu atau tidaknya kaderisasi STEI 2006, akhirnya dibentuklah tim formatur kaderisasi STEI 2006. Tim ini dibentuk oleh PSDA HMIF dan Kementrian Karakter HME. Berawal dari rapat di selasar dingdong yang diikuti oleh saya, Teh Mira, Kak Arda (EL'04, Menteri Karakter HME saat itu), dan Kak Adin (EL'05, kementerian karakter HME), dibentuklah tim formatur yang akhirnya secara resmi beranggotakan Kak Arda, Kak Ochal (EL'05, penyusun GDK HME), Totz (EL'06), Kak Aji (IF'05), Teh Mira, dan saya sendiri. Tugas inti dari tim ini adalah mengkaji perlu atau tidaknya kaderisasi, menetapkan capaian kaderisasi bila disepakati ada kaderisasi bersama, memilih ketua, dan evaluator kegiatan.

Untuk memutuskan tentang butuh atau tidaknya kaderisasi bersama, tim ini melakukan analisis kondisi dan kebutuhan akan kaderisasi STEI 2008. Metode yang dipakai adalah wawancara terhadap 2006 (Nur, Prana, dan Ega, ketiganya saya tembak di tempat ketika sedang di Labdas IV :lol: ), wawancara terhadap 2007 (ketua kelas, mahasiswa metropolis, mahasiswa daerah), kuesioner massa himpunan, kuesioner 2007, analisis GDK HME, dan analisis kebutuhan HMIF.

Rapat DE HMIF - Diakhiri dengan Tiga Buah Persyaratan

Rapat DE HMIF tentang ada atau tidaknya kaderisasi bersama, mungkin menjadi salah satu rapat DE yang memiliki tempat tersendiri di ingatan saya. Selain karena rapat itu merupakan rapat DE pertama saya, rapat tersebut merupakan salah satu rapat terpanas dimana emosi beberapa orang DE tampak terlibat. Saat itu, DE HMIF rapat bersama tim formatur yang diwakili oleh saya dan Teh Mira.

"Sejak menjadi panitia di kaderisasi kemarin, dalam hati saya bilang, tidak usahlah ada kaderisasi bersama lagi."

Sesi brainstorming diawali dengan statement di atas oleh salah seorang DE. Begitu juga statement-statement selanjutnya yang kebanyakan berisi tentang kekecewaan terhadap kaderisasi 2006 dan penolakan adanya kaderisasi bersama kembali. Wajar saja banyak yang tidak ingin ada kaderisasi bersama. Hasil polling terhadap massa HMIF menunjukkan bahwa 60% massa himpunan angkatan 2005 ke atas menolak adanya kaderisasi bersama kembali. Keadaan menjadi 50-50 karena justru 60% 2006 ingin melakukan kaderisasi bersama kembali.

Namun, setelah melakukan list terhadap positif-negatif kaderisasi bersama, akhirnya DE HMIF memutuskan untuk sepakat melakukan kaderisasi bersama. Faktor terbesar yang menjadi poin tambah kaderisasi bersama adalah kecepatan 2007 berinteraksi dengan himpunan. Dikhawatirkan jika 2007 dibiarkan terlalu lama, maka akan terbentuk mind-set study oriented atau game oriented.

Namun, HMIF sendiri mengajukan syarat untuk kaderisasi ini:

1. Kaderisasi didefinisikan bersama, yang akan disampaikan adalah hal-hal yang dirasa sama baik di HME maupun HMIF
2. Panitia harus satu kesatuan, satu budaya dan satu tujuan. Jangan ada jaket himpunan, simbol himpunan, atau budaya yang berkaitan dengan himpunan.
3. Jangan legowo, segala sesuatu jangan disimpan dalam hati, utarakan jika ada masalah sehingga terjadi saling pengertian.

Sepakat Jalan Bersama, Pembentukan Profil Kader Ideal

Setelah kedua himpunan sepakat untuk melaksanakan kaderisasi bersama, maka akhirnya tim formatur pun bekerja untuk membentuk capaian kaderisasi. Setelah melalui berbagai rapat, dan hearing dengan massa kedua himpunan, akhirnya terbentuklah guideline kaderisasi STEI 2007, yaitu 9 Profil Kader Ideal Kaderisasi STEI 2007:

1. Memiliki konsep diri sebagai Makhluk Tuhan
2. Manusia Pembelajar
3. Memiliki kepedulian kepada lingkungan sekitar
4. Memiliki komitmen untuk berkontribusi kepada bangsa
5. Mengenal dunia EL dan IF
6. Memiliki visi misi sebagai mahasiswa
7. Mengenal lingkungan kampus
8. Memiliki kemampuan manajerial diri dan organisasi
9. Memiliki sikap yang kreatif dan inovatif

Perbedaan yang mungkin mencolok dari kaderisasi-kaderisasi biasanya adalah dihilangkannya kebersamaan dari materi dan diganti dengan kepedulian. Alasannya adalah karena sadar bahwa STEI 2007 suatu saat akan berpisah menjadi IF2007 dan EL2007 dan tidak "bersama" lagi. Jadi, yang harus ditanamkan adalah "kepedulian" yaitu siapapun orangnya asalkan kita tahu dia mengalami kesulitan atau masalah, kita wajib membantunya.

Namun, dalam sebuah rapat Teh Mira pernah mengatakan :

"Satu hal yang saya sadari sejak bersama tim formatur adalah kebersamaan akan menjadi semu apabila kebersamaan itu ada karena berada di tempat yang sama. Tapi, kebersamaan yang hakiki adalah kebersamaan yang terbentuk karena tujuan dan keinginan yang sama dan masing-masing berusaha untuk menggapai tujuan dan keinginan bersama tersebut." :cool:

Terpilihlah Kak Syarief sebagai Ketua

Langkah pun berlanjut dengan pemilihan ketua. Empat orang mendaftarkan diri sebagai calon ketua, yaitu Kak Syarief (EL 05), Ivan Pradana Harka (IF 06) – bukan Ivan saya :P, Difa (IF 06), dan Nadhira (IF 06). Namun, Nadhira mengundurkan diri saat itu karena ada masalah keluarga. Diadakan 2 kali hearing calon ketua dan akhirnya, diadakanlah rapat penentuan ketua yang dihadiri oleh 6 orang tim formatur, 2 Ketua Himpunan (Kak Iqbal HMIF dan Kak Dolly HME), dan 2 Kadiv PSDA (Kak Nanto HMIF dan Kak Aulia HME).

Terlihat perbedaan mendasar dari 3 orang tersebut. Ivan yang tampak sangat menguasai kegiatan lapangan, Difa yang merangkul panitia 2006 lain, dan Kak Syarief yang mengusung kaderisasi dengan frame baru. Terpilihlah Kak Syarief sebagai ketua kaderisasi STEI 2007. Alasan terpilihnya Kak Syarief saat itu adalah diharapkan dengan kedudukan dia sebagai angkatan 2005 dapat diterima oleh kedua belah massa himpunan dan harapan akan frame baru tentang kaderisasi yang akan memberikan metode-metode baru sesuai dengan frame kader adalah manusia dewasa.

Akhirnya, beberapa di akhir semester ganjil 2007/2008, terbentuklah PLO. Struktur PLO sendiri, yaitu Ketua: Aditya Syarief, Wakil Ketua : Difa Kusumadiani, Koor. Materi : Ikhsan Sigma, Koor. Acara : Nadhira Ayuningtyas, Koor. Lapangan : Ivan Pradana, Koor. Non-Lapangan : Ricky Sihombing. Koor. Motivator : Haryo, Koor, P3K : Obbie…

Konsep Kak Syarief

"Dalam konsep yang saya bawa, saya akan mengebiri peran danlap"

Kalimat di atas merupakan janji Kak Syarief saat hearing. Konsep yang dibawa Kak Syarief adalah konsep pendidikan manusia dewasa. Berbeda dengan kaderisasi-kaderisasi dahulu, yang peserta dianggap sebagai seseorang yang tidak tahu yang harus diberikan materi agar tahu, konsep kaderisasi Kak Syarief mengedepankan pendidikan manusia dewasa. Materi diberikan dengan cara lingkar wacana itupun bukan doktrinisasi.

Kegiatan lapangan sendiri berusaha diminimalisir oleh Kak Syarief. Peran danlap dikebiri dikarenakan, menurutnya, banyak danlap yang tidak memiliki integritas ketika berorasi. Selain itu, kegiatan lapangan sangat berpotensi memunculkan kegiatan marah-marah yang akhirnya menganggap bahwa peserta adalah anak kecil yang tidak tahu apa-apa.

Tim Materi PLO

Di PLO, saya tergabung dengan divisi materi (terkadang dipanggil tim materi). Inginnya masuk motivator, tapi mengingat supaya ada kesinambungan antara profil kader dan materi, akhirnya saya bergabung dengan tim materi. Tim Materi PLO beranggotakan Sigma (koordinator), Bintang (EL 06), Arnauld (EL 06), Frida (EL 06), Restya (IF 06), Azwar (IF 06), dan tidak lain dan tidak bukan, tentunya, seperti telah saya tulis sebelumnya, di kalimat pertama, saya sendiri :oops: .

Di awal, kami menyusun materi berdasarkan 9 Profil. Dari mulai tujuan hingga akhirnya terbentuk alur kaderisasi. Setelah itu, mulai merencanakan tentang raport para peserta. PLO mencoba menganut sebuah sistem nilai baru, yaitu dengan REPLI (Respon, Emosi, Psikomotorik, Logika dan Integritas). Di sistem ini, nantinya peserta tidak hanya dinilai dari nilai tugas, tetapi juga dari aspek-aspek ketika lingkar wacana dan diskusi. Idealnya, ketika lingkar wacana, para motivator akan mengamati para peserta sementara mentor menyampaikan materi.

9-10 Februari 2008 - Leadership Orientation and Softskill Training (LOST) : TFT Materi untuk Calon Panitia

Awal semester genap 2007/2008 ditandai dengan diadakannya TFT Materi. Bertempat di ruang multimedia TVST B, diadakan LOST. LOST diadakan oleh 6 orang tim formatur ditambah Kak Syarief, Kak Adin, Kak Nanto (IF 05), Kak Aulia (EL 05), Anto (IF 06), Restya, Kiki (EL 06), Roffi (EL 06), dan Satria (EL 06) dengan Ketua Teh Mira. Panitia yang hanya sedikit orang ternyata dapat membuat sebuah pelatihan yang bahkan ternyata pada akhirnya secara kualitas pembicara dan teknis jauh lebih baik daripada seminar di acara PLO sendiri.

LOST menghadirkan pembicara Pak Rama Royani (pakar talent mapping, dosen luar biasa FT ITB), Pak Dindin Sjafruddin (trainer Muhammad Group), Kak Ronny (IF'02, mantan Ketua Divisi Internal HMIF dan danlap kaderisasi), Eko Prasetyo (penulis buku "Orang Miskin Dilarang Sekolah"), M Fadjroel Rachman (aktivis kenegaraan, sekarang diberitakan menjadi capres independen), dan Tim Psikolog ITB.

TFT ini merupakan syarat wajib agar seseorang dapat menjadi panitia PLO. TFT ini juga sempat membuat sebuah dongeng sebelum tidur baru, yang berjudul "Gadis Pembawa Nampan" :D

Bergeraknya Panitia, Harapan Besar untuk Sebuah Kaderisasi

Dimulai dari libur semester ganjil 2007/2008, tim materi pun mulai menyusun materi. Di bawah arahan 9 profil kader, terbentuklah alur dan rancangan materi. Dari materi yang telah dibuat, diserahkan kepada tim acara untuk dibuat acara-acara yang akan dilakukan. Terbentuklah rancangan acara PLO.

Di sisi lain, para motivator pun giat berlatih untuk menjadi motivator yang baik. Tak kurang dari 2 pelatihan motivator diadakan agar mereka dapat berkomunikasi dengan baik dengan peserta. Selain itu, dikumpulkan para aktivis himpunan dari angkatan 2005 ke atas untuk menjadi mentor kaderisasi. Diharapkan dengan pengalaman mereka, mereka dapat memberikan banyak materi kepada peserta. Di bagian non-lapangan pun demikian, majalah dinding dibuat agar ada komunikasi dengan pihak massa himpunan.

Peserta mulai dikumpulkan di awal semeseter genap 2007/2008. Di sana, mereka mendapat tes awal dan tes personality plus untuk pembagian kelompok. Sebuah harapan besar untuk PLO. Sebuah harapan besar untuk kader HME dan HMIF selanjutnya.

Perizinan, Akar dari Semua Permasalahan yang Akan Datang

Perizinan, inilah cikal bakal semua masalah yang akan terjadi di PLO. Perkara dimulai ketika proposal yang diajukan panitia terbentur di Bapak Nanang (koordinator kemahasiswaan Prodi Elektro). Diawali dengan alasan, "Mengapa materinya sangat banyak? Nanti waktu anak-anak untuk belajar terganggu. Mengapa masih saja ada materi kepemimpinan? Bukankah hanya beberapa orang saja yang perlu jadi pemimpin.". Lobi-lobi terus dilakukan namun tetap saja izin tidak keluar. Malah, keluar pernyataan, "Dengan kaderisasi maka kita tidak menghormati hak asasi manusia." (emangnya kami mau ngapain,pak? :x ) . Frame lama tentang kaderisasi yang keras ternyata masih kental di pikiran bapak-bapak di Elektro. Seberusahabagaimanapun lobi dilakukan, hasilnya tetap nihil.

Hari Pertama PLO (13 April 2008) : Sebuah Awal yang Sederhana

Di tengah keadaan PLO yang belum diizinkan, panitia memaksakan ada sebuah acara pada 13 April 2008 di selasar GKU timur. Dengan alasan, 2007 sudah diberitahu bahwa akan diadakan acara PLO. Acara sendiri akhirnya berupa acara sederhana pembagian kelompok, pengenalan motivator, games bola pingpong, dan diakhiri dari wejangan Kak Syarief.
Tidak ada sebuah acara seremonial, tidak ada orasi dari ketua ataupun kahim, tidak ada massa himpunan. Semua itu dilakukan karena fakultas belum mengizinkan PLO namun ada lampu hijau jika tidak melibatkan massa yang besar. Maka acara dibuat per kelompok dan kebanyakan diisi sesi lingkar wacana oleh motivator dan games kelompok.

Hari Kedua PLO (19-20 April 2008) : Agama, kenapa tidak?

"yak tdi gw mrasa masuk pesantren.. bner2 mau kabur tdi gw.."

Petikan di atas adalah salah satu comment di friendster stei 2007 menanggapi hari kedua PLO. Ada juga "ko PLO pake dipisah2in pake agama sih?? ga seru nih!". Hari kedua PLO, diawali dengan sesi lingkar wacana tentang konsep diri dari motivator dan mentor (akan ada cerita khusus dari bagian ini di bagian selanjutnya). Acara selanjutnya dilanjutkan oleh pembagian per agama untuk selanjutnya acara diserahkan ke masing-masing unit keagamaan. Acara 2 hari itu berisikan konsep diri sesuai dengan agama.

Beberapa orang menganggap bahwa kaderisasi umum tidak perlu memasukkan kegiatan agama di dalamnya. Tapi satu hal yang disadari oleh tim formatur dan tim materi PLO saat itu, sebuah konsep diri haruslah berpatokan dengan agama masing-masing. Tidak ada yang bisa mengikat seseorang selain agamanya sendiri. Hanya agama yang bisa membuat orang bangun jam 3 untuk sahur. Hanya agama yang bisa membuat orang tidak berbicara selama 1 hari. Agamalah yang bisa jadi patokan seseorang untuk berbuat baik.

Dimana mentor? : Loyalitas yang Dipertanyakan

Berawal dari konsep Kak Syarief yang lebih mengedepankan lingkar wacana, dicarilah para mentor untuk lingkar wacana. Mentor ini merupakan angkatan 2005 ke atas yang bertugas menyampaikan materi PLO. Dipilih angkatan 2005 ke atas karena mereka lebih berpengalaman. Namun, ternyata hal itu menjadi sebuah masalah di PLO ini. Pada hari kedua, dimana saat mentor dibutuhkan lingkar wacana, dari 30 mentor yang dibutuhkan, hanya 5 orang mentor yang datang.

Satu jam sebelum mentor bertugas, harusnya diadakan briefing di selasar dingdong. Restya dan saya mendapat tugas menunggu di sana. Namun, sampai kami berlumut (agak hiperbolis sebenarnya :D ), sampai 15 menit lagi sebelum mentor bertugas, baru 5 orang yang datang dan tidak ada tanda-tanda akan bertambah :cry: . Kami pun panik. Akhirnya, para motivator pun dipanggil untuk dibriefing menggantikan para mentor. Pada saat briefing, para motivator menolak karena merasa tidak sanggup menyampaikan materi. Sempat terjadi kebingungan karena 5 mentor yang hadir pun tidak siap jika harus menyampaikan materi dengan jumlah peserta banyak. Beruntung akhirnya motivator menyanggupi untuk mengganti setelah Ega dan Risa menyemangati para motivator yang lain.

Sejak saat itu, kami (tim materi) mulai mempertanyakan loyalitas para mentor. Meskipun setelah hari itu, kami masih me-ngejar2 para mentor, toh akhirnya tidak lebih dari 15 mentor yang bertahan. Di pertemuan-pertemuan selanjutnya, terpaksa para motivator yang memberikan materi PLO. Meskipun, banyak yang mengeluh karena merasa belum siap menyampaikan materi.

Masa Suram Dimulai : Tidak Ada Kejelasan, Pembuatan Plan A-Z, Hilangnya Panitia, Pengunduran Diri Beberapa Panitia

Setelah 2 hari acara keagamaan, sembari menunggu izin dari pihak STEI, PLO ditunda sampai waktu yang tidak ditentukan. Peserta diberikan beberapa tugas agar tertanam bahwa PLO masih ada. Pihak Kak Syarief dan Tim Acara terus berusaha melobi-lobi pihak STEI agar diizinkan, namun bukannya menemui titik terang, pihak STEI malah hanya memberikan izin 3 hari untuk PLO, itupun setelah selesai masa UAS, yaitu bulan Juni. Tim Acara yang sudah menghubungi pihak pembicara untuk mengisi beberapa pertemuan yang dirancang sebelumnya, terpaksa harus membatalkan beberapa pembicara. Akhirnya mereka membuat plan-plan untuk PLO. Ada plan dimana untuk acara 2 minggu dan plan untuk acara 1 minggu. Namun, tetap saja, proposal ditolak! :x

Kesalahan terbesar Kak Syarief, menurut saya, pada saat itu adalah membiarkan kepanitiaan simpang siur lebih dari 1 bulan. Tidak ada rapat dan penjelasan lebih lanjut dari Kak Syarief kepada panitia tentang kejelasan PLO. Hal ini diperparah karena, menurut beberapa koordiv, Kak Syarief pun hanya sedikit berkomunikasi dengan para koordinator divisi. Akhirnya, panitia pun banyak yang kehilangan komitmen dan loyalitas terhadap PLO sehingga ketika dikumpulkan kembali, hanya sedikit panitia yang tersisa.

Di sisi lain, pihak STEI hanya memberikan tambahan 1 hari, sehingga mereka hanya mengizinkan 4 hari kegiatan PLO, itupun harus ada 1 hari yang melibatkan dosen. Merasa kecewa dengan keadaan, akhirnya banyak panitia terutama dari divisi acara yang akhirnya mengundurkan diri dari kepanitiaan. Kebanyakan dari mereka kecewa karena rencana-rencana mereka ditolak oleh STEI ditambah izin pun tidak kunjung diberikan oleh STEI.

Rapat Ketua PLO, Tim Formatur, HME, dan HMIF : Apakah kita Sudahi PLO ini?

Tanggal 26 Mei 2008, akhirnya diadakan rapat penentuan tentang nasib PLO di pinggir Lab. Basis Data Labtek V. Rapat dihadiri oleh Kak Nanto (udah jadi ketua HMIF), saya (udah jadi Kadiv PSDA HMIF :D ), Kak Dolly (Ketua HME), Kak Aulia (Menteri Karakter HME), Kak Aji, dan Teh Mira (keduanya mewakili tim formatur PLO).

Di awal, Kak Syarief memaparkan bahwa tampaknya sudah tidak mungkin melobi pihak STEI. Sebaik-baiknya rencana adalah mengadakan PLO selama 5 hari, 31 Mei-5 Juni, dengan menambahkan acara-acara yang melibatkan dosen di sana. Tidak mungkin mengejar semua materi untuk disampaikan.

Sempat kepikiran untuk membubarkan PLO. Apa sih yang bisa dilakukan hanya 5 hari yang itupun diatur oleh STEI? Bukankah kaderisasi bisa ditunda di saat 2007 memasuki tahun kedua saat mereka sudah mendapat program studi masing-masing. Namun, beberapa pertimbangan akhirnya yang membuat kami sepakat untuk melanjutkan PLO, yaitu:

1. Menyelesaikan apa yang telah dimulai.
2. Memberikan penghargaan kepada 2007 yang telah mengerjakan tugas-tugas dengan penuh semangat.
3. Pembuktian bahwa HME-HMIF bisa mengikuti perintah STEI. Hal ini bisa menjadi "investasi" untuk tahun-tahun selanjutnya jika akan melaksanakan kaderisasi bersama kembali.

Mengumpulkan Panitia-Panitia yang Tersisa

Dua hari kemudian, di amphi arsi, panitia dikumpulkan. Terlihat pengurangan yang berarti dari jumlah panitia. Di awal, sempat terdapat 50-60an lebih panitia, namun saat itu hanya sekitar 20-30an orang yang datang. Saat itu ditanya, apakah kami siap melanjutkan PLO? Jika siap, silahkan dalam 2 hari kumpulkan surat kontrak panitia.

Jum'at 30 Mei 2008, Perizinan Belum Keluar juga!

(Sebelumnya maaf, untuk bagian ini, ga ngalamin langsung. Setelah malamnya begadang menyelesaikan tubes OOP, besoknya ada deadline tugas calon asisten basis data [untungnya keterima :D ]. Dari IF 2006 sendiri menurut sebuah sumber hanya datang Restya, Adi, dan Ivan P, sisanya kemungkinan besar tepar setelah begadang semalaman :P )

Peserta sudah diberitahu bahwa Sabtu, 31 Mei 2008 akan diadakan PLO. Tapi, Jum'at malam, panitia dikumpulkan. Kak Syarief mengatakan bahwa izin kembali tidak keluar. Izin hanya keluar untuk tanggal 2-5 Juni. Dia mengatakan tidak menjamin bahwa acara besok bisa dilaksanakan.

Di tengah ketidakpastian, akhirnya panitia, dimotori Ivan Pradana (bukan Ivan saya :-P ), Sigma, dan Sakur, memutuskan untuk tetap akan mengadakan PLO hari Sabtu. Dirancanglah acara hari Sabtu, yang intinya menyampaikan bahwa mereka telah melewati beberapa tahapan selama satu tahun di ITB dan sekarang mereka akan mengalami tahapan selanjutnya. Selain itu, acara pun dirancang sebagai pembukaan resmi PLO. Acara direncanakan diadakan di Babakan Siliwangi agar tidak ada gangguan dari pihak kampus yang sedang mengadakan USM.

Sabtu 31 Mei 2008, Acara Bayangan dan Pembukaan Resmi PLO

(Saya sendiri masih sibuk dengat wawancara dan presentasi calon asisten Lab Basis Data sehingga datang telat)

Akhirnya, hari Sabtu, 31 Mei 2008, diadakanlah pembukaan resmi PLO. Acara diawali dengan pembagian kelompok yang selanjutnya akan dikirim ke pos-pos. Pos-pos ini sendiri lain dari biasanya. Biasanya, dalam sebuah pelatihan, tiap pos akan memiliki materi tetap yang berbeda dengan pos lainnya. Namun, di pos-pos kali ini, justru tiap pos berubah materi sesuai sesi. Sesi-sesi ini menggambarkan kehidupan mahasiswa di tahun pertama. Sesi belajar – disimulasikan dengan merangkum buku dan mengerjakan soal-soal kalkulus, dll, sesi istirahat – digambarkan dengan memejamkan mata dan mensimulasikan istirahat, sesi istirahat (benar-benar istirahat), sesi mencoba hal yang baru – disimulasikan dengan orasi (akan dibahas di bagian selanjutnya), dan terakhir sesi tantangan – disimulasikan dengan simulasi menara loncat.

Acara diakhiri dengan pembukaan PLO yang berisi pembacaan puisi dari kedua kahim, dan orasi dari ketua PLO. Di bawah cuaca yang mendung, di jembatan babakan Siliwangi menghadap ke pemukiman-pemukiman padat penduduk, akhirnya dibukalah secara resmi PLO STEI 2008.

"Lihat ke pemukiman di depan sana, bandingkan dengan megahnya Labtek V dan VIII"
(petikan orasi Kak Syarief)

Sesi Orasi – dari kenaikan BBM, uban, Steve Immanuel masuk Islam, hingga Undang-Undang

Bagian yang bagi saya menarik di acara pos-posan di pembukaan PLO adalah sesi orasi. Peserta akan diberikan sebuah tema, dan secara cepat dia harus memberikan orasi tentang tema tersebut. Saya sendiri yang tidak kebagian menjaga pos karena datang telat, akhirnya sempat jalan-jalan ke beberapa pos dan melihat beberapa adegan menarik.

Di pos Sakur, Restya, dkk., sesi orasi dimulai dengan membahas topik kenaikan BBM. Si peserta akhirnya membahas bagaimana ketika BBM dinaikkan, rakyat menderita.

"… Oleh karena itu, marilah kita turun ke jalan. Kita buktikan bahwa mahasiswa ada di pihak rakyat."

Nah, begitu berjalan ke pos Teja, Nur, Adi, Andru, dkk., ternyata topik yang dibahas berbeda. Pos saat itu dipegang oleh Teja. Teja sendiri memberikan topik-topik yang unik. Kepada salah seorang perserta dia berkata: "OK, karena kamu ber-uban (rambut putih di kepala), sekarang topik kamu adalah tentang uban. :D ". Dan kepada salah seorang peserta, ia memberikan topik "Steve Immanuel masuk Islam". Sontak si peserta kaget :shock: , karena meskipun topik itu sedang hangat saat itu, tetapi untuk sebuah orasi, topik tersebut sangatlah sulit. Akhirnya, mungkin karena ia tidak tahu harus bicara apa, akhirnya ia berbicara:

"Teman-teman, masuknya Steve Immanuel ke Islam, merupakan bukti bahwa Islam adalah agama yang dapat diterima oleh semua orang. Agama Islam, seperti yang telah terbukti di zaman Nabi, merupakan agama yang dapat diterima dengan mudah oleh orang-orang kafir. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa Islam sesuai dengan hati nurani manusia."

Beruntunglah orasi tersebut akhirnya di-cut karena jika dilanjutkan mungkin orasi akan berubah menjadi ceramah Islamisasi peserta PLO. :)

Pos terakhir yang saya kunjungi ketika sesi orasi adalah pos Frida, Ega, dkk. Di pos ini, seorang peserta sedang berorasi tentang masyarakat Indonesia yang tidak berkelakuan sesuai dengan Pancasila dan Undang-Undang Dasar 45. Ia mengkritisi orang-orang yang tidak hafal pembukaan UUD 1945. Namun, ketika saya balik Tanya apakah dia hafal, dia menjawab "Tidak, Kak…" :( .

Senin, 2 Juni 2008 : PLO Resmi Hari Pertama, Seharga 1,25 juta

PLO hari ini direncanakan diawali dengan acara senam bersama dosen di Sabuga. Namun, ternyata tidak ada 1 dosen pun yang memenuhi undangan. Beruntung, karena ternyata STEI 2007 telat hampir 45 menit karena mereka membagi-bagi tugas buku angkatan terlebih dahulu. Panitia pun cukup kesal dengan ketelatan ini karena panitia sendiri telah hadir sejak pukul 5 pagi di Sabuga atau 1 jam sebelum acara.

Acara dimulai dengan meminta peserta untuk membuat gaya senam sesuai dengan musik yang diberikan. Setelah itu, sesi dilanjutkan dengan sesi motivatoring bersama para motivator. Sesi motivatoring selesai, peserta dimobilisasi ke selasar geodesi untuk menonton film "October Sky" sampai istirahat makan siang.

Setelah break makan siang, diadakan sesi materi dari Bunda Marwah Daud Ibrahim (anggota DPR Fraksi Kebangkitan Bangsa). Materi yang diberikan adalah MHMMD (Mengelola Hidup dan Merencanakan Masa Depan), berisikan materi dari buku berjudul sama karangan beliau, berintikan tentang manajemen diri.

Mungkin peserta merasa terpuaskan dengan materi ini. Memang materi disampaikan dengan berbagai metode tidak biasa, seperti menyanyi dan menonton film. Namun, di lain pihak panitia mengalami masalah di belakang layar. Yang pertama adalah protokoler Bunda Marwah yang sempat memarahi panitia karena tempat yang diberikan adalah outdoor, padahal dijanjikan indoor (gimana bisa pinjam dalam ruangan, izin acara saja baru diberikan H-1 :( ). Yang kedua adalah ternyata, biaya mengundang Bunda Marwah di luar ekspektasi panitia. Ternyata, begitu mereka datang, panitia diberikan tagihan Rp. 1.250.000,00 8-O . Padahal, Niko Robbel (EL 06) sebagai penanggung jawab pengundang Bunda Marwah tidak diberi tahu ketika membuat perjanjian. So, seperti biasa, kami hanya menyiapkan uang transport, kenang-kenangan, dan makan siang (standar jika mahasiswa mengundang pembicara). Sontak, Niko panik menghubungi 2 kahim untuk meminta uang tambahan PLO. Beruntung kedua himpunan memberikan masing-masing 500 ribu rupiah dan dana tambahan dari PLO sebesar 250 ribu rupiah.

PLO hari kedua ditutup oleh pemberian tugas cerpen sebagai hukuman karena keterlambatan peserta di pagi hari untuk dikumpulkan Rabu.

Company Visit HMIF, berkurangnya panitia di hari Selasa dan Rabu

"Van, maaf, ya, ada Company Visit bentrok dengan PLO"

Wisnu Adityo (Cuz), Kadiv Hubungan Luar HMIF, meminta izin waktu itu ketika HMIF mengadakan Company Visit (kunjungan himpunan ke beberapa perusahaan) pada tanggal 3-4 Juni 2008. Tapi apa daya, memang PLO sendiri yang melanggar agenda yang telah ditetapkan (waktu sebelum ada masalah, PLO direncanakan selesai awal Mei). Akhirnya, Comvis mengurangi jumlah panitia yang berasal dari HMIF. Hanya beberapa orang, sekitar 8-10 orang, yang tersisa (termasuk saya, padahal ingin banget ikut comvis :( ).

Beberapa hari sebelumnya, saya ditelepon secara langsung oleh Kak Iqbal. Isinya mempertanyakan bentrok kedua acara tersebut dan loyalitas HMIF terhadap PLO. Dia takut ada kesan dari HME bahwa HMIF tidak serius mengerjakan PLO. Out of Topic, waktu itu sempat terkejut ditelepon Kak Iqbal. Saat itu kali pertama Kak Iqbal menelepon saya secara langsung. Meskipun udah ga jadi kahim, tetap saja ada perasaan takut saat nerima telepon itu :D.

Waktu itu saya hanya bisa berharap semoga orang-orang yang tersisa dari HMIF bisa bekerja maksimal sehingga berkurangnya panitia tidak mengganggu PLO.

Selasa, 3 Juni 2008 : PLO Resmi Hari Kedua, Kunjugan ke Masyarakat

Diawali dengan sesi lingkar wacana, PLO hari kedua dilanjutkan dengan kunjungan ke masyarakat kumuh untuk wawancara. Hari sebelumnya, peserta diminta memakai baju paling bagus yang mereka punya pada hari ini. Tujuannya agar peserta merasa miris ketika terjun ke lingkungan masyarakat kumuh dan akhirnya timbullah sense of crisis. Tapi sayangnya saya nggak sempet merhatiin ada yang pake gaun pesta atau tidak :-P .

Peserta disebar ke berbagai pos, Cisitu, Kebon Bibit, dll. Saya sendiri mendapat tugas mengawal peserta ke Kebon Bibit bersama Nana, dkk.. Per kelompok diminta wawancara 3 keluarga untuk hasilnya dibahas di sesi lingkar wacana pada siangnya .

Rabu, 4 Juni 1988 : PLO Resmi Hari kedua, Studium Generale

Diawali dengan sesi lingkar wacana kembali, PLO hari ketiga dilanjutkan dengan Studium Generale. Studium Generale dilaksanakan di 9232 dan dibagi 3 sesi. Sesi pertama merupakan sesi Realita Bangsa, membahas tentang kenaikan BBM oleh seorang Mas Agus (TK'02). Sesi kedua adalah sesi kepemimpinan, oleh seorang alumni Teknik Elektro angkatan 97 (lupa namanya :( ). Sesi terakhir adalah sesi pengenalan prodi IF-EL oleh Pak Adang (Dekan STEI), dan jajaran petinggi STEI lainnya.

Sebelum sesi kedua dimulai, sempat tim materi membahas beberapa masalah kecurangan yang ditemukan dalam tugas cerpen sebelumnya.

Tugas Cerpen : Akhirnya berubah menjadi materi kejujuran

"Kalau dulu sih kami langsung push-up"

Begitu kata-kata Kak Lafrania Taufik (IF 04), salah satu mentor, saat diminta saran tentang hukuman atas ketelatan peserta saat Senin pagi. Waktu itu, di sela-sela materi MHMMD di selasar Geodesi, saya, Frida, Restya, Arnauld, dan Bintang sempat bingung apa hukuman yang akan diberikan peserta atas ketelatan tadi pagi. Frida yang tampak sangat kesal dengan ketelatan tersebut, akhirnya mengusulkan agar peserta diberikan tugas essay tentang kedisiplinan.

"Beneran, Van, nanti saya baca satu-satu essaynya."

Tapi, setelah menimbang usulan Bintang bahwa nantinya tim materi akan bosan memeriksa essay, akhirnya diputuskan untuk memberikan tugas cerpen tentang kedisiplinan. Saya yang mendapat tugas mengumumkan spek-nya pada hari Senin sore. Speknya sendiri adalah membuat tugas cerpen tentang kedisiplinan. Font times new roman 10, spasi 1, margin 2, 2, 2, dan 2, minimal 1 halaman, nama dan nim pada header. Cerpen harus mengandung unsur seorang tokoh yang disiplin, manfaat dari disiplin, dan efek dari tidak disiplin.

Spek sendiri akhirnya bertambah karena ada yang bertanya apakah boleh ditulis tangan. Ketika saya bilang boleh, tampak raut wajah tersenyum dari para peserta dan kesal dari tim materi. Akhirnya saya menambahkan spek, jika dituilis tangan, minimal 2 halaman. Akhirnya raut muka berumah menjadi senyum dari panitia dan raut kesal dari peserta. Ditambah ucapan "Bagus, Van. Kamu nyebelin…" dari panitia lain :evil: .

Pada Rabu siang, ketika cerpen telah dikumpulkan, tim materi iseng melihat cerpen-cerpen hasil para peserta. Namun, secara tidak sengaja akhirnya ditemukan beberapa peserta yang melakukan kecurangan. Ada yang memperbesar margin, spasi, dan font untuk mempersingkat cerpen. Tapi, yang membuat kesal adalah ternyata ada beberapa cerpen yang terbukti merupakan plagiat. Ada sebuah cerpen yang merupakan plagiat dari sebuah majalah dan untungnya ada tim materi yang pernah membacanya.

Kecurangan yang paling fenomenal ditemukan adalah, berkat kejelian Restya, ditemukan dua buah cerpen yang memiliki potongan cerita yang sama, padahal jumlah halamannya pun berbeda. Akhirnya, kami bahas di sela-sela sesi Studium Generale Rabu itu. Akhirnya, ketahuan bahwa kedua orang itu (padahal tidak saling kenal) mengambil cerpen tersebut dari sebuah majalah. Tim materi akhirnya meminta orang-orang yang bermasalah mengumpulkan kembali cerpen baru mereka pada hari Kamis.

Kamis, 5 Juni 2008 : PLO Resmi Hari Terakhir, Akhirnya berakhir sudah

Lingkar wacana pagi hari terakhir diisi dengan penarikan visi dan misi diri peserta selama di kampus oleh para mentor dan motivator. Setelah itu, peserta diberikan istirahat selama 1 jam untuk mempersiapkan sebuah penampilan peserta untuk panitia.

Penampilan sendiri dilakukan per dua kelompok. Peserta diberikan kebebasan untuk menampilkan sesuatu selama 8 menit dengan tema Indonesia. Ada yang menyanyi, drama, orasi, dll. Penampilan dilakukan di amphi GKU Barat

Ketika peserta melakukan penampilan, di sisi lain bank niaga, saya, Ivan P, dan Kak Nanto, sedang sibuk berdiskusi tentang rangkaian penutupan. Jadi, penutupan yang akan dilangsungkan beberapa jam sejak saat itu, belum dikonsep sama sekali. Hal ini tidak terlepas dari sakitnya Totz yang diberi tugas mengonsep acara penutupan. Dalam waktu singkat saya dan Kak Nanto memberi saran kepada Ivan P tentang acara penutupan.

Penampilan kelompok para peserta dilanjutkan dengan penganugerahan beberapa awards dari peserta kepada panitia. Ada tercakep (dimenangkan Kak Syarief, katanya sih gara-gara kharismatik :D ), tercantik (Nana), teraniaya (entah kenapa saya :???: ), dan tercouple (Rivo dan nana). Setelah itu para peserta menyanyikan lagu "kisah klasik"nya SO7. Acara penampilan ditutup dengan pengumuman tentang kaderisasi HME dan HMIF selanjutnya.

Setelah penampilan selesai, peserta diberi istirahat sholat Ashar dan dikumpulkan kembali di GKU Timur. Di sini, Sigma memberikan hadiah kepada para peserta berupa stiker tentang deskripsi kelompok masing-masing. Dulu, Sigma pernah menjanjikan akan memberikan hadiah kepada kelompok terbaik. Tapi, beberapa jam (lagi) sebelum penutupan, akhirnya terpikir untuk memberikan hadiah kepada semua kelompok dengan esensi bahwa tiap kelompok adalah unik dan terbaik di kategori masing-masing.

Dari GKU Timur, peserta dimobilisasi ke amphi arsi. Diiringi rintik-rintik gerimisnya hujan, acara penutupan diawali dari orasi Kak Nanto, Kak Dolly, dan Kak Syarief. Setelah itu, peserta diminta memberikan salam ganesha ke 4 penjuru dan memejamkan mata. Beriringan dengan salam ganesha itu, panitia maju ke hadapan peserta dan akhirnya selesai peserta salam ganesha, panitia telah berada di hadapan peserta dan mengumandangkan salam ganesha. Barisan panitia disusun sehingga jaket HMIF dan HME (khusus penutupan boleh memakai atribut himpunan) saling bersilangan di sekeliling kedua kahim dan Kak Syarief.

Gerimis sempat mereda ketika peserta dan panitia sama-sama menyanyikan lagu "Mentari" diiringi aksi semprot api dari kedua sisi panggung. Sebuah penutupan yang syahdu dan khidmat untuk akhir PLO (hari itu kali kedua saya menitikkan air mata ketika menyanyikan lagu Mentari :cry: [dikit nangisnya… ga banyak2. Ntar dibilang cengeng :P ]).

Arti dari PLO

Banyak yang tidak puas terhadap PLO ini. Ya iya lah (masa ya iya dong, ntar bagai pinang dibelah dua jadi bagai pinang dibedong dua :-) ), kalau PLO dihitung-hitung hanya terlaksana selama 7 hari. Miris jika dibanding dengan persiapannya yang dimulai sejak STEI 2007 masuk ITB. Tapi, bagaimanapun menurut saya ada hal-hal penting yang terkandung dalam PLO :

1. Pembuktian bahwa HME dan HMIF bisa bekerja sama

   Sejak bergabung dalam STEI, seperti kakak adik dalam keluarga, secara alamiah orang-orang akhirnya selalu membandingkan antara HME dan HMIF. Hal ini, menurut anggapan saya, akhirnya menimbulkan persaingan antara kedua himpunan (padahal dulu biasa-biasa aja). Akhirnya, anggapan saya kembali, terkadang persaingan itu berubah menjadi persaingan tidak sehat seperti saling merendahkan himpunan lain atau membangga-banggakan himpunan sendiri. Tapi, dengan PLO ini, terbukti bahwa HME dan HMIF bisa bekerja sama dengan baik membuat sebuah acara. Selain itu, bagi 2006, hal ini menjadi sebuah reuni kembali setelah dikader sebagai STEI 2006 tahun sebelumnya (terkenang massa-massa STFK dulu :D )

2. Pembuktian tekad yang kuat

   Terkadang, kita mudah menyerah apabila keinginan dihadang berbagai masalah. Contoh di kalangan mahasiswa adalah keinginan mendapat IP 4 terkadang surut begitu mengetahui harus banyak baca dan belajar :D . Tapi, PLO ini merut saya merupakan pembuktian tekad untuk melaksanakan acara. Walaupun perizinan menghadang begitu hebatnya, di tengah prinsip tetap ingin mengadakan acara legal, akhirnya PLO bisa terlaksana dengan legal meskipun hanya beberapa hari. Di tengah sedikitnya panitia yang bertahan, acara-acara bisa tetap dilaksanakan meskipun akhirnya banyak yang serabutan dan kerja rodi (P3K yang tersisa 2 orang di 5 hari terakhir, logistik yang tersisa 5 orang, dll) . Semoga bisa menjadi pelecut untuk mendapat IP 4 :-P

Bagi saya sendiri, PLO punya arti sendiri karena kaderisasi 2007 merupakan proker pertama yang diberikan oleh HMIF. :)

Penutup

Agak menyesal sebenarnya PLO tidak berjalan sesuai rencana karena perizinan. Padahal, PLO sendiri dipersiapkan secara serius oleh kedua himpuan. Dipersiapkan sejak September, PLO sendiri baru bisa dibilang mulai pada 31 Mei. Dari kaderisasi-kaderisasi yang pernah saya alami dan panitiai, PLO lah yang bisa dibilang memiliki persiapan paling lama dan serius. Bahkan, menurut kedua belah himpunan, baik MBC maupun SPARTA tidak dipersiapkan sedetail PLO. Sayangnya usaha-usaha panitia gagal karena masalah perizinan.

Satu lagi yang saya sayangkan adalah, konsep Kak Syarief beserta berbagai inovasi seperti REPLI yang belum sempat teraplikasikan sehingga belum bisa dinilai baik buruknya. Bahkan, akhirnya SPARTA dan MBC kembali memakai metode yang kemarin-kemarin yaitu memakai metode agitasi untuk beberapa hal. Hmm, kapan,ya, metode ini bisa dicoba? Mungkin benar kata Kak Iqbal : "Syarief itu, the Right Man, in the Wrong School" yang bisa diartikan Kak Syarief membawa metode bagus, tapi sayangnya berada di fakultas yang saat itu tidak mengizinkan kaderisasi.

Tapi bagaimanapun, saya tetap memberikan apresiasi yang tinggi kepada panitia PLO, atas kerja kerasnya, atas pemikiran-pemikirannya, atas tetes keringatnya, atau atas tetes darahnya (ada seseorang yang hari terakhir PLO masuk selokan amphi GKU :P ). Semoga usahanya kali ini dianggap sebagai amal karena berusaha membuat STEI 2007 menjadi orang yang lebih baik ke depannya. :)

Ucapan Maaf dan Terima Kasih

Setelah panjang lebar menulis tentang PLO, akhirnya teringat kembali akan jasa-jasa beberapa orang dan kesalahan terhadap beberapa orang. Jadi, di akhir tulisan ini mau ngucapin maaf dan terima kasih kepada :

1. Kak Syarief yang sabar menghadapi Pak Nanang, Difa yang bisa merangkul panitia dan jadi tempat curhat yang baik, Ivan P yang benar-benar menguasai lapangan, Sigma (ada sesi khusus buat Sigma :)), Mami (capek dari tadi pake nama asli terus.. :D )dan tim acara yang udah kerja keras nyusun berbagai plan, Hombing yang dihari-hari terakhir jadi kuli bareng Okuli, dan semua panitia PLO, bendahara, sekretaris, logistik, acara, materi, motivator, P3K, staf lapangan, dan termasuk mentor yang udah kerja sama dan membuat sweet memory.
2. Massa HME, makasih kerja samanya. Sekali lagi saya minta maaf pas Comvis HMIF mengurangi panitia PLO.
3. Massa HMIF, dari zaman kepengurusan Kak Iqbal sampai dengan Kak Nanto yang udah ngedukung dan memberikan evaluasi pada PLO.
4. Tim Formatur (Kak Ardha, Kak Ochal, kak Aji, Teh Mira, Totz) yang udah kerja sama selama dua semester tapi ga bosen-bosen :-P.
5. Khusus untuk Teh Mira (meskipun kayanya orangnya ga akan baca :( ), makasih atas bimbingannya selama jadi PJ proker Kaderisasi STEI 2007. Maaf kalau nggak sesuai harapan kalo dikasih tugas.
6. Khusus untuk Tim Materi:
   1. Sigma, yang udah jadi koordinator yang sabar pas mimpin rapat yang lama dan berlarut-larut (yang beberapa diantaranya kembali ke keputusan yang udah dibicarain di awal rapat :-P ). Maaf juga waktu itu ga ngingetin ada selokan di depan mata, jadinya Sigma jatuh ke selokan :D .
   2. Frida, yang selalu mengaku tidak koleris padahal jelas-jelas koleris mutlak :D .
   3. Bintang, temen ngebuli-buli Frida yang kadang dibuli-buli juga terkait masalah IP :D .
   4. Arnauld, yang selalu ngebahas laki-laki ga bisa multitasking :D .
   5. Azwar, yang udah ngebuat terobosan materi di bidang makhluk sosial. Makasih meskipun anggota muda mau aktif di kaderisasi.
   6. Restya, maaf waktu tanggal 3 Juni hampir lupa ngasih ucapan selamat ulang tahun :( . Tapi, kayanya bakalan masih banyak maaf-maaf dan makasih-makasih selanjutnya di PSDA :) .
7. Semua orang yang udah capek-capek baca tulisan ini. Akhir kata, semoga bermanfaat :).

(Akhirnya selesai juga tulisan ini… Fuih.. Dibuat dalam 5 hari loh… :roll: )

Fatah terrorist used to throw grenades in Christian homes

By Joseph Farah

WASHINGTON - When Taysir Saada served as a trained assassin for Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization in the late 1960s, he admits he hated Christians.

If he found a home belonging to followers of Jesus, he would sometimes throw a grenade inside and shoot it up with bursts of machine-gun fire.

He has no idea how many people were killed and wounded in such attacks.

Today a non-uniformed Saada, now known as Tass, patrols the dangerous Hamas-dominated streets of the Gaza Strip - no longer hunting down Christians or bearing arms; the Palestinian-American has traded in his automatic weapons and grenades for the Bible, humanitarian service and apologies to Arab Christians he once persecuted.

His transition from Islamic terrorist to Christian missionary is recounted in a new book, "Once An Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life."

Saada has returned to his roots, having been born in Gaza shortly after the 1948 war.

His family had left a comfortable and prosperous life in Jaffa before the war, heeding calls from Arab leaders to clear the area for the "liberation" forces of the Arab armies who were coming to destroy the new state of Israel. Tired of the refugee life in Gaza, his family uprooted themselves again and made a new home for themselves in Saudi Arabia.

The Saada family did well for itself in their new country, but the youngest child, who never knew his former homeland, grew up with a burning desire to return and fight for the Arab pride that had been stripped away by three successive defeats in 1948, 1956 and 1967.

Without his family's knowledge or consent, Saada traveled to Syria to sign up to fight for his childhood hero, Arafat.

Quickly welcomed into a training camp in Jordan, Saada became a sniper and participated in the pitch battle of Karameh, outside of Jericho - a battle that made headlines around the world and served as a recruiting tool for Arafat and Fatah when Israeli forces found themselves in a daylong standoff with thousands of Palestinian guerrillas.

Saada's role, which still causes him anguish, was to pick off Israeli soldiers with his sniper rifle.

Thirty-four years later, just six months before Arafat died, Saada had an opportunity to evangelize his former boss, telling him about the God of love, peace and forgiveness he had come to know, comparing man's life-giving Creator with the deadly destruction wrought in his former life.

"Do you know how God created man?" he recalls asking Arafat.

"Yes," he said. "From the dust."

"That's right," replied Saada, Arafat's former pupil in terrorism and his one-time chauffeur. "But do you know how?"

"How?" asked the father of modern terrorism.

"He got down and scooped up the earth and shaped it into the form of a man, says the Bible," Saada explained. "Then he bowed down and breathed life into his nostrils. When I think about that, I ask myself how we could take the lives of so many men."

Saada said Arafat welcomed his old student back toward the end of his life and gave him plenty of time to talk in his bombed-out Ramallah headquarters fully knowing of his conversion to Christianity. Shortly after this visit, an Egyptian pastor and friend of Saada also had an opportunity to visit with Arafat who said the terrorist leader "prayed the sinner's prayer" with him, converting to Christianity.

"Do you think he understood what was going on?" Saada asked.

"Yes, absolutely," replied the pastor. "He was very clear. And we were alone in the room, just the two of us."

Months later, on Nov. 11, 2004, Arafat succumbed in a Paris hospital.

"When I saw that he had actually died, my heart broke," says Saada. "I didn't think about all that had gone astray under his leadership. I didn't think about all the graft and misrepresentation in which he had indulged. I only thought about the man himself, now facing eternity. This was my teenage hero, the courageous leader who had dared to call the Palestinian people toward their destiny. He was the man I would willingly have died to protect. Now he was nothing but another human being standing before an awesome God, giving answers to penetrating questions. I don't know what he said in that final court. I could only hope that in the recent months he had come to terms with the Lord of all the earth."

"Once An Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life" takes you from the squalid Gaza refugee camp in 1951 to the Fatah guerrilla camp training to the feverish battles and through Saada's journey to America where he was pleasantly surprised to find opportunity, prosperity, a wife, a family and a spiritual rebirth - a rebirth that brought him right back to where it all started.

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