Menemukan catatan ini di sebuah komputer interaktif di Museum KAA (Konferensi Asia-Afrika). Tentang apartheid. Dan entah mengapa, menurut saya catatan ini menyentuh, nyaris mengingatkan saya pada puisi-puisi Terry McDonagh jadi saya menyalinnya:

No winters
No hurricanes
No tornados
No blizzards
No earthquakes

– No winter?

Well, hardly. Most of the inhabitants have never seen snow.

– No earthquakes?

Well, maybe every several hundred years.

– What is this, a desert?

No, one of the most fertile countries on earth. Intensively cultivated, it could feed the whole whole world.

– It must be heavily populated, then.

No, it is under populated. More than twice the size of Britain with barely half of its population.

– There must be drawbacks. It is ugly?

On the contrary, it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world with mountains, valleys, plains, and great surf beaches.

– So it’s got everything?

Almost, including most of the world’s gold, not to mention:
Diamond
Platinum
Uranium
Vanadium
Magnesium
Chromium

– It sounds like paradise

It was—before the fall

– You mean there’s a snag?

Er, yes, a big one. This paradise is the most hated country in the world.

– The most hated country?

Well, not the country. It’s government. It’s political system. The system of apartheid.

(Source: Woods, Donald. A Graphic Guide to Apartheid)

hanny

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I haven't been writing a lot these past two years. I haven't been sharing a lot as well. I didn't have the mental capacity to do so. Moving to Amsterdam during the pandemic—with lockdowns and curfews, far from friends and families, didn't sit well with me. I was sad most of the time. Angry, other times.
Hanny illustrator
Hi. I'm HANNY
I am an Indonesian writer/artist/illustrator and stationery web shop owner (Cafe Analog) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I love facilitating writing/creative workshops and retreats, especially when they are tied to self-exploration and self-expression. In Indonesian, 'beradadisini' means being here. So, here I am, documenting life—one word at a time.

hanny

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