"MAHA" student.

As you can see in the world news, today Indonesia is having a great flood in Jakarta. It is said to be the biggest flood in every 5 year. Most parts of Jakarta are being covered with flood, offices close, schools are off and some people are actually being evacuated. Helps are also coming from all kind of groups. From religious organisations to political parties of course with hope to raise their popularity.

Anyway, speaking of the disaster I was there to help an organisation of doctors in Indonesia. I helped giving medicines prescribed by the doctors to the victims of flood in the tent.  My position that time was as a student from a university, in Indonesia we are called as "Mahasiswa" which means "high" students. Well it doesn't mean that we like to get high, it means that we are more than just students who study and keep on studying our lesson at school. We have the right and the power to practice democracy in our country. We submit ideas for the country's improvement, we protest about any wrongness that has been done, etc. Being a "Mahasiswa" or a student of a higher level of education, we have duty to pursue. They are education, research and public service. We are to study (Of course, we are students after all), we are to make researches to improve the country and ourselves in the education field and we are to give out our strength to help those in need. It sounds very idealistic, isn't it? Seems to be so patriotic that it's impossible to be true. Well, even though in the real life it does not really look like that, we do apply those three points in our lives. I keep on searching for events where I can help public. I keep on studying and keep trying to get good grades, and although I haven't been in one research, I'm still trying to make research proposal and get into the national research competition.

A life as a university student is a very different story from when I was in secondary school. I didn't have a chance to get into the executive board when I was in the secondary school and they don't have this kind of executive board in Qatar. I realize that Indonesia makes their young generation a teaching about this leadership thing from school. Every school in Indonesia starting from junior high has their own structure of executive student council. It resembles the ministries in Indonesia. The greatest thing is this organisation is also made in every campus.

In the campus, I can see that I am responsible for my country's prosperity. The three points I said earlier made me realize that. There are things that school students and older people cannot do while university students can. That's how a "maha" student differs from others.

Corruption, Inequality, and Perception in the hand of the Press

*opening theme*

Narrator: And please welcome our old bloggerrrrrr..... NADYAAAA

*crowd cheers*

Hello, crowd. Did you miss me? it has been like.. 8 months since I wrote my last post. Well, I'm not really the type of person who likes to write all the time nor to have insomnia if I hadn't post any blog. In addition, my studies are getting more chaotic - to dramatize it - the more I get closer to my Bachelor title. I wish I have 48 hours a day. Phew!

8 months leaving my precious personal blog, 8 months with bloody tight schedule, 8 months older, 8 months with lots of thoughts to be shared, true stories to be told, and questions to ask.

What I'm realizing as I get older is that, I sense so many things are not fair in this world. I thought it was just about my country, a corrupted country. But in reality, every part of the world is like that. From third world country to first ones. What I mean by unfairness here is basically on most of our aspects in the society.

I admit that I'm still a teenager with so much idealism in my head and I must have it realized in front of my face. I'm an active student in the student council in the university who care so much about the ideal government even though I don't really know how government works. I'm fond of equality and justice. I feel like I am disciplined in the context of equality. It's a democratic country after all.
But over time, my idealism got ruined by the facts. Those who are chosen to lead us - the citizens, are not responsible. The meaning of democracy are being threatened by those who owns money. It's getting similar to a style of Monarchy.
Those people has made democracy seems only about the demonstrations that students made, the chaos that it turned out to be because of the apathetic response of the governor. Meanwhile, the people are suffering from inequality. All rules are made to be "flexible for stakeholders' family". Is that what they mean of justice and fairness?
Then they would teach us, university students about that. About forgetting what democracy really is and to close our eyes about other people. Yes, they teach us about SELFISHNESS.
Oh don't be so naive. They got tricks to hide this very object. They make us tired of the complexity and the complications of bureaucracy that based on democracy, so that we would just follow the line of this kind of "democracy".

That is one sample of unfairness I take from my country. Another sample is from a story I heard from my father, the victim of corruption. It was in a country in the Middle East, a quite globalized country, with every kind of people from around the world live in. My father works in an oil company there. Once, my father had an idea about how to improve something in his workplace based on his experience and education. He proposed this idea to the supervisor whom was Indian. Long after that, nothing has changed. My father did not get a call from the supervisor to present his resolution. But then, an Indian worker in his place got a raise because of an idea he had. Speaking of which, it was my father's exact idea. See? That is one kind of corruption,Sir. From that moment on, I could never ever ever trust an Indian. Well,I'm not trying to be a racist, but those guys made me.

Another example of inequality that the FIRST WORLD COUNTRY do is the conflict of Gaza. As the Press had shown us that The United States chosen to announce cease fire when Israel was at the losing side. Why not at the time when Palestinian were being brutally attacked? They let Palestinian be bashed for years. Very cruel the U.S. is. Is that because the hatred the United States have towards only one religion? It is a shame. Another thing is, maybe we can see that there is no problem about the equality in the U.S. Of all the things, money can change any rule. Who said that there is no bribe done in the U.S? There are many of them, but the Press maybe is just too busy collecting the shame of other country and small problems in their own country.

Nowadays, the Press is actually holding the decision of the people and creating a perception about something. As I noted above, maybe the Press of the United State is cooperative enough to create a good perception of the U.S. So, the other way around in other places. Many journalists are easy to bribe to give good and sensational stories. Some are paid by the ministry or certain people, some are just to gain popularity. Even the people now don't care anymore about a news they don't want to hear. "Maybe the payment is high for this news," they said. What are the Press for? To solely give out facts? How about inserting the essence to improve the country?

Too many things are wrong and they are connected with each other somehow. Too many things are just not like what it used to be back when I was a little girl. No fairness, no justice, no equality. They are all  rare now. But I wish I still and will always have this sense of fairness in me. I'm afraid that when I'm fully grown up, nothing is real anymore.

Nadya Hasnanda, 8 months older than the last post, reported.