Frankly, what I wanna write is about some people who did something precious, who gave everything they had for their nation and people around them, who being a role model for so many people, who was very influental. Kinda people who usually called... a hero.
In Greek and Roman mythology, the word hero was used to describe men whose courageous actions brought favor from the gods. Today, a hero can be just about anyone. Each day has its own hero, and everyone perhaps is a hero in his or her own way. Despite facing the difficult times, people still have possibilities to shape history.
There are so many Indonesian heroes, but at this time I would like to tell a lil' bit about Indonesian human right activist Munir Said Thalib.
He was born in Malang on 8 December 1965. Munir was a human rights activist who tirelessly worked for families who had been kidnapped or who had disappeared during the final years of former president Suharto’s ironclad rule. He was an optimist. Despite having faced verbal and physical intimidation, he fought on in the face of lies spread against him. He received numerous death threats, but still chose to stand for the families of unknown people in Indonesia who had been kidnapped. The intimidation he faced included a bomb being left outside his home. On 7 September 2004, Munir boarded a Garuda Airlines flight to Amsterdam, to study at a university there. But Munir became severely ill enroute, and was pronounced dead on arrival in the Netherlands. An autopsy subsequently performed by the Netherlands Forensic Institute found massive amounts of arsenic in Munir’s system. There are so many controversy on this case, and the problem haven't solved yet until this blog was posted.
Too often, national heroes do not get the respect and recognition they deserve, but it is also good to be reminded that there are other heroes who also deserve our respect and honor. When we get to know our heroes, we will be infected by their courage and enthusiasm. Let's respect our heroes from now on and be a hero in your own way!
