General!
We didn’t know
The dark affair of 30 September 1965
When you came
We were indoctrinated by your false history:
Cutting genitals
Slashing with razors, gouging out eyes
Joined the communist cavorting at Lubang Buaya9
General!
We were forbidden to speak of Boaventura and Nicolau Lobato
You forced us to memorize the seven Heroes of your Revolution
You even forced us to memorize the number of feathers on the Garuda’s wings10
And the birth date of Diponegoro and Imam Bonjol
Not forgetting Suharto’s ancestors and grandchildren who we knew by heart
He called them the perfect Pancasila family! 11
General!
Your methods were truly sadistic
To stamp out the seeds of resistance
Yet through 24 years
Still we proved
That all your weapons were not as sharp
As the steel of our resistance
General!
From the land you once colonized
Our hearts torn open
The rank tactics you long used
To gag and kill us
You still use
Towards the children of your own nation
General!
Our country still has many troubles
But a discussion of history
Has never been raided by the state apparatus
discussion is a pre-condition
for human civilization
In our country, General!
The muezzin’s call to prayer and the Alleluyah choir
Resonate together as if in a sonata
Gay and Lesbian people hold hands
With no fear they will be tortured by the Police
General!
Today is September 30th
A dark day in the history of your country
And of the world
The same month
September 1999
You scorched the earth of our small country
You used bullets
When you failed at the ballot box
General!
There is still a long litany of bleak history
The May 1998 tragedy in the heart of your country
The kidnapping of Wiji Thukul and his friends
The poisoning of Comrade Munir
The massacre in the land of Cendrawasih
Santa Cruz, 1991 in Dili12
General!
Let our friends speak out
About the history of civilized nations
They are the children of that dark history
Learn from history
The barrel of your guns
Can’t silence
The cry for justice from the children of your nation!
Dili, September 25, 2017
Dadolin Murak (20th century) Timor-Leste
Translated by David Webster
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal
Thanks for put my poem on your wonderful blog. Peace, Dadolin Murak.
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