Night, Moon and Memories

It is said that the best time to reflect is at night. The most universal sign of night is darkness. This means that when it is dark is the best time to reflect. Usually people reflect on their lives, reflect on their past, the good and the bad, and the determination to create a better life tomorrow.

When I was a student, I experienced "night meditation" when in our dormitory we woke up in one room. After waking up, each of us then gave advice to the other friends. The advice could probably be given during the day but it felt better to give it at night, especially after waking up, around 12 o'clock and above. The advice from fellow friends left an impression as a form of love from one brother to another.

When following the procession to move up a level in the Tapak Suci martial arts, at that time I also--if I remember correctly--slept on a grave. At that time we slept, were woken up, and after arriving at the Tanah Kusir Cemetery, we were taken with our eyes closed to a large grave. There we were asked to sleep. Some were crying, but some were just quiet--between fear, trembling, and being sure that because we were in a crowd there was nothing to be afraid of. Courage does sometimes come from crowds.

As far as I can remember, I didn't cry when I was asked to sleep in the cemetery. Maybe because since elementary school I was used to coming home late. Sometimes I came home from studying beside the Tobelo Grand Mosque at 10, several times at 11 and 12. On the way I saw one or two people drinking alcohol, some had even collapsed in front of a shop. I walked to the Old Market, to the right of it was an old cemetery. It is said that the market used to be a place for people to die, people said.

One time, when I was about to knock on the door of my house, I saw someone standing under the lamp. He just looked at me without any expression. I held the Quran tightly to my chest, while praying, especially the Throne Verse and several short verses, hopefully not disturbed by spirits. I still remember his personification until now, but I try to erase it that it might just be my imagination. Even though I saw him clearly. After entering the house, I immediately went to bed.

When I worked in the Thamrin area, I also often came home late. Everyone was gone, I was still in front of the computer. Occasionally looking at the high-rise buildings through the window. When I was actively working at an institution, I also used to come home late. One night, one of the doors slid. It seemed like someone had come in but no one was there. I checked and there was nothing. Or maybe it was just the wind passing by.

In another place, there was a security guard who said that he was also sometimes disturbed by the alien creature. Once when he was praying Isha, there was a noise nearby. After he moved, the sound was gone. There was also a standing banner that fell by itself and stood up by itself. That was seen in front of the security guard's eyes. "Sir, if you want to try, try it here at night," he said. I replied, "Ah, no. I'll just stay here until the afternoon." The security guard said, they actually just wanted to say that they were there too. They didn't harm me, they just wanted to convey their existence.

During scouting, we sometimes do night activities. I remember when I was in Sukabumi. At that time, we even felt the cold water near the waterfall where we were. I, who sometimes can't stand the cold, had to endure the cold. Scouting teaches us to be in all fields, hot or cold, day or night.

One of the series of new student processions--when I was a participant or committee--was the night event. Sometimes at night like that we would wake up new students. Someone would advise them, remind them of their sins or mistakes in the past. Then also remind them of their sins towards their parents. Among the students, some would cry, even one person crying would provoke others to cry too. The activity became a kind of "reflection" or an activity to reflect on our own lives to achieve a higher awareness to become a better person.

The night is indeed full of reflections and memories. When I was little, after Isha prayers I usually heard from the ships that docked at the harbor they played nostalgic songs. Among those songs was "lelaki dan rembulan", a song that I always remember when I was alone in bed. When I missed my parents, my hometown, I sometimes sang that song on the top bunk while crying softly. I remember the times when at night I asked my father to wake me up because there was a good movie. At that time I slept on a wooden floor blown by the sea breeze blowing from the Morotai Sea, maybe from the Philippines, or from the Pacific Ocean.

Now, my oldest child is in the third grade of high school. My wife reminds me that I am no longer a teenager; not young. Sometimes I look in the mirror, or I look in the mirror at my friends' photos. "Oh, we are not young anymore." One by one we look older, with white hair and wrinkles appearing on our faces. Very different from when we were teenagers when we were still so serenely singing this song:

Di pondok kecil di pantai ombak
Berbuih putih beralun-alun
Di pondok kecil di pantai ombak
Berbuih putih beralun-alun
Dipondok kecil di pantai ombak
Berbuih putih beralun-alun

(In a small hut on the beach of the waves
White foam rolling in the square
In a small hut on the beach of the waves
White foam rolling in the square
In a small hut on the beach of the waves
White foam rolling in the square)

Or, when we faintly hear songs from the cinema not far from where we study the Koran. A song sung by Bryan Adams:

Look into my eyes
You will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart
Search your soul
And when you find me there
You'll search no more
Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more
You know it's true
Everything I do
I do it for you

Among those songs we remember a friend who used to sing for us. That friend loved English--at a time when we didn't like English. That friend also sometimes sang his favorite song from MLTR. He knew not just one but several songs by heart.

"Lelaki dan rembulan", "di pondok kecil", Bryan Adams and MLTR accompanied our teenage years. We were also accompanied by other songs from the 1990s period approaching the second millennium in 2000. Nasida Ria said: "The year two thousand years of hope, which is full of challenges and anxiety. Oh young people and teenagers, come on, prepare yourselves!"

Some of those memorable quotes are still in our minds until now. One of the good quotes in a notebook that I remember until now, goes like this: "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." I just found out that it was a sentence from John Keats.

Sometimes, on lonely nights we are reminded of life's achievements that have not been completed. We make life plans, want this and that, some have been achieved and some have not. All of that guides us, and sometimes becomes a "burden" for us. Moreover, living in a city like this, we sometimes have to increase self-reflection, because not everything can be grasped easily.

There are people who can grasp something easily. But some others have to go through thickets of knowledge, challenges of experience, and difficulties that come and go. We sometimes compare ourselves to others; we have only just gotten this but others have gotten that. But the more we compare, the more we hurt ourselves. Perhaps the wisest way to respond to life's achievements is to return to the zero point that "man tries, God determines."

Day after day has passed, time after time has also passed. Every day we pass time. Sometimes we are negligent with time, sometimes we succeed in passing it. Regardless of our negligence or success in diving into time, there is always time to improve. If we didn't have time before, maybe now is the time to change. The more we realize that we must continue to improve, the better it is to achieve personal authenticity and self-maturity.

YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.

Humans, the Conquerors of the Earth

Until the 21st century, the story of humans has not been far from the conquest of the earth. Starting from simple efforts such as making a hand axe (chopper) discovered by Von Koenigswald (1935) in Pacitan, to nuclear weapons that began when physicist Albert Einstein wrote to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt that an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction had great potential to become a weapon of mass murder.

Efforts to conquer the earth with everything in it have also been seen in human thought processes since they took shelter from the challenges of nature in a 40,000-year-old karst cave in Maros, to the optimization of space as well as evidence of the height of human civilization that can be seen majestically from the 828-meter (2,171-foot) skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. Not to forget, expeditions and "space colonization" into outer space are also part of it.

From Barrow Street, Greenwich Village neighborhood in Manhattan New York, Dutch-American historian-cum-journalist, Hendrik Willem van Loon wrote a book entitled The Story of Mankind. In 1920 at that time. In chapter 41, "great discoveries", Van Loon tells about the still low level of human knowledge in the Middle Ages.

He said that Magellan's voyage to the east - looking for "the spice islands", Maluku - brought 20 to 50 people who lived in dirty rooms; consuming undercooked food because the kitchen was very bad, plus there was no fire lit every time bad weather arrived. At that time, they only knew how to make pickled fish and dried fish, but there was no knowledge of making canned food - which could last longer.

The water they brought from Portugal was put in small barrels. Over time the water was damaged, cloudy, and many germs grew. The absence of knowledge about germs at that time, made the crew just drink the water. The impact was bad. Many got typhus. "The death on ships on the earliest navigation voyages was terrible," wrote Van Loon.

On the 1519 voyage that departed from Seville, Magellan was accompanied by around 200 sailors. However, only 18 people returned with names. At that time, people did not yet know that there was an "invisible enemy" that could emerge evolutionarily in the water barrels that we have and if consumed could have fatal consequences for the human body.

In March 1520, still in the same year, a slave who accompanied 900 Spanish soldiers who departed from Cuba, landed in Mexico. Francisco de Egula, his name. He himself did not know that in his body there were trillions of cells that could be a biological bomb in the form of the smallpox virus.

At that time, wrote Yoval Noah Harari (Time, March 15, 2020) that Central America did not yet have trains, buses, or even donkeys that would allow the epidemic to spread quickly (compare that to us now who are connected everywhere). Nine months after de Egula's arrival, smallpox killed a third of their population.

In Homo Deus (2015), the historian who graduated with a PhD from Oxford University in 2002 wrote: "A shivering Francisco was put to bed in the home of an American family in the town of Cempoallan. He infected the family members, who in turn infected their neighbors. Within 10 days Cempoallan was a burial ground. Refugees spread the disease from Cempoallan to nearby towns. As one town after another succumbed to the plague, new waves of frightened refugees carried the disease across Mexico and spread it beyond."

The Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula said: the disease was caused by three evil gods, Ekpetz, Uzannkak, and Sojakak, flying from village to village at night to infect humans. Meanwhile, the Aztecs believed that it was the work of the god Tezcatlipoca, the god of the night who had black lines on his face and carried an obsidian mirror, and the god Xipe Totec, a god who wore peeling human skin. There are also those who believe that it was black magic from white people--a kind of conspiracy and racial accusation that also appeared in the Covid-19 outbreak.

At that time, humans did not know about invisible germs and viruses. Humans initially only focused on "visible enemies" but neglected "invisible enemies." Doctors and healers have actually tried, but sometimes those efforts do not succeed quickly.

But we are lucky to be human. Humans are equipped with reason with unlimited experimental abilities. When one method is deadlocked, they look for another. When one drug fails, they look for another. When one vaccine fails, they produce another vaccine. That is something we are most grateful for in our destiny as humans.

In this uncertain situation, it is time for scientists to work hard to find out what the new virus called covid-19 really is. It is time for scientists to exchange information, both from China, America, and other countries affected by the crown-shaped virus.

Here, the task of scientists becomes very important to "win the war on pathogens", quoting Harari. To be able to become "the winner" of course requires international cooperation and an attitude of mutual trust - two things highlighted by Harari - which are very important in the current context. One country can no longer think narrowly. They must unite, because this virus attack is not really an attack on one or two people, or one or two countries, but a global attack on humanity.

When I was a volunteer for a community, I was once assigned to help a patient from Gebe, Central Halmahera who was being treated in Ternate. The doctor said, based on an examination of the feces (excrement), there were many worms in the patient's body whose presence disturbed the child's body. As a result, good bacteria lost to bad bacteria; his body became very thin.

The information I gathered came to the conclusion that this was inseparable from the lack of knowledge or information about health and a healthy lifestyle. The child came from a poor family who lived on the beach. Every day he defecated on the beach. From there, bacteria and germs entered.

An unhealthy lifestyle does not stand alone. There are many factors. It could be because of the poverty that plagues the family (the government must be serious about reducing poverty, of course). The synergy between poverty and ignorance usually causes an attitude of indifference, indifference, and even if they try--to get treatment--it does not reach the maximum level.

Therefore, social solidarity is needed. If a neighbor is sick, the closest neighbor must help as much as possible. The minimum is to contact the nearest authority or "distant authority" (center) via social media which is currently so easy to reach. This solidarity will strengthen "social resilience" so that it is not easily collapsed by various problems that come.

After fighting for so long with smallpox and the discovery of a vaccine, humans have become the winners. The World Health Organization (WHO) in 1979 stated: humans have won and smallpox has been eradicated (Harari, 2020). In 2019, Harari continued, not a single person was infected or killed by smallpox.

This success is a collaboration of many factors, especially vaccination, antibiotics, improved hygiene, and much better media infrastructure. Not to mention, the human factor is increasingly aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Learning from this success, it means that humans have a chance to win if they are united in heart, mind, and action. Unity of heart means that their intention is to fight the virus together. A healthy mind is also needed which is accompanied by actions that are oriented towards the same goal. Reduce differences, strengthen similarities. For humanity.

The victory in conquering the virus is a human victory born from the historical process. "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it," said George Santayana, a philosopher born in Madrid, Spain (1863). Those who do not learn from the past will be condemned to repeat the same mistakes.

So, we must also learn from the tragedy of Magellan's men who returned home in name only because of the weak knowledge about health and the ignorance of the Mexican people about the entry of the smallpox virus into their village. Indeed, the more modern we are, the viruses that come also experience mutations into various variants that are sometimes difficult to calculate.

It is time for scientists to unite to recognize the virus in detail - its strengths and weaknesses - and then produce a faster vaccine that is healthy and safe to minimize the number of victims. Because we cannot be sure that the virus has disappeared forever even though we are no longer in lockdown like before.

YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.

Short Course in Australia

After 8 years, at the end of 2023 I returned to visit Australia, a continent that initially felt very far away, foreign, and even 'not me.' When I was a child on the coast of Tobelo, North Halmahera Regency, North Maluku, I occasionally met foreigners, and began to recognize the words Australia, America, the Netherlands, or Japan. At that time, everything felt far away, but this was Australia--from those countries it felt closer.

This trip was still the same as 8 years ago, namely a short trip of two weeks. If in 2015 I participated in the Muslim Exchange Program (MEP) or later known as the Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program (AIMEP), this year 2023 I participated in the Short Course Australia Awards themed Foreign Policy: Strategic Equilibrium in the Indo-Pacific at Griffith University.

Australia is the first country I have visited abroad. Allah destined me to 'walk on the face of the earth', seeing people and cultures that may be different from ours. Since leaving my hometown at the age of 11, I have practically lived as a wanderer for 30 years; in that wandering I have met various people, gone through joys and sorrows, and struggled to achieve the best in life.

As an ordinary person, I feel lucky to have been able to go on this journey. For me, a journey is not just a journey but in it there are stories, there are people, and even deeper: there are lessons that we can learn. I like to seek wisdom, or lessons from everything.

When looking at books at one of the think tanks in Canberra, I saw a very good sentence in a logo that if translated reads like this, "...and whoever is given wisdom has received much goodness."

So, this trip to Australia, to Brisbane, Canberra, and Sydney, is a journey seeking 'much goodness' or khairan katsira. As a weak servant, maintaining the determination to learn--from all things--is good. That learning does not stop in the classroom, in fact learning is part of our lives.

When writing this, besides feeling lucky to be able to study in Australia again--in a short course--I also received 'a lot of goodness' when I heard from a friend in Jakarta, that an English book that I was the head of the writing team, received a special award in Saudi Arabia, which was received by our ambassador there.

I remember, in the beginning of compiling the book in Indonesian, my days were full of enthusiasm on how to finish the manuscript well. After it was published, the book was translated into English, distributed to several of our representatives abroad as one of the references to get to know Indonesia better, looking at past history, present, and future plans for Indonesia's glory.

In Canberra, when writing this piece of essay, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my parents who have struggled to educate me from the past until now. Only staying at home for 11 years is goodness, then after traveling for 30 years, it also contains goodness. My father is a man with a very big vision, he wants his children to succeed. When I want to fly abroad, I always remember him. My mother who with her love has formed a fighter character in me, something I am grateful for so that in the future I can give the best to many people.

Not to be left behind, my little family in Depok. My wife who is always there in all seasons, my children, and my brother and sister in Halmahera. My extended family in Maninjau, Bukittinggi, Pekanbaru, Lampung, Jakarta, Makassar, and North Maluku, all give meaning, lessons, and inspiration to achieve the best; learn as best as possible, and in the future give the best.

These stories are made as a reflection of a human being, precisely a traveler who wants to learn from what is seen, heard and felt. In certain things, he chooses to remain silent just to understand something better, brighter, and deeper. And, at other times he tries to share stories, with the hope that there is goodness behind the story.

YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.

Seven Years in Tibet, An Inspiration for the Soul

October 8, 1997. A film was released in the United States. The title is "Seven Years in Tibet". Once upon a time, Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, was released from prison and traveled to the holy city of Lhasa, Tibet. After going through various difficulties, he was finally hired as an instructor for the 14th Dalai Lama, even becoming his close confidant.

One time, the Chinese army was going to attack Tibet. They did not believe in religion. When he had just met the Dalai Lama, General Chang Jing Wu said, "Religion is poison and religion is poison. Long story short, China then annexed Tibet.

In such difficult conditions, this film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud presents an interesting statement from the 14-year-old Dalai Lama: "If a problem can be solved there is no use worrying about it. If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good." The quote gives the audience a message that there is no point in worrying about problems. Problems are always present in humans in various forms. So, there is no need to worry, especially if the problem can be solved. 

Sometimes, we worry about something that we can actually solve. We get carried away by the feeling that "something is difficult to solve", when in fact something is easy to solve. Our feelings sometimes play too deep so that what we can is covered by the thought of not being able to.

Likewise, if there is a problem that cannot be solved, then we do not need to worry too much. This is a kind of motivational sentence and suggestion that actually all problems can be solved. Worry is what makes something difficult, heavy, and seems hard to unravel.

Buya Hamka once said, "... there is no tangle that cannot be unraveled... there is no problem that cannot be solved." No matter how tangled something is, it can definitely be unraveled. Problems, no matter how difficult they are, can definitely be solved.

Worrying too much is the problem. Maybe because we watch movies too often, we end up being suggested to something. Walking in a dark place makes us afraid. How come? Because we are "indoctrinated" by films to be afraid of the dark, because in the dark there are demons.

Apparitions sometimes appear in films where humans are usually the ones running. Imagine if the film showed the demons running, it would be more inspiring to give birth to a brave soul.

We need to manage our worries. No matter how difficult it is, life must be lived with a stable mind and soul. The Prophets and Apostles exemplify that. Even though it was difficult in front of us, they remained convinced that behind the difficulties there must be ease.

The Qur'an tells us. When Pharaoh and his troops managed to catch up with Prophet Moses and his followers, Prophet Moses' followers said, "Indeed, we will be overtaken." (Asy-Syu'araa: 61).

His people said that because they saw that there was no way in front of them, it was just the ocean. They then complained to Prophet Moses. Moses replied: "We will never be overtaken; Indeed, my Lord is with me, and He will guide me soon” (Asy-Syu’araa: 62).

This means that worry is human but we should not worry too much. As long as we are on the right path, be sure that there will be help or ma'unah from Him.

Finally, we realize that worry is what sometimes hinders our brilliance. Worry should be treated as a normal phenomenon, and should not be followed excessively. As long as we can still try and pray, be sure that there will always be a solution to every problem.

YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.

Humans, Canals and Civilization: Ljubljana and Other Cities

Civilization was born through canals. Among them, canals of expansion, politics, trade, and science. When looking at the map of Europe, my eyes landed on Ljubljana. The city in Slovenia has a legend of a dragon that was conquered by a Greek hero named Jason.

Then, after stealing the golden fleece from the King of the Black Sea, Jason then fled on the Argo ship to the mouth of the Danube River (not to the Aegean Sea) until he reached the Ljubljanica River. There he found a large lake inhabited by a swamp monster in the form of a dragon. After struggling, Jason defeated the dragon and became the first citizen of Ljubljanica.

Over time, the defeated dragon became a symbol of Ljubljanica or Ljubljana, from the city guard to a symbol of courage. The symbol is now seen on buildings, flags, bridges, to festivals and mascots. The dragon symbol has actually been present in Ljubljana since ancient times. Dragons were originally present in medieval heraldry as decoration, but then shifted to a central position from being a monster to being a symbolic protector of the city, embodying strength, courage, and wisdom.

The story of Jason's escape was via a river. We could call it a canal. The canal brought him to a place that would later become a city. What Jason did in the story was just follow where the flow took him, then adapt to survive, and create something. The origin of a city is generally from that: the mobility of people who then settled, interacted, and created social institutions.

Human civilization also spread through the canal or the Danube lake. If drawn from Constanta on the Black Sea, Jason's journey could actually have reached Amsterdam via Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Austria, to the Netherlands and out to the North Sea. We could call it: an adventure from the Black Sea to the North Sea.

The Suez Canal or Canal is also 163 km in Egypt and connects Port Said (Būr Sa'īd) on the Mediterranean Sea with Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea. Since its inauguration in 1869, this canal has enabled water transportation from Europe to Asia without going around Africa. Before this canal, some transportation was done by emptying ships and carrying their goods overland between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Regarding Suez, Israel is also rumored to be building its own 'canal' from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the case of a ship stuck in the Suez Canal which caused a traffic jam for about a week, Haaretz (1/4/2021) wrote "Can Israel's Eilat Become an Alternative to Suez Canal?" The idea of ​​an Israeli 'canal' has long been discussed, drawn from the Eilat area.

The canal is not like Suez, but a train. Israel's logic: Ships that want to send goods via Suez can turn into the Gulf of Eilat, unload their cargo onto nearby trains to be sent to the ports of Ashdod or Haifa, and then reload them onto ships to Europe. For relations with Jordan, Israel is also rumored to be building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. Economic considerations are very important in this context.

Between the Saronic Gulf and the Gulf of Corinth there is also a canal that divides them. Traffic is connected. In Panama there is also an 82 km canal that cuts through North America and South America and connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This canal cuts the travel time of ships because they do not need to go around the southern tip of South America.

Thailand also has a canal called Khlong which is also known as the "Venice of the East." This canal originates from the Chao Phraya River, Tha Chin, Mae Klong River, and their tributaries, especially in the lowlands of central Thailand. In fact, as of 2019, the country had 1,682 canals in Bangkok, with a total length of 2,604 kilometers.

The Thai government also has ambitions to create a new canal in a narrow land gap called Genting Kra near the border with Malaysia. Genting Kra is a land area flanked by the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea.

The idea of ​​​​creating this canal is said to have existed for hundreds of years, when the King of Thailand at that time ordered French engineers to conduct a canal construction survey. If this canal is completed, then traffic from Andaman Bay to the Gulf of Thailand will be faster, without having to go through the Strait of Malacca. Reportedly, if the Kra Canal is opened, Sabang Port, Aceh, and Kuala Tanjung Port, Medan, will develop.

The canals mentioned above--for example--are means or paths for the spread of human civilization. If in the past people tended to assume that civilization spread only through sea routes, now non-sea routes such as small rivers, or canals are also means for the spread of human civilization.

In the humans context, humans can actually also be channels for the spread of civilization. For example, knowledgeable humans, they become the means for people to become smart, and society to become literate. Community leaders also become channels for the security and welfare of the community or society.

As channels, the sea, rivers, humans, and also technology become the means for the mobility of civilization. When the internet was present en masse, humans who initially wanted to control it were later unable to be controlled by the internet. When they didn't have a smartphone, they said they would control the cellphone, but when it was in their hands, they were slowly controlled by the cellphone. Here, cellphones become channels for the formation of human awareness and action.

When buzzers were not yet a profession, we tended to see people's posts as they were. But when the media mentions the existence of a 'buzzer profession', we understand that human actions are not what they are; there are always 'double intentions' behind a single post. Here, political buzzers become a channel for support for something. If observed closely, their posts also respond to each other, supporting each other.

Books can also be a channel for the formation of humans and their civilization. Why national figures in difficult times - unlike now which are relatively easy - can think and be magnanimous, it is very possible that their reading is also extensive. Unfortunately, currently many people are highly educated, have many degrees but for some reason it is difficult to get meaningful ideas from them. Maybe they don't read enough, or those degrees were obtained in a dishonorable way.

Humans, nature, and technology are channels for the formation of civilization. Even on a small scale, the nuclear family (father, mother, and child) can each be a channel for the formation of civilization, or the highest collection of civilized human actions.

The canals, from the story of the Greek hero to the 'family canal' are part of a long story of how humans interact with themselves, communities, and nature to create something on earth. Previously there was none, then it was created. Not only just passing through the existing canals, but the noble task of humans is how to open new canals as a path for the birth of a new civilization.

YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.

Scorpion's Wind of Change and Global Collaborative Survival

I just enjoyed a cup of cappuccino in front of a cafe not far from the campus that is still closed due to the pandemic. Efforts to complete assignments sometimes have to be completed by taking a break while enjoying a cup of drink so that my eyes stay open, my mind keeps moving, and my hands keep dancing nimbly on the keyboard. Even in the crowd, I feel like I have to find peace for that.

Towards noon this morning, people started to come here. A young woman wearing sunglasses, around her mid-30s, sat solemnly holding two cellphones, while occasionally smoking a cigarette that had not been finished since earlier. The smell of cigarettes began to be felt as one or two people came here after Eid. "Come here, my friend is here," said someone near me. For a moment, I tried to open Youtube to find a song that was nice to listen to this morning.

I met "Wind of Change" by Scorpion, a rock band from Germany. An old song, released in 1991, but revealing the hopes and wonders of a near future where children can dream beautifully, and we can all be closer like brothers: "...that we could be so close, like brothers." The winds of change are now also visible everywhere. Our children of the past have become today's leaders. In the midst of a circle of life linked to social media, many people must strategize in order to survive. The strategy of waiting for each other, even attacking each other, occurs in the virtual realm, in many cases.

We forget that now we are actually like brothers, or even already brothers. We are united by each unit, whether it is family, friendship, alumni, or by geography. However, the pleasure of attacking each other occurs, without any enthusiasm to learn. We prefer to hit first, think later. Tragic. Modern but barbaric again.

The winds of change show that phones have become smarter than their owners. The intelligence of using phones has increased greatly, but human wisdom has decreased drastically due to narcissistic desires and the desire to continue to update. Lack of deep thinking, what's important is: "like, just like, share, comment", "don't like, just unlike, don't spread, and bully."

I don't know what winds of change have made modernity like this. Modernity truly brings us to a higher, deeper level of reason, without forgetting our human side as humans.

We are taught to be critical, but we forget to practice criticism that doesn't embarrass ourselves plus civilized criticism. It's not popular, but the attitude of "not being embarrassed" and "civilized" is important to maintain our civilization as humans. Because, that is actually the essence of the height of human values.

I listened to Scorpion again. Even though Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, and Aerosmith couldn't wait to sing for me, starting from "stairway to heaven, always, to crazy", my heart is still attached to Scorpion. Not because a few days ago I just finished Mortal Kombat played by my favorite action actor, Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, Bi-Han's enemy played by Joe Taslim.

"Take me to the magic of the moment on a glory night where the children of tomorrow dream away in the wind of change."

Our world has changed. Whether we realize it or not, many things have changed, starting from the increasingly damaged planet, which has the potential to threaten the survival of various species, and therefore demands that we be able to practice the "arts of living".

A group of concerned scientists then wrote together "Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet: Ghosts and Monsters of the Anthropocene" (2017). The book edited by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Nils Bubandt, Elaine Gan, Heather Anne Swanson, among others, offers a proposal on the importance of "collaborative survival" in facing various "ghost/monster" problems - including corona for the current context - that are present and threaten the existence of our species on this planet.

In the story of the struggle, we need collaboration. A dream and joint work to save our species from the possibility of extinction. Included there is the importance of us eliminating particular differences and fostering togetherness for our lives together, for all of us.

Anthropologist Tim Ingold, in The Life of Lines (2015) wrote that learning from babies, attachment is the first thing we do. All babies are attached to their mothers, then to other people in their community. All of us who are adults today are basically still attached to things around us, including this earth.

In the context of social relations, none of us can do anything alone. The rice that city people eat, for example, comes from the villages, and the fish served in luxury hotels comes from the work of fishermen. This means that we are all interconnected, interrelated, so it is important for us to get closer to each other, to work together on things that we agree on - for the common good - and start compromising on small things that can be reconciled.

If we are together, stability will be created. Togetherness is depicted by lines; relations between people, between communities, and between nations. Humans must bind themselves in such a way that even if there is tension in any season of change, the tension can be held back so that it does not separate us all. On the contrary, being interconnected will make us stronger, more stable, and able to face common enemies on this planet. 

YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.

Inspiration of Dagestani Man Khabib Nurmagomedov

After winning a duel with Justin Gaetjhe in the UFC event at Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday (10/25/2020) he chose to retire. He admitted that he could not continue fighting without the presence of his father who is also his trainer. Shortly after that, on his Instagram, Khabib posted a photo with his father, and wrote: "When Allah is with you, nobody can break you, nobody." When Allah is with you, then nobody will destroy you, he wrote.

"I spoke to my mother three days ago. She didn't want me to fight without my father, but I promised her that this was my last fight, and I kept it, I had to do it," said Khabib in the octagon. Remembering his father who had just passed away, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov (July 2020, age 57) due to complications of Covid-19, he continued his writing, "Thanks father for everything, you taught all my life, may Allah grant you the highest paradise." Thank you father for everything, you have taught all my life, may Allah reward you with the highest paradise.

Khabib is a 29-time UFC champion without defeat. His strength lies in freestyle wrestling - his father's teachings - which not all of his opponents are capable of. If his opponent is caught, I see it is difficult for them to escape from there, even Connor McGregor, the big mouth, the big mouth. I saw on khabib_nurmagomedov's Instagram, 10 hours after he posted the photo with a very inspiring caption, netizens who commented were already 147,872 people. Amazing. As of October 25, 2020, the IG has 23.6 million followers, follows 399 accounts, and has posted 3915 posts.

After the fight, Khabib also showed respect for his opponent. He told Gaethje, "Outside the octagon, I know you are an extraordinary person." I know how you take care of those closest to you. I know a lot about you, said Khabib, The Eagle. He also advised, "Take care of your parents. Because one day something will happen. You don't know what happens tomorrow." Khabib not only gave a message to his former opponent but also to all of us that the success we achieve on the battlefield of life is never separate from our parents, father or mother, or both.

He doesn't want to be a peanut who forgets its skin. He seems very dependent on his father. A kind of dependence as well as respect for the person who raised him and made him a great fighter in the UFC. When he does, he always points his finger up which means: "All this success is because of Allah, not because of me personally." Amazing. Rarely do we see a great fighter who is like that: remember Allah in his prime.

I imagine that Khabib's figure during the time of the Prophet Muhammad was like extraordinary friends who were ready to compete one on one. Maybe like Ali bin Abi Talib, the Asadullah (lion of Allah), or Khalid bin Walid, the Saifullahul Maslul (the unsheathed sword of Allah). His body is strong, and his skills are honed. Don't get emotional so you just hit him carelessly. His punches have meaning, there is value in them.

Khabib teaches us that respect for parents is mandatory, and must take priority. For those who have not had contact with their parents for a long time, it is best to contact them. Ask for prayers that your life path will be blessed.

Islam teaches to respect parents, as Allah SWT says: "And your Rabb has commanded humans not to worship but only Him and to do good to both parents as best as possible. And if one of the two or both of them is old by your side then do not say to either of them 'ah' and do not shout at either of them" (Al-Isra: 23) Likewise in the following verse: "And worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and do good to both mothers and fathers...." (An-Nisa: 36) 

In the hadith, the Prophet Muhammad saw. said: "God's pleasure is in the parents' pleasure, and Allah's displeasure is in the parents' disapproval."

Khabib's figure also teaches that the fights he does are not for money. But, to pass on values ​​and history to his people in the mountains of Dagestan, Russia. That's more or less what we can take from his statement: "I don't fight for the money. I fight for my legacy. I fight for history. I fight for my people."

It seems that he is also not crazy about respect. This is also extraordinary. Sometimes fighters compete to chase respect, but he doesn't. He said: "I don't think about, 'Oh, I'm finally getting my respect,' because I don't care about this." He doesn't care about the respect. His focus in the octagon is: "I smash my opponents." Yes, destroying his enemies.

His concern through this type of sport is legacy. Khabib seems to want to focus on maintaining his good name as a Muslim, a Dagestani, and a fighter with character. I care about my legacy. I care about my legacy, he said.

Khabib's presence in the UFC fight is a source of pride for many Indonesians, especially Muslims. Considering that every time he wins he always remembers the one above. Many memes were created inspired by it. There are also many writings and chats with inspiring traces from the 32-year-old man--at that time.

We should all learn from Khabib, a mighty man who is obedient to God and devoted to his parents. We need a character like that: great but not forgetful.

YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.