I was sitting in one of the comfortable Alden library chairs when I received this email from a friend. Then I realized how ironic my life is. I used to always think that I am living my dream now. But then, what is it to be called a true dream? If, let say, the true dream is to be living abroad, to experience an American dream, to touch the snow, to glide over the Golden Gate, then would I be as shallow as a barbie doll?
Back home, I was paid around 1,300,000 Rupiah per month, and that's only around 120 $, my grocery expense in...two weeks, maybe....What would I do with all these dollars I received from the American government is such a concern. The more time I spend my life here, the more away I am detached from my country, and unconsciously dragged into the "glamorous expensive" life. People said not to convert Rupiahs to dollars to be able to survive. But I can't help it sometimes. I did not know how I should react when my mom told me how the maid of my house was considering upon buying a 6 dollar shoe for her son, while I was spending my 6 dollars for an authentic but small key chain of a Disney character in the Disneyworld.
Then, as I was chatting with Ryo and Anita about how unfair the world is (well, especially Indonesian institution), I dared to say that I was hesitating upon coming back to Indonesia or not. I was too lured by the life here.
Reflecting myself upon this call from the Indian president towards his fellow country men, I felt so small. Who am I, asking the world to change? hey, I should start changing myself. And now my dream is to see and participate in the making of the better Indonesia, my home land, the place of life for me. Always, and forever will be.
The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in
Hyderabad . *
Got 10 minutes for Our country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had
transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.
Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed
India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their
destination. YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to
Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out
of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you
don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU
are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs.
60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder
Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to
punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a
shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you don't
say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan,
in Dubai . YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in
Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in
London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD
calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph
(88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main
kaun hoon /Kau tahu aku ini siapa? (Do you know who I am?). I am so and
so's on. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty
coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in
Australia and New Zealand .
Why don't YOU spit Paan (sirih) on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't
YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are
still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a
foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who
will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian
ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an
alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ? Once in an
interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr. Tinaikar , had a
point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave
their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the
same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for
inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down
with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In
America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same
in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to
the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all
responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do
everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We
expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking
garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray
piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide
clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and
toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least
opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the
service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related
to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room
protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our
excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone
forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists
of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and
the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us
actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along
with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at
countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us
with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in
their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run
to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next
flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued
and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and
rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is
mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a
great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am
echoing J. F. Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....
'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE
INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'
Lets do what India needs from us.
Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending
Jokes or
junk mails.
Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam
