A Journey Across Differences

Indonesia’s pluralism is nothing short of an irony. On the one hand, diversity lends color to life and should, ideally, go hand in hand with the values of tolerance. But on the other hand, history has shown us how easy it is for conflicts to arise amid diversity, as we witnessed in Ambon, Maluku, in 1999, as well as in Poso, South Sulawesi, from the late 1990s until the early 2000s. Past spine-chilling clashes between Christians and Muslims in the two regions did not only consume lives but also produced territorial and psychological segregations. A number of groups and individuals have decided to act to restore peace and harmony in these regions. In Ambon, the Maluku Interfaith Institution (LAIM) and other groups have moved to action. Meanwhile, in Poso, former terrorism convict Arifuddin Lako is campaigning for peace through his films. Tempo English reports.