Paranoia

The Indonesian government released a statement recently that foreign military presence in Indonesian soil is to be limited for three months. Foreign voluteers can stay up to one year, but they still need to report themselves to local authorities for safe monitoring. Isn't it funny that even when Aceh is under such distress the government worries about foreign military presence, even if their sole purpose is to give aid to those in need? What kind of nation are we to be stuck in a paranoia against the military and foreign-ess?

Is it a case of the military? Or is it because they are foreign? Or a combo that poses such a threat that needs to be addressed as soon as possible?

We often fall on the trap of categorising and boxing people according to our set of values. In the midst of our narrow mindedness we forget that not everything needs to be understood within a certain classification. What happened in Aceh, Srilanka, India, Maldives, and many other places was something beyond those bounded limits. The world's reaction was impossible to be categorised. Help was coming in so fast, it was nearly impossible to detect where they're coming from.

Let's for a moment forget that we belong to a particular country, or born in a certain place. In the new era of advanced technology, let's unite and feel that we are citizens of the world; getting rid of suspicions and prejudice; fear of one another and work to rebuild what was once lost.