Event offers insights into Southeast Asian cultures

Published Monday, April 26, 2004.

Members of the University of Pittsburgh's Gamelan Ensemble perform after dinner at the Spring into Southeast Asia 2004 event in the Baker Ballroom at Baker University Center Friday evening. The event included student performances, an authentic Southeast Asian meal, and then a performance by the Gamelan Ensemble.

Food, folks and new cultural experiences were the themes of Friday night's "Spring into Southeast Asia," an annual event sponsored by the Southeast Asian Studies Association.
The event is for Southeast Asians to share their cultures with the Athens area and Ohio University. "They're so excited to present their cultures," said Masumi Nakano, president of the Southeast Asian Studies Association. "There are not many chances, it's really important to us."

Representatives from 11 Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma and Laos welcomed the audience of about 250 with a greeting from their country followed by student performances. "We have such a colorful nationality in our organization," Nakano said.

Members of the Vietnamese Student Association sang a song called "Hanoi - Belief and Hope," a favorite in Vietnam, and the Thai Student Association presented a skit about the Sangkran Festival of Thailand, the New Year celebration. The Cambodian Student Association performed a traditional Cambodian folk tale called "How Thunder and Lightning Began" and Minah Harun, an OU grad student, read a poem called "Going Away."

After the student presentations, a meal featuring popular Southeast Asian foods such as Vietnamese spring rolls and Malaysian satay was served, followed by a performance by the Gamelan Ensemble from the University of Pittsburgh. The ensemble, which plays traditional Indonesian music, presented a puppet show and provided the background music.

Jaclyn Jimison, an OU freshman, attended the event for the International Business Society and chose the Southeast Asian event as preparation for future travels. "My friend's mother is from Thailand," Jimison said. "I'm going there over the summer, so this was my first choice." Jimison said the student performances were interesting because they offered a different perspective on Southeast Asian entertainment.

Tickets for the event were pre-sold April 14 to 21, and 30 additional tickets were sold at the door. The sold-out crowd was not a big surprise for Nakano because the turnout last year was just as big. "Last year, the same thing happened," she said. "But we didn't sell any tickets at the door, and we didn't like turning people away."

The International Student Union, which is an umbrella organization for about 20 international student organizations, helped to support the event. "I thought they did a really nice job," said Molly Dwyer, communications director for ISU. "I think it's nice for the Southeast Asian Association to put on a nice event to share their culture."

Source: http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/Articles/Culture/2004/04/26/5504/

Indonesians gain real view of U.S.

Published Thursday, April 15, 2004.

Prior to arriving in Athens with a group of 13 other Indonesian delegates, Michael Mamentu, a teacher at Sam Ratulangi University in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, remembers harboring a distorted image of American society.

After a week in Southeast Ohio filled with activities ranging from contra dancing at the Dairy Barn to a scenario-planning workshop with the U.S. Institute of Peace, Mamentu and fellow participants of the Indonesian Conflict Management Delegation said they have acquired a broad understanding of the United States and its people. "One of the most important things that we are learning from our workshop here is not only about the (peace-building) method, but about the U.S. culture. So many people are thinking negatively about Americans now, but we saw (American society) directly here. It's not like we imagined before. I can tell this to my friends," Mamentu said.

Along these lines, Alan Tidwell of the Institute of Peace worked with the 14 delegates to increase communication and peace-making strategies between the Indonesian leaders. Participants envisioned possible scenarios for their nation in the future and went on to discuss ways of working toward the best future for Indonesia. "Indonesia has many conflicts because Indonesia has many cultures, many races and many religions. I think after this program we will come away with many advantages from this program, and it will help us to manage the conflict in Indonesian communities," said Tuti Alawiyah, a researcher for the Center for Languages and Cultures at Syarif Hidayatullah National Islamic University in Jakarta.

The Indonesian leaders fondly recall the cultural events that highlighted their week in Ohio, which included a trip to the Athens Farmers' market and Wal-Mart, a visit to a local farm, Easter morning church services and a tour of Hocking Hills State Park.
Concluding the OU segment of the program, participants gathered last night in the rotunda of the new Lecture Hall Facility to reflect on the progress that was accomplished during the week. Sentiment was unanimously positive as representatives from each party expressed a hope that the program would be one occasion in a continuing segment of similar events.

In the next two weeks, OU faculty will accompany the Indonesians to Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Lancaster, Pa., New York City, Cincinnati and Chicago to participate in similar peace making activities and seminars.

"I think that they have learned a lot by meeting real Americans and seeing that we have a difference of opinion and that we're not all miniature George Bushes," said Ann Shoemake, an OU doctorate student and consultant for the project. "Experiencing all of the different programs while working on peace strategies for their own country has opened their eyes to the variety of American life, the variety of American values and the different opinions that exist here. It gives them a much more realistic view of the U.S."

Source: http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/Articles/Culture/2004/04/15/4929/

OU promotes end to strife in Indonesia

Published Thursday, April 8, 2004.

As social tension and religious extremism continue in the Indonesian islands, Ohio University has made an effort with the University of Indonesia to bring an end to the violence that has been shaking the country.

Fourteen Indonesian academics and professionals will arrive in Athens tonight to begin the Inter-Religious Dialogue Project, constructed by Richard Kraince, special projects manager for the OU Center for International Studies. Tension in Indonesia has erupted sporadically since the nation's transition to a sectarian democracy in 1998, Kraince said. In the midst of this unstable, transitory period, political leaders and extremist groups have attempted to frame local and global issues in terms of a religious power struggle. As a result, entire communities of Christian and Muslim individuals have turned against one another in certain areas, a scenario that has led to thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of misplaced refugees. "These are extremely important issues to discuss today. If Indonesia is going to take its place as a stable democracy, it needs to address these inter-group and interreligion conflicts," Kraince said.

Until April 14, participants in the program will remain in Athens to take part in a conflict-scenario planning workshop with the U.S. Institute of Peace, a government organization that promotes international conflict resolution. They also will observe the Amesville School peer mediation group and attend a meeting with the Christian Peacemakers Team. "Religious issues play an important role in fueling conflict as well as serving as a pathway to peace," said Alan Tidwell of the Institute of Peace. "Participants will be looking at ways to develop alternative futures and considering the way those alternative futures can impact the way they do their jobs.

"After accomplishing these goals, participants will travel to Lancaster, Pa.; Washington, D.C.; Cincinnati, and Chicago. At each destination, the group will convene with Christian and Muslim groups who are attempting to promote interreligious harmony.
Having directly witnessed the horror and pain these conflicts have created on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, Lorraine Aragon, professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, continues to work in both nations to develop peace strategies. Aragon will serve as a linguistic and cultural interpreter at the workshop to help ensure understanding among all participants.

"It is too ambitious to think that any of these smaller programs will completely resolve the problems themselves," Aragon said. "What this will do will give these individuals a chance to gain a broader perspective beyond their own experiences. It allows them to talk in ways that might have been dangerous in their home environment."
The project will be funded by the U.S. State Department through the Office of Citizen Exchanges. To introduce the Indonesian leaders to the Athens community and to expose the public to these issues, a reception will be next Thursday at 4 p.m. in the rotunda of the new Lecture Hall facility.

"These young activists will get to see America as not only the country that went to war with Iraq or the golden country where everything goes right, but they will get to see us as we really are, struggling to solve our own problems," said Elizabeth Collins, director of International Development Studies at OU. "It's important for them. It's important for us. It's just a really exciting thing that's happening right here in Athens, Ohio."

Source: http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/Articles/Culture/2004/04/08/4534/