On Jakarta Governor's Jail Sentence

Today, Ahok is sentenced to 2 years imprisonment.
Reason: Blasphemy.
Does his work for this country matter? No.
One sentence and it was used for political reason to imprison him.


I am not a political person.
In fact, I know nuts about politics.
I know there will be thousands of articles on this matter today,
and days to come.
But today, I feel the need to write something about this too.
I have been hearing stories about this amazing man for awhile now though.
about someone who is bringing visible change,
someone who was honest and brave and is a minority.
And for someone who has zero knowledge about politics, I can even vouch for that change.
The house where I grew up in has been left empty for awhile now
one reason why we moved was because it was flooded every so often.
But then this man came to rule and now there is no more flood,
people are not selling their houses anymore bcos now their asset is worth more.

It is safe to say that I grew up in a well-protected environment.
My parents are a couple of paranoid parents and they never let their kids off their radar.
Since I was born until the I was about 12, the age before I moved to Singapore,
my parents always keep a close watch of me.
They always know my whereabouts, they send me to school and pick me up after,
I rarely hang out with my friends, I spend more time with my family.
There was not much memory of actually living here in Jakarta
except of those times I spent with my family.

The years after were spent overseas.
7 years in Singapore to face the tough competitive life
but I was that majority race in that country
I walk out of my house feeling completely safe.
It has its ups and downs but I knew I was safe.
I was safe because there are rules in that country that will protect me.
I was safe because everyone wants their country to be safe.

And then came College years when I moved to US.
It was another stage of life
It was the land of freedom and diversity.
And even though I was minority and did face some racism here and there,
it does not matter much to me.
I heard alot more about racism issues when I was in the States
because people are more open-minded and they fight for their right.
Still, it did not really sink in to me as it was not something that really bothers me at that point.
Despite being a minority, I know I can survive.
There are so many educated people who do not judge you by your color.

And here I am in my own country.
Where my parents and grandparents are from.
Yes we are Chinese descent.. but we have been here for decades now.
My parents will never want to leave this country.
Just like most of other chinese Indo families, they feel home here.
This is where they practice their Asian mindset of working hard for generations to come.
This is the land of opportunities.

But I can never get any more unhappy than I am here
I never feel like I belong and my quality of life has dropped significantly.
I cannot even walk outside feeling safe.
I am constantly trapped in traffic jam that drained my energy and time.
People looked at me differently. I am that "cina" girl who is pampered.
People hated their hardship and put the blame on others who are more well off.
I ended up spending all my money on occassional trips away from Jakarta
because I am sick of this place.

And with Ahok's sentence today, I know I was right.
Indonesia is not ready for a better change
and will never change to the better in the near future.
Do I want to follow my parents' pathway of working hard for generations to come
and sacrifice my own life? NO.
Because happiness is more than that.
Happiness is being able to play outside and laugh freely,
knowing you will be safe.
for today and tomorrow.