.jakarta: hotel bombing. an opinion.

I'm sure by now everyone would've heard about the bombing of Marriott Hotel and Ritz-Carlton hotel in Jakarta on the 17th of July 2009. To me, this incident is a great misfortune for Indonesia. As a country, Indonesia has been in turbulence for a while now. As far as I know, the country has been hit hard by the economic crisis, like many other country around the world, and off course the recent presidential election has caused some instability. Since the last economic crisis in 1998, Indonesia has been trying to rebuild its people, country and governmental bodies. One of the Indonesia's tool is relying on tourism, with promotions such as Visit Indonesia starting in 2008 and Enjoy Jakarta 2009. Relying on tourism means that the country needs to prove its stability and safety. However, this on-going terrorist attack have caused a great instability and filled potential tourists with fear.

I am hoping that the so-called terrorist realized the grave impact of their actions. I'm not only talking about the victims, people that passed away caused by the bombs, but also the other victims, the everyday people of Indonesia who rely on tourism to buy a cup of rice to feed their whole family. As a country that is, unfortunately, heavily populated with quite a big percentage living in poverty, many rely on creating traditional crafts or formed a traditional dance troops to be shown to foreigners, in order to earn money. When foreigners fear the country because of bombings and instabilities, these families living under poverty might not survive today.

I am praying for all the families' of the recent bombing victims, hoping time will heal our pain. I am also praying for the people of Indonesia who lived everyday in poverty who are hoping that one day things will get better, its a comfort to know that someday soon we'll see a brighter future for you beloved country, Indonesia. The president have been re-elected, another five years of governance is ahead of us, may the day, 17th of July 2009, becomes a wake up call for all Indonesia's young generations to come to a realization that the future of Indonesia rely on us, let us together, hand-in-hand, make a small difference each day, that one day will create an impact to improve our country.