#decolonization — Public Fediverse posts

The Revolutionary Charter for establishing people’s power (2023) is the output of a radically participatory and democratic process.
Eye opening video by @Ayman: https://youtu.be/ISyFtL2hq1Q

"Placing our focus on criminal justice alone may allow for some individuals to be punished for their crimes against society but will leave unharmed the same hegemony and oppression regimes who are behind violence and atrocities."
excerpt from The Charter: https://migration-control.info/documents/131/The_Revolutionary_Charter_For_January_2023.pdf

#history #racism #resistance #revolutionaries #decolonization #DecemberRevolution #ResistanceCommittees #policy #policies #governance #exploitation #extraction #socialJustice #redistribution #movements #sudan #revolution #khartoum #postColonial #participation #anarchism #warInSudan #civilWar

Cerpen: Paku dan Palu Karya Utuy Tatang Sontani

Paku dan Palu

Cerita Pendek Karya Utuy Tatang Sontani (1948)

ATMA buta huruf, pekerjaannya memperbaiki sepatu rusak, berkeliling tiap hari masuk gang keluar gang mendatangi rumah orang lain, membawa paku, palu, jara, tali rami dan alat lain lagi. Itulah mata pencahariannya semenjak ia lepas dari tanggungan orang tuanya sampai ia mempunyai isteri dan seorang anak.

Tatkala pada tanggal 21 Juli 1947 tentara Belanda mengadakan aksi-polisi mendesak rakyat penduduk kota mengungsi kepegunungan. Atmapun pergi bersama keluarganya mengosongkan rumah, dengan alasan takut pada peluru seperti juga alasan bagi kebanyakan yang buta huruf. Tapi kalau orang lain berangkat dengan terengah-engah dibebani harta, Atma dan isterinya ringan saja mengayun langkah. Sebab tiada banyak yang mereka bawa. Hanya sebundelan pakaian, satu peti perabot untuk memperbaiki sepatu dan satu dua perabot dapur. Hanya itulah harta mereka.

Ke mana mereka mesti pergi, mereka sendiri tidak tahu. Tapi setelah jauh meninggalkan kota, sampai jugalah mereka pada seorang petani yang rela menerima mereka diam dirumahnya.

Kepada yang punya rumah itu Atma memberikan sebuah kemeja yang sudah usang tapi masih sering melekat ditubuhnya. Dengan demikian selama beberapa hari ini mereka tidak usah mencari-cari beras dan dengan demikian pula berarti Atma sudah kehilangan sepertiga dari semua jumlah bajunya. Tapi tidak apa, sebab pada pendapatnya tidak akan selamanya harus mengeluarkan pakaian. Untuk segera memperoleh uang iapun tidak lama membiarkan dirinya diam di rumah. Ia pergi meninggalkan anak dan isterinya membawa alat-alat untuk memperbaiki sepatu, mendatangi rumah orang lain, kalau-kalau yang punya rumah itu ada mempunyai sepatu rusak yang harus diperbaiki.

Ia menjalankan kewajiban seperti tatkala masih diam di kota. Dan seperti kebiasaannya di kota juga, setelah hari lohor baru ia pulang.

Tapi ia pulang dengan muka suram; katanya kepada isterinya: “Tiada seorang juga yang mempunyai sepatu rusak. Ya, penduduk gunung malah tidak tahu bersepatu.”

Isterinya menganjurkan supaya esok pergi lagi ke tempat yang agak jauh di mana banyak orang kota mengungsi. Orang kota sudah tentu mempunyai sepatu.

Anjuran itu dijalankan. Pada keesokan harinya Atma pergi lagi lebih jauh dari tempat yang didatanginya kemarin. Akan tetapi ia pulang dengan muka suram juga: ujarnya kepada isterinya: “Banyak orang kota yang kaya kujumpai. Tapi mereka tidak kelihatan bersepatu. Katanya mereka meniru orang kampung, supaya disangka orang kampung oleh tentara Belanda yang mungkin bersua dengan mereka.”

Meskipun demikian, namun pada keesokan harinya Atma pergi lagi, sekalipun tiada harapan akan menemui sepatu rusak. Setelah lima hari usahanya itu tidak memberi hasil, mulai dia tidak percaya lagi akan faedahnya perabot yang dibawanya kian-kemari. Mulai timbul pikiran harus menunda pekerjaan jadi tukang memperbaiki sepatu. Tapi waktu isterinya mengatakan sudah tiada punya beras dan melahirkan pendapat supaja perabot yang tiada gunanya itu dijual saja, Atma menjawab dengan melemparkan sebuah baju; katanya: “Perabot itu jangan dijual, sebab siapa tahu esok atau lusa kita ke kota lagi. Daripada menjual perabot itu, lebih baik menjual baju saja.”

Dengan begitu ia kini sudah kehilangan duapertiga dari semua jumlah bajunya. Dan supaja uang penjualan baju itu dapat terpakai lama, mulai waktu itu makan mereka dikurangi. Kalau biasanya dua kali sehari, kini hanya satu kali saja dan dicampur singkong pula. Selaku menghibur diri sendiri, selalu ia berkata: “Biarlah, nanti kalau kita sudah ke kota lagi, kita akan makan tiga kali sehari.”

Ia tidak tahu bahwa dari kurang makan badan anaknya tidak cukup menerima pitamin. Ia tidak tahu hal itu sebab ia tiada tahu pelajaran tentang kesehatan. Bila anaknya kelihatan sakit-sakit, dianggapnya penyakit itu datang dibawa angin lalu.

Meskipun demikian, namun jika penyakit anaknya itu mendatangkan ajal, peristiwa kematian anaknya itu ditangisinya dengan menghamburkan kata-kata: “Ya, kalau kita diam di kota, belum tentu anak kita meninggal dunia…”

Iapun mendapat tahu dari orang lain, bahwa sekarang ini pengungsi belum dibolehkan lagi memasuki kota, sebab di kota belum aman. Hal ini diutarakan pula oleh bunyi senapan yang sebentar-sebentar terdengar mengerikan. Lagi pula menurut cerita orang kepadanya, siapa yang memaksa masuk ke kota, pasti menemui bahaya, entah akan ditembak oleh tentara Indonesia dengan alasan disangka mata-mata, entah akan dibunuh oleh tentara Belanda lantaran dituduh memusuhi mereka.

Padahal ditembak ia tidak sudi. Ia meninggalkan kota juga lantaran tidak mau jadi kurban peluru.

Ia bingung. Sebab untuk terus diam di pegunungan di mana ia tidak menemui sepatu rusak yang mesti diperbaiki, ia tidak sanggup lama lagi. Dan lebih dari dua baju tak dapat lagi ia keluarkan.

Ia sudah mencoba menjual tenaga yang laku di pegunungan, yaitu kuli memikul. Tapi ia tidak kuat. Akibatnya menderita sakit sekujur badan. Pernah pula ia kuli mencangkul meniru orang kampung, akan tetapi hanya ditertawakan orang saja, sebab tidak biasa.

Ada juga pikiran mau dagang. Tapi kecuali belum pernah, takut tidak laku, juga tidak ada modal.

Akhirnya datang pula saat isterinya menceritakan tidak punya beras disertai anjuran supaya perabot yang tidak ada gunanya itu dijual saja.

Apa boleh buat, daripada tidak makan relalah ia melepaskan sebagian dari perabot itu. Kulit, tali rami, jara dan yang lainnya lagi diizinkannya supaya dijual. Kecuali sebungkus paku dan sebuah palu. Katanya: “Dulu aku memulai dengan paku dan palu. Nanti juga, kalau kita sudah ke kota, paku dan palu itu akan kujadikan modal.”

Tapi di dalam ia rela menjual sebagian dari perabot itu, isterinya melihat dia lesu terkulai. Ketika anaknya mati, ia kelihatan sedih. Tapi sekarang diceraikan dengan sebagian dari perabotnya, ia mengandung rasa pahit. Kepahitan itu jelas nampak di kala ia duduk memeluk dengkul memandang paku dan palu.

KEDUA barang itu tak hendak lagi terlepas dari tangannya. Dibungkusnya baik-baik dan disimpannya tidak jauh dari petidurannya. Dan tatkala pada suatu hari ada kabar bahwa akan datang patruli Belanda ke tempat mereka, di dalam orang lain ribut mencari persembunyian seraya membawa barang-barang berharga yang patut disembunyikan, iapun lari meninggalkan rumah dengan mendahulukan membawa paku dan palu.

Ya, kedua barang itu mesti ia bawa lagi ke kota sebagai modal, seperti yang dikatakannya kepada isterinya. Itu berarti bahwa dia bukan hanya mesti kuat mempertahankan kedua barang itu jangan sampai lepas sebagai barang kepunyaannya. Tapi pula ia mesti berikhtiar untuk segera dapat pergi ke kota.

Akan tetapi apabila ia menanyakan kepada orang lain: “Kapankah kota aman lagi?” selalu ia dapat jawaban: “Wah, masih lama lagi.” Dalam pada itu isterinya sudah berkata lagi bahwa beras sudah habis.

Sekali ini terhadap keterangan isterinya itu ia bersikap diam. Terus terdiam. Hanya nafasnya ditarik panjang-panjang.

Lama dulu ia hening tidak bergema. Kemudian diambilnya bungkusan paku dan palu itu. Dengan senyum pahit ia berkata: “Aku akan pergi membawa paku dan palu ini. Barangkali akan lama juga, sebab sebelum aku mendapat beras, aku tak akan pulang.”

Dengan langkah gontai dan tiada lagi mempedulikan apa yang dikatakan isterinya, ia berjalan meninggalkan rumah.

Keesokan harinya ternyata ia tidak pulang. Demikian pula pada hari ketiganya, keempatnya dan kelimanya. Dan isterinya menunggu mula-mula dengan tenang, kemudian dengan gelisah dan akhirnya timbul curiga. Maklumlah keadaan di mana-mana masih dalam suasana perang; banyak cerita orang yang menerangkan tentang adanya yang dibunuh yang ditawan serta disiksa.

Kepada pedagang yang pulang dari pasar sering ia menanyakan kalau-kalau berjumpa dengan lakinya. Tapi selalu dijawab dengan “Tidak” saja. Ada juga keinginan untuk mencari keterangan dengan jalan pergi menanyakannya kepada penduduk lain kampung, tapi ia tiada keberanian jauh meninggalkan rumah, sebab takut kalau-kalau di jalan bersua dengan tentara Belanda.

Untuk dapat makan, bajunya yang tinggal satu dijualnya dan ia terus menunggu kedatangan lakinya dengan badan tidak terbungkus lagi.

Sarungnya yang satu-satunya melekat di tubuhnya sudah bertukar dengan kain goni, tatkala pada suatu hari ia mesti menerima kedatangan seorang opsir tentara yang baru saja dikenal dan datang kepadanya dengan pertanyaan: “Kakak isteri orang yang …. membawa paku dan palu?”

Ia jawab dengan mengangguk menelan ludah.

“Kedatangan saya,” kata opsir itu, “ialah untuk memberitahu kepada kakak bahwa laki kakak meninggal dunia.”

Perkataan itu lebih tajam dari pisau menusuk jantungnya. Tapi ia memaksa bertanya: “Apa sebabnya? Dan di mana?”

“Mayatnya kedapatan tidak jauh dari kota, sehari setelah ia ditahan oleh kami di markas. Ia ditahan, sebab mulanya diduga mata-mata yang hendak menyelundup ke kota. Tapi ia jadi tawanan kami tidak lebih dari satu hari. Setelah dia ternyata tidak waras pikirannya, yaitu setelah mengamuk di kala paku dan palunya hendak kami tahan dan mengatakan bahwa ia akan pergi ke kota untuk mencari sepatu rusak, diapun lalu dilepaskan. Tapi meskipun ia diperingati supaya jangan melalui jalan yang sering diinjak patruli Belanda, namun ia ke sana juga seraya menepuk-nepuk dada dan tertawa. Akhirnya dia kedapatan sudah jadi mayat.”

Isteri Atma tidak menjawab, hanya air matanya saja jatuh bertitik. Ia tidak dapat memahamkan apa yang terjadi dengan lakinya itu. Sekalipun dahinya dikerut-kerutkan, tapi ia tetap tidak mengerti.

Sumber: Utuy Tatang Sontani, Orang-Orang Sial: Sekumpulan cerita tahan 1948-1950, Balai Pustaka, B.P. No. 1847, Djakarta, 1951. Urutan cerita menurut waktu dikarangnya. Digambari oleh Ooq. Foto: Warga Palestina menunggu tukang sepatu memperbaiki sepatu mereka di Khan Yunis, Palestina, 2024. © Bashar TALEB/AFP/File

Bibliografi

• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Bunga Rumah Makan. Pertundjukan watak dalam satu babak. B.P. 1650. 32 pp. 2nd. ed. 1954.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Suling. B.P. 1651. 92 pp.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1949, Tambera. B.P. 1671. 279 pp. 2nd. ed. 1952. (Google Books)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1951, Orang-Orang Sial. B.P. 1847. 119 pp. 2nd ed. Ban-dung 1963, with an additional story.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1952, Awal dan Mira. Drama satu babak. B.P. 1887. (Earlier in Indonesia 2, 1951, p. 79-102).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Manusia Iseng (drama satu babak). Indonesia 4.8/9, p. 473-87.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Sangkuriang Indonesia 4.10, p. 594-601. Dajang Sumbi (drama 3 babak).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1954, Sajang ada Orang Lain (drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 5.5/6, p. 261-80.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Dilangit Ada Bintang (Drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 6.2, p. 61-75.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Sang Kuriang. Seni 1, 11 and 12, p. 483-511 and 531-542.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1957, Saat jang Genting (drama satu babak). Indonesia 8.3, p. 133-44.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1963, Selamat Djalan, Anak Kafur (sandiwara satu babak). Bukittinggi-Djakarta. 59 pp. (Two stories, publ. earlier in Indonesia 7.8 and 8.3.)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Sapar. Sebuah novelette tentang kehidupan pe-narik betjak di Djakarta. Djakarta. 48 pp. (Internet Archive)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Kampeng. Djakarta. 36 pp.
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2026, July 26). Utuy Tatang Sontani. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia. https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utuy_Tatang_Sontani

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Cerpen: Paku dan Palu Karya Utuy Tatang Sontani

Paku dan Palu

Cerita Pendek Karya Utuy Tatang Sontani (1948)

ATMA buta huruf, pekerjaannya memperbaiki sepatu rusak, berkeliling tiap hari masuk gang keluar gang mendatangi rumah orang lain, membawa paku, palu, jara, tali rami dan alat lain lagi. Itulah mata pencahariannya semenjak ia lepas dari tanggungan orang tuanya sampai ia mempunyai isteri dan seorang anak.

Tatkala pada tanggal 21 Juli 1947 tentara Belanda mengadakan aksi-polisi mendesak rakyat penduduk kota mengungsi kepegunungan. Atmapun pergi bersama keluarganya mengosongkan rumah, dengan alasan takut pada peluru seperti juga alasan bagi kebanyakan yang buta huruf. Tapi kalau orang lain berangkat dengan terengah-engah dibebani harta, Atma dan isterinya ringan saja mengayun langkah. Sebab tiada banyak yang mereka bawa. Hanya sebundelan pakaian, satu peti perabot untuk memperbaiki sepatu dan satu dua perabot dapur. Hanya itulah harta mereka.

Ke mana mereka mesti pergi, mereka sendiri tidak tahu. Tapi setelah jauh meninggalkan kota, sampai jugalah mereka pada seorang petani yang rela menerima mereka diam dirumahnya.

Kepada yang punya rumah itu Atma memberikan sebuah kemeja yang sudah usang tapi masih sering melekat ditubuhnya. Dengan demikian selama beberapa hari ini mereka tidak usah mencari-cari beras dan dengan demikian pula berarti Atma sudah kehilangan sepertiga dari semua jumlah bajunya. Tapi tidak apa, sebab pada pendapatnya tidak akan selamanya harus mengeluarkan pakaian. Untuk segera memperoleh uang iapun tidak lama membiarkan dirinya diam di rumah. Ia pergi meninggalkan anak dan isterinya membawa alat-alat untuk memperbaiki sepatu, mendatangi rumah orang lain, kalau-kalau yang punya rumah itu ada mempunyai sepatu rusak yang harus diperbaiki.

Ia menjalankan kewajiban seperti tatkala masih diam di kota. Dan seperti kebiasaannya di kota juga, setelah hari lohor baru ia pulang.

Tapi ia pulang dengan muka suram; katanya kepada isterinya: “Tiada seorang juga yang mempunyai sepatu rusak. Ya, penduduk gunung malah tidak tahu bersepatu.”

Isterinya menganjurkan supaya esok pergi lagi ke tempat yang agak jauh di mana banyak orang kota mengungsi. Orang kota sudah tentu mempunyai sepatu.

Anjuran itu dijalankan. Pada keesokan harinya Atma pergi lagi lebih jauh dari tempat yang didatanginya kemarin. Akan tetapi ia pulang dengan muka suram juga: ujarnya kepada isterinya: “Banyak orang kota yang kaya kujumpai. Tapi mereka tidak kelihatan bersepatu. Katanya mereka meniru orang kampung, supaya disangka orang kampung oleh tentara Belanda yang mungkin bersua dengan mereka.”

Meskipun demikian, namun pada keesokan harinya Atma pergi lagi, sekalipun tiada harapan akan menemui sepatu rusak. Setelah lima hari usahanya itu tidak memberi hasil, mulai dia tidak percaya lagi akan faedahnya perabot yang dibawanya kian-kemari. Mulai timbul pikiran harus menunda pekerjaan jadi tukang memperbaiki sepatu. Tapi waktu isterinya mengatakan sudah tiada punya beras dan melahirkan pendapat supaja perabot yang tiada gunanya itu dijual saja, Atma menjawab dengan melemparkan sebuah baju; katanya: “Perabot itu jangan dijual, sebab siapa tahu esok atau lusa kita ke kota lagi. Daripada menjual perabot itu, lebih baik menjual baju saja.”

Dengan begitu ia kini sudah kehilangan duapertiga dari semua jumlah bajunya. Dan supaja uang penjualan baju itu dapat terpakai lama, mulai waktu itu makan mereka dikurangi. Kalau biasanya dua kali sehari, kini hanya satu kali saja dan dicampur singkong pula. Selaku menghibur diri sendiri, selalu ia berkata: “Biarlah, nanti kalau kita sudah ke kota lagi, kita akan makan tiga kali sehari.”

Ia tidak tahu bahwa dari kurang makan badan anaknya tidak cukup menerima pitamin. Ia tidak tahu hal itu sebab ia tiada tahu pelajaran tentang kesehatan. Bila anaknya kelihatan sakit-sakit, dianggapnya penyakit itu datang dibawa angin lalu.

Meskipun demikian, namun jika penyakit anaknya itu mendatangkan ajal, peristiwa kematian anaknya itu ditangisinya dengan menghamburkan kata-kata: “Ya, kalau kita diam di kota, belum tentu anak kita meninggal dunia…”

Iapun mendapat tahu dari orang lain, bahwa sekarang ini pengungsi belum dibolehkan lagi memasuki kota, sebab di kota belum aman. Hal ini diutarakan pula oleh bunyi senapan yang sebentar-sebentar terdengar mengerikan. Lagi pula menurut cerita orang kepadanya, siapa yang memaksa masuk ke kota, pasti menemui bahaya, entah akan ditembak oleh tentara Indonesia dengan alasan disangka mata-mata, entah akan dibunuh oleh tentara Belanda lantaran dituduh memusuhi mereka.

Padahal ditembak ia tidak sudi. Ia meninggalkan kota juga lantaran tidak mau jadi kurban peluru.

Ia bingung. Sebab untuk terus diam di pegunungan di mana ia tidak menemui sepatu rusak yang mesti diperbaiki, ia tidak sanggup lama lagi. Dan lebih dari dua baju tak dapat lagi ia keluarkan.

Ia sudah mencoba menjual tenaga yang laku di pegunungan, yaitu kuli memikul. Tapi ia tidak kuat. Akibatnya menderita sakit sekujur badan. Pernah pula ia kuli mencangkul meniru orang kampung, akan tetapi hanya ditertawakan orang saja, sebab tidak biasa.

Ada juga pikiran mau dagang. Tapi kecuali belum pernah, takut tidak laku, juga tidak ada modal.

Akhirnya datang pula saat isterinya menceritakan tidak punya beras disertai anjuran supaya perabot yang tidak ada gunanya itu dijual saja.

Apa boleh buat, daripada tidak makan relalah ia melepaskan sebagian dari perabot itu. Kulit, tali rami, jara dan yang lainnya lagi diizinkannya supaya dijual. Kecuali sebungkus paku dan sebuah palu. Katanya: “Dulu aku memulai dengan paku dan palu. Nanti juga, kalau kita sudah ke kota, paku dan palu itu akan kujadikan modal.”

Tapi di dalam ia rela menjual sebagian dari perabot itu, isterinya melihat dia lesu terkulai. Ketika anaknya mati, ia kelihatan sedih. Tapi sekarang diceraikan dengan sebagian dari perabotnya, ia mengandung rasa pahit. Kepahitan itu jelas nampak di kala ia duduk memeluk dengkul memandang paku dan palu.

KEDUA barang itu tak hendak lagi terlepas dari tangannya. Dibungkusnya baik-baik dan disimpannya tidak jauh dari petidurannya. Dan tatkala pada suatu hari ada kabar bahwa akan datang patruli Belanda ke tempat mereka, di dalam orang lain ribut mencari persembunyian seraya membawa barang-barang berharga yang patut disembunyikan, iapun lari meninggalkan rumah dengan mendahulukan membawa paku dan palu.

Ya, kedua barang itu mesti ia bawa lagi ke kota sebagai modal, seperti yang dikatakannya kepada isterinya. Itu berarti bahwa dia bukan hanya mesti kuat mempertahankan kedua barang itu jangan sampai lepas sebagai barang kepunyaannya. Tapi pula ia mesti berikhtiar untuk segera dapat pergi ke kota.

Akan tetapi apabila ia menanyakan kepada orang lain: “Kapankah kota aman lagi?” selalu ia dapat jawaban: “Wah, masih lama lagi.” Dalam pada itu isterinya sudah berkata lagi bahwa beras sudah habis.

Sekali ini terhadap keterangan isterinya itu ia bersikap diam. Terus terdiam. Hanya nafasnya ditarik panjang-panjang.

Lama dulu ia hening tidak bergema. Kemudian diambilnya bungkusan paku dan palu itu. Dengan senyum pahit ia berkata: “Aku akan pergi membawa paku dan palu ini. Barangkali akan lama juga, sebab sebelum aku mendapat beras, aku tak akan pulang.”

Dengan langkah gontai dan tiada lagi mempedulikan apa yang dikatakan isterinya, ia berjalan meninggalkan rumah.

Keesokan harinya ternyata ia tidak pulang. Demikian pula pada hari ketiganya, keempatnya dan kelimanya. Dan isterinya menunggu mula-mula dengan tenang, kemudian dengan gelisah dan akhirnya timbul curiga. Maklumlah keadaan di mana-mana masih dalam suasana perang; banyak cerita orang yang menerangkan tentang adanya yang dibunuh yang ditawan serta disiksa.

Kepada pedagang yang pulang dari pasar sering ia menanyakan kalau-kalau berjumpa dengan lakinya. Tapi selalu dijawab dengan “Tidak” saja. Ada juga keinginan untuk mencari keterangan dengan jalan pergi menanyakannya kepada penduduk lain kampung, tapi ia tiada keberanian jauh meninggalkan rumah, sebab takut kalau-kalau di jalan bersua dengan tentara Belanda.

Untuk dapat makan, bajunya yang tinggal satu dijualnya dan ia terus menunggu kedatangan lakinya dengan badan tidak terbungkus lagi.

Sarungnya yang satu-satunya melekat di tubuhnya sudah bertukar dengan kain goni, tatkala pada suatu hari ia mesti menerima kedatangan seorang opsir tentara yang baru saja dikenal dan datang kepadanya dengan pertanyaan: “Kakak isteri orang yang …. membawa paku dan palu?”

Ia jawab dengan mengangguk menelan ludah.

“Kedatangan saya,” kata opsir itu, “ialah untuk memberitahu kepada kakak bahwa laki kakak meninggal dunia.”

Perkataan itu lebih tajam dari pisau menusuk jantungnya. Tapi ia memaksa bertanya: “Apa sebabnya? Dan di mana?”

“Mayatnya kedapatan tidak jauh dari kota, sehari setelah ia ditahan oleh kami di markas. Ia ditahan, sebab mulanya diduga mata-mata yang hendak menyelundup ke kota. Tapi ia jadi tawanan kami tidak lebih dari satu hari. Setelah dia ternyata tidak waras pikirannya, yaitu setelah mengamuk di kala paku dan palunya hendak kami tahan dan mengatakan bahwa ia akan pergi ke kota untuk mencari sepatu rusak, diapun lalu dilepaskan. Tapi meskipun ia diperingati supaya jangan melalui jalan yang sering diinjak patruli Belanda, namun ia ke sana juga seraya menepuk-nepuk dada dan tertawa. Akhirnya dia kedapatan sudah jadi mayat.”

Isteri Atma tidak menjawab, hanya air matanya saja jatuh bertitik. Ia tidak dapat memahamkan apa yang terjadi dengan lakinya itu. Sekalipun dahinya dikerut-kerutkan, tapi ia tetap tidak mengerti.

Sumber: Utuy Tatang Sontani, Orang-Orang Sial: Sekumpulan cerita tahan 1948-1950, Balai Pustaka, B.P. No. 1847, Djakarta, 1951. Urutan cerita menurut waktu dikarangnya. Digambari oleh Ooq. Foto: Warga Palestina menunggu tukang sepatu memperbaiki sepatu mereka di Khan Yunis, Palestina, 2024. © Bashar TALEB/AFP/File

Bibliografi

• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Bunga Rumah Makan. Pertundjukan watak dalam satu babak. B.P. 1650. 32 pp. 2nd. ed. 1954.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Suling. B.P. 1651. 92 pp.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1949, Tambera. B.P. 1671. 279 pp. 2nd. ed. 1952. (Google Books)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1951, Orang-Orang Sial. B.P. 1847. 119 pp. 2nd ed. Ban-dung 1963, with an additional story.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1952, Awal dan Mira. Drama satu babak. B.P. 1887. (Earlier in Indonesia 2, 1951, p. 79-102).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Manusia Iseng (drama satu babak). Indonesia 4.8/9, p. 473-87.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Sangkuriang Indonesia 4.10, p. 594-601. Dajang Sumbi (drama 3 babak).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1954, Sajang ada Orang Lain (drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 5.5/6, p. 261-80.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Dilangit Ada Bintang (Drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 6.2, p. 61-75.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Sang Kuriang. Seni 1, 11 and 12, p. 483-511 and 531-542.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1957, Saat jang Genting (drama satu babak). Indonesia 8.3, p. 133-44.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1963, Selamat Djalan, Anak Kafur (sandiwara satu babak). Bukittinggi-Djakarta. 59 pp. (Two stories, publ. earlier in Indonesia 7.8 and 8.3.)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Sapar. Sebuah novelette tentang kehidupan pe-narik betjak di Djakarta. Djakarta. 48 pp. (Internet Archive)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Kampeng. Djakarta. 36 pp.
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2026, July 26). Utuy Tatang Sontani. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia. https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utuy_Tatang_Sontani

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Writers: Utuy Tatang Sontani’s Impressions of Soviet Uzbekistan in 1958, Negeri Sovjet

Utuy Tatang Sontani’s Impressions

By S. Zacharov, cultural magazine “Negeri Sovjet”, 1958(?)

Utuy Tatang Sontani is a well-known Indonesian playwright who took part in the most recent Asia-Africa Writers’ Conference, which was held in Tashkent. He traveled in the USSR together with Ananta Tur and Dodong Djiwapradja, members of the Indonesian delegation. Utuy Tatang Sontani shared his impressions of his visit to the USSR with the journalists of “Negeri Sovjet.”

Speaking about the Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference in Tashkent, Utuy Tatang Sontani said that although there were certain difficulties because the delegates used different languages, the conference was successful. “In Tashkent,” he said, “we met many writers from Asia and Africa who are supporters of the ideals of their national cultures.” In his view, one of the conference’s most important outcomes was the agreement to introduce one another to each other’s literary works from various nations.

Utuy Tatang Sontani said that he was deeply moved by his meetings and by the exchange of ideas on literary matters with Soviet writers Tikonov, Kerbabajev, and Simonov.

He also said that he would not forget the hospitality and reassuring attitude shown by the people of Tashkent to the conference participants. Concerning his impressions of his visit to Turkmenistan, Utuy Tatang Sontani said: “In Ashgabad, he saw large-scale cultural development. Ashgabad—hit by an earthquake.”

Utuy Tatang Sontani visited the “Shah-Senem” Opera and the “Aldar Kose” ballet at the Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Ashgabad. “What I didn’t expect was seeing a theater out in the middle of the Karakum desert. The show demonstrated the ability of the people of Turkmenistan to create beautiful things,” Utuy Tatang Sontani said. “I particularly like national musical instruments,” he added, “and with those instruments they can perform the works and even concerts by modern composers—just as with Western instruments.”

In describing his visit to a collective farm in the Ashgabad region, Utuy Tatang Sontani said that for collective farmers it was more convenient to work together in sowing and planting, because if they worked on their own, they would not be able to overcome the desert.

“In the Republic of Uzbekistan and in Turkmenistan,” Utuy Tatang Sontani said, “I was truly amazed by the people’s faith in their own strength and by their activity across every field of life.”

Utuy Tatang Sontani stayed several days in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union. He toured the city, seeing Red Square and the Kremlin, and also visited the Lenin Museum, the Gorky Museum, and the home where Chekhov lived. Utuy Tatang Sontani said he was very pleased to see that Moscow’s architectural monuments are always preserved and cared for.

“I feel happy,” Utuy Tatang Sontani said, “that in Moscow I met the translators of play and storytelling—‘The Swan Lake House’—Rano Semuan and Jevgenia Zachatnikova, who helped make my work known to the Soviet people.”

Utuy Tatang Sontani then said that in his meeting with members of the USSR–Indonesia organization, he was greatly pleased to hear about the activities of this still-young organization. He was also pleased that several Indonesian literary works—among them “Siti Nurbaja,” “Lajar Terkembang,” and “Hikajat Abdullah”—are already ready to be translated and published in Russian in the Soviet Union.

Utuy Tatang Sontani visited the Union of Soviet Writers and was told about the work of this organization. He said that he was especially impressed by the assistance provided by the Soviet government to “this association.”

The Indonesian guest then watched the performance of “Danau Angsa” at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater. “Its music, its stagecraft, and its acting made an unforgettable impression.”

• Utuy Tatang Sontani, who is familiar with the works of the Russian writer A. P. Chekhov, visited the home where Chekhov lived. In this house, now turned into a museum, the guest learned many things about Chekhov’s works and his life in the house between 1886 and 1890. It was there that Chekhov wrote his famous stories, “The Steppe,” and his plays “Ivanov,” “The Bear,” “Proposals,” and others.

In the guestbook, Utuy Tatang Sontani wrote the following: “To me, Chekhov is a teacher in how he studies and depicts people as they truly are.”

“I am very pleased to see that the Soviet people love books,” Utuy Tatang Sontani emphasized. “Wherever they read—on the street and in the park, on buses and on the Metro. To support this passion for reading,” he added, “there are bookstalls everywhere.”

As a conclusion to the interview, Utuy Tatang Sontani said that he was deeply moved by the warm welcome the Soviet people and the other delegates gave him. 13

Sumber: Zacharov S. Kesan-kesan Utuy Tatang Sontani, (majalah kebudayaan) Negeri Sovjet 1958(?):13.

Bibliografi

• Aveling, H., & Sontani, U. T. (1979). Man and society in the works of the Indonesian playwright Utuy Tatang Sontani; And, Awal and Mira. Southeast Asia paper, no. 13. Honolulu: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/fddb31ed-39f5-4343-9748-7d60ced1a822
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Bunga Rumah Makan. Pertundjukan watak dalam satu babak. B.P. 1650. 32 pp. 2nd. ed. 1954.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Suling. B.P. 1651. 92 pp.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1949, Tambera. B.P. 1671. 279 pp. 2nd. ed. 1952. (Google Books)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1951, Orang-Orang Sial. B.P. 1847. 119 pp. 2nd ed. Ban-dung 1963, with an additional story.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1952, Awal dan Mira. Drama satu babak. B.P. 1887. (Earlier in Indonesia 2, 1951, p. 79-102).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Manusia Iseng (drama satu babak). Indonesia 4.8/9, p. 473-87.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Sangkuriang Indonesia 4.10, p. 594-601. Dajang Sumbi (drama 3 babak).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1954, Sajang ada Orang Lain (drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 5.5/6, p. 261-80.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Dilangit Ada Bintang (Drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 6.2, p. 61-75.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Sang Kuriang. Seni 1, 11 and 12, p. 483-511 and 531-542.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1957, Saat jang Genting (drama satu babak). Indonesia 8.3, p. 133-44.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1963, Selamat Djalan, Anak Kafur (sandiwara satu babak). Bukittinggi-Djakarta. 59 pp. (Two stories, publ. earlier in Indonesia 7.8 and 8.3.)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Sapar. Sebuah novelette tentang kehidupan pe-narik betjak di Djakarta. Djakarta. 48 pp. (Internet Archive)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Kampeng. Djakarta. 36 pp.
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2026, July 26). Utuy Tatang Sontani. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utuy_Tatang_Sontani
• Zacharov S. Kesan-kesan Utuy Tatang Sontani . (majalah kebudayaan) Negeri Sovjet 1958(?):13.

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Writers: Utuy Tatang Sontani’s Impressions of Soviet Uzbekistan in 1958, Negeri Sovjet

Utuy Tatang Sontani’s Impressions

By S. Zacharov, cultural magazine “Negeri Sovjet”, 1958(?)

Utuy Tatang Sontani is a well-known Indonesian playwright who took part in the most recent Asia-Africa Writers’ Conference, which was held in Tashkent. He traveled in the USSR together with Ananta Tur and Dodong Djiwapradja, members of the Indonesian delegation. Utuy Tatang Sontani shared his impressions of his visit to the USSR with the journalists of “Negeri Sovjet.”

Speaking about the Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference in Tashkent, Utuy Tatang Sontani said that although there were certain difficulties because the delegates used different languages, the conference was successful. “In Tashkent,” he said, “we met many writers from Asia and Africa who are supporters of the ideals of their national cultures.” In his view, one of the conference’s most important outcomes was the agreement to introduce one another to each other’s literary works from various nations.

Utuy Tatang Sontani said that he was deeply moved by his meetings and by the exchange of ideas on literary matters with Soviet writers Tikonov, Kerbabajev, and Simonov.

He also said that he would not forget the hospitality and reassuring attitude shown by the people of Tashkent to the conference participants. Concerning his impressions of his visit to Turkmenistan, Utuy Tatang Sontani said: “In Ashgabad, he saw large-scale cultural development. Ashgabad—hit by an earthquake.”

Utuy Tatang Sontani visited the “Shah-Senem” Opera and the “Aldar Kose” ballet at the Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Ashgabad. “What I didn’t expect was seeing a theater out in the middle of the Karakum desert. The show demonstrated the ability of the people of Turkmenistan to create beautiful things,” Utuy Tatang Sontani said. “I particularly like national musical instruments,” he added, “and with those instruments they can perform the works and even concerts by modern composers—just as with Western instruments.”

In describing his visit to a collective farm in the Ashgabad region, Utuy Tatang Sontani said that for collective farmers it was more convenient to work together in sowing and planting, because if they worked on their own, they would not be able to overcome the desert.

“In the Republic of Uzbekistan and in Turkmenistan,” Utuy Tatang Sontani said, “I was truly amazed by the people’s faith in their own strength and by their activity across every field of life.”

Utuy Tatang Sontani stayed several days in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union. He toured the city, seeing Red Square and the Kremlin, and also visited the Lenin Museum, the Gorky Museum, and the home where Chekhov lived. Utuy Tatang Sontani said he was very pleased to see that Moscow’s architectural monuments are always preserved and cared for.

“I feel happy,” Utuy Tatang Sontani said, “that in Moscow I met the translators of play and storytelling—‘The Swan Lake House’—Rano Semuan and Jevgenia Zachatnikova, who helped make my work known to the Soviet people.”

Utuy Tatang Sontani then said that in his meeting with members of the USSR–Indonesia organization, he was greatly pleased to hear about the activities of this still-young organization. He was also pleased that several Indonesian literary works—among them “Siti Nurbaja,” “Lajar Terkembang,” and “Hikajat Abdullah”—are already ready to be translated and published in Russian in the Soviet Union.

Utuy Tatang Sontani visited the Union of Soviet Writers and was told about the work of this organization. He said that he was especially impressed by the assistance provided by the Soviet government to “this association.”

The Indonesian guest then watched the performance of “Danau Angsa” at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater. “Its music, its stagecraft, and its acting made an unforgettable impression.”

• Utuy Tatang Sontani, who is familiar with the works of the Russian writer A. P. Chekhov, visited the home where Chekhov lived. In this house, now turned into a museum, the guest learned many things about Chekhov’s works and his life in the house between 1886 and 1890. It was there that Chekhov wrote his famous stories, “The Steppe,” and his plays “Ivanov,” “The Bear,” “Proposals,” and others.

In the guestbook, Utuy Tatang Sontani wrote the following: “To me, Chekhov is a teacher in how he studies and depicts people as they truly are.”

“I am very pleased to see that the Soviet people love books,” Utuy Tatang Sontani emphasized. “Wherever they read—on the street and in the park, on buses and on the Metro. To support this passion for reading,” he added, “there are bookstalls everywhere.”

As a conclusion to the interview, Utuy Tatang Sontani said that he was deeply moved by the warm welcome the Soviet people and the other delegates gave him. 13

Sumber: Zacharov S. Kesan-kesan Utuy Tatang Sontani, (majalah kebudayaan) Negeri Sovjet 1958(?):13.

Bibliografi

• Aveling, H., & Sontani, U. T. (1979). Man and society in the works of the Indonesian playwright Utuy Tatang Sontani; And, Awal and Mira. Southeast Asia paper, no. 13. Honolulu: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/fddb31ed-39f5-4343-9748-7d60ced1a822
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Bunga Rumah Makan. Pertundjukan watak dalam satu babak. B.P. 1650. 32 pp. 2nd. ed. 1954.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1948, Suling. B.P. 1651. 92 pp.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1949, Tambera. B.P. 1671. 279 pp. 2nd. ed. 1952. (Google Books)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1951, Orang-Orang Sial. B.P. 1847. 119 pp. 2nd ed. Ban-dung 1963, with an additional story.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1952, Awal dan Mira. Drama satu babak. B.P. 1887. (Earlier in Indonesia 2, 1951, p. 79-102).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Manusia Iseng (drama satu babak). Indonesia 4.8/9, p. 473-87.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1953, Sangkuriang Indonesia 4.10, p. 594-601. Dajang Sumbi (drama 3 babak).
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1954, Sajang ada Orang Lain (drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 5.5/6, p. 261-80.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Dilangit Ada Bintang (Drama satu babak). Indo-nesia 6.2, p. 61-75.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1955, Sang Kuriang. Seni 1, 11 and 12, p. 483-511 and 531-542.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1957, Saat jang Genting (drama satu babak). Indonesia 8.3, p. 133-44.
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1963, Selamat Djalan, Anak Kafur (sandiwara satu babak). Bukittinggi-Djakarta. 59 pp. (Two stories, publ. earlier in Indonesia 7.8 and 8.3.)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Sapar. Sebuah novelette tentang kehidupan pe-narik betjak di Djakarta. Djakarta. 48 pp. (Internet Archive)
• Utuy Tatang Sontani, 1964, Si Kampeng. Djakarta. 36 pp.
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2026, July 26). Utuy Tatang Sontani. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utuy_Tatang_Sontani
• Zacharov S. Kesan-kesan Utuy Tatang Sontani . (majalah kebudayaan) Negeri Sovjet 1958(?):13.

Rate this:

"The war in Ukraine is not just another conventional conflict in Europe, but a fight for universal values of sovereignty, decolonization, and democracy."
- Michael McFaul

#Ukraine #Europe #Russia #RussianImperialism #RussianAggression #RussiaUkraineWar #PutinsWar #Colonization #Russification #sovereignty #Decolonization #Democracy

"The war in Ukraine is not just another conventional conflict in Europe, but a fight for universal values of sovereignty, decolonization, and democracy."
- Michael McFaul

#Ukraine #Europe #Russia #RussianImperialism #RussianAggression #RussiaUkraineWar #PutinsWar #Colonization #Russification #sovereignty #Decolonization #Democracy

Is #Somaliland seeking to create a new state—or restore one that already existed? A new #Legal analysis examines its claim through #Decolonization, #SelfDetermination, the #1960Union with #Somalia & #InternationalLaw.

https://saxafimedia.com/somaliland-legal-statehood-restored-sovereignty/

Is #Somaliland seeking to create a new state—or restore one that already existed? A new #Legal analysis examines its claim through #Decolonization, #SelfDetermination, the #1960Union with #Somalia & #InternationalLaw.

https://saxafimedia.com/somaliland-legal-statehood-restored-sovereignty/

🔥🔥🔥

❝ Cesar explained in an interview that #Brazil is in a unique position because the right to #healthcare has been enshrined in its constitution since 1988. In the years after the constitution was signed, members of civil society advocated to ensure that #HIV prevention and treatment would be part of the Unified Health System.❞

Brazil’s HIV advocates say they predicted #USAID funding cuts: ‘We would see the trends’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/01/brazil-usaid-funding-hiv

#sovereignty #decolonization #Brasil

🔥🔥🔥

❝ Cesar explained in an interview that #Brazil is in a unique position because the right to #healthcare has been enshrined in its constitution since 1988. In the years after the constitution was signed, members of civil society advocated to ensure that #HIV prevention and treatment would be part of the Unified Health System.❞

Brazil’s HIV advocates say they predicted #USAID funding cuts: ‘We would see the trends’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/01/brazil-usaid-funding-hiv

#sovereignty #decolonization #Brasil

update on my WIP mega-zine about industrial ag:

i think i've had a good breakthrough in my research on the green revolution.

the book is called "Geopolitics and the Green Revolution: Wheat, Genes, and the Cold War" by john h. perkins.

he covers the scientific development of the dwarf varieties of wheat in USA, mexico, UK, and india; and the spread of these varieties that is commonly referred to as the green revolution.

he writes: "Between 1945 and 1955 a series of events, studies, and conceptual syntheses created a climate in the United States that saw plant breeding and all of the modern agricultural sciences as a critically important adjunct in the battle between capitalist freedom and the tyranny of communism."

he spells out the theory that they were operating under: "The American intellectual and political climate from 1945 to 1955 was critically shaped by the development of the cold war, a part of which included a theory that purported to link causally overpopulation, resource exhaustion, hunger, political instability, communist insurrection, and danger to vital American interests. As a convenient shorthand, the theory can be called the population-national security theory (PNST)." 🤯

i read that and i was like "yesssssss this is it".

he even made a nice little graphic (see below).

i've been reading a lot of primary sources, and PNST thinking was in a lot of them, but having a historian lay it out so clearly and succinctly is soooo helpful.

additionally, i found the full text of a speech by allen dulles (head of the CIA at the time) on "the communist challenge to free government." it's a rich example of the kind of paranoid thinking that was happening at the top of the US political structure at the time. in the speech, he asserts that communists are everywhere, trying to turn the various recently-decolonized peoples toward communism...soviets put out propaganda on the radio, via printed materials, and *secretly* via various unions and international associations, and via the world peace council.

he writes that communism is (of course) not very enticing to those of us in the free world, because of our material plenty and our forefathers' commitment to liberty or whatever. BUT, to a subject of a newly-decolonized nation, who is hungry and desperately trying to catch up to the modern world, communism is very appealing (supposedly). 🙄

the whole speech really helped me get inside the thinking that i think perkins would describe as PNST. i don't know if any quotes from the dulles speech will make it into the zine (if i have room, hopefully!), but it's still a really helpful primary source (i like a good primary source).

if you want to read the text of the dulles speech, it's available here: archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp62s00545a000100090040-3

as a bonus, i've included the cover of a publication called "man, land, and food", from USDA in 1963. yes, it shows a rough graphic of a naked black person holding up an empty bowl, with a graphic of the globe behind them. so yea, that's where these guys were at. they saw the recently decolonized peoples as a sort of undifferentiated mass of hungry mouths. extremely dehumanizing.

#USHistory #research #GreenRevolution #agriculture #ColdWar #AgriculturalScience #USPol #history #decolonization #wheat #wip

update on my WIP mega-zine about industrial ag:

i think i've had a good breakthrough in my research on the green revolution.

the book is called "Geopolitics and the Green Revolution: Wheat, Genes, and the Cold War" by john h. perkins.

he covers the scientific development of the dwarf varieties of wheat in USA, mexico, UK, and india; and the spread of these varieties that is commonly referred to as the green revolution.

he writes: "Between 1945 and 1955 a series of events, studies, and conceptual syntheses created a climate in the United States that saw plant breeding and all of the modern agricultural sciences as a critically important adjunct in the battle between capitalist freedom and the tyranny of communism."

he spells out the theory that they were operating under: "The American intellectual and political climate from 1945 to 1955 was critically shaped by the development of the cold war, a part of which included a theory that purported to link causally overpopulation, resource exhaustion, hunger, political instability, communist insurrection, and danger to vital American interests. As a convenient shorthand, the theory can be called the population-national security theory (PNST)." 🤯

i read that and i was like "yesssssss this is it".

he even made a nice little graphic (see below).

i've been reading a lot of primary sources, and PNST thinking was in a lot of them, but having a historian lay it out so clearly and succinctly is soooo helpful.

additionally, i found the full text of a speech by allen dulles (head of the CIA at the time) on "the communist challenge to free government." it's a rich example of the kind of paranoid thinking that was happening at the top of the US political structure at the time. in the speech, he asserts that communists are everywhere, trying to turn the various recently-decolonized peoples toward communism...soviets put out propaganda on the radio, via printed materials, and *secretly* via various unions and international associations, and via the world peace council.

he writes that communism is (of course) not very enticing to those of us in the free world, because of our material plenty and our forefathers' commitment to liberty or whatever. BUT, to a subject of a newly-decolonized nation, who is hungry and desperately trying to catch up to the modern world, communism is very appealing (supposedly). 🙄

the whole speech really helped me get inside the thinking that i think perkins would describe as PNST. i don't know if any quotes from the dulles speech will make it into the zine (if i have room, hopefully!), but it's still a really helpful primary source (i like a good primary source).

if you want to read the text of the dulles speech, it's available here: archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp62s00545a000100090040-3

as a bonus, i've included the cover of a publication called "man, land, and food", from USDA in 1963. yes, it shows a rough graphic of a naked black person holding up an empty bowl, with a graphic of the globe behind them. so yea, that's where these guys were at. they saw the recently decolonized peoples as a sort of undifferentiated mass of hungry mouths. extremely dehumanizing.

#USHistory #research #GreenRevolution #agriculture #ColdWar #AgriculturalScience #USPol #history #decolonization #wheat #wip

“Iran's Heroic Double Mission .., And the unparalleled significance it has for all of humanity's freedom and spiritual equilibrium”

by Alon Mizrahi in The Mizrahi Perspective on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@iran
@palestinenews
@uk_politics

“Maintaining its integrity and sovereignty is Iran’s first and foremost mission. But its service to humanity only begins there, because, on top on defending itself against a long list of powerful enemies, Iran has two Herculean tasks to accomplish, and both are of immense importance for every living human, and those who will be born in many generations to come”

https://open.substack.com/pub/alonmizrahi/p/irans-heroic-double-mission

#Press #SocialMedia #Iran #War #Trump #Israel #OperationEpsteinFury #OperationEpicMistake #RegimeChange #WarCrimes #CrimesAgainstHumanity #Hormuz #Empire #Collapse #US #Sanctions #EconomicWarfare #Hegemony #Decolonization #WestAsia #Zionist #ZionistExpansion #GreaterIsrael

“Iran's Heroic Double Mission .., And the unparalleled significance it has for all of humanity's freedom and spiritual equilibrium”

by Alon Mizrahi in The Mizrahi Perspective on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@iran
@palestinenews
@uk_politics

“Maintaining its integrity and sovereignty is Iran’s first and foremost mission. But its service to humanity only begins there, because, on top on defending itself against a long list of powerful enemies, Iran has two Herculean tasks to accomplish, and both are of immense importance for every living human, and those who will be born in many generations to come”

https://open.substack.com/pub/alonmizrahi/p/irans-heroic-double-mission

#Press #SocialMedia #Iran #War #Trump #Israel #OperationEpsteinFury #OperationEpicMistake #RegimeChange #WarCrimes #CrimesAgainstHumanity #Hormuz #Empire #Collapse #US #Sanctions #EconomicWarfare #Hegemony #Decolonization #WestAsia #Zionist #ZionistExpansion #GreaterIsrael

RE: https://mastodon.social/@uatribune/116933919696425068

#KiraRudik:

As someone who lives in #Kyiv under almost nightly … attacks, let me tell you something.
There has never been a diplomatic formula built on fear of #Putin that protected Ukrainian civilians. The only thing that has worked is reducing #Russia's ability to wage war.
…
The destruction and #decolonization of the #RussianEmpire would be one of the best things that could happen to #Europe - and the only lasting strategic outcome worthy of the immense price this war has already demanded.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@uatribune/116933919696425068

#KiraRudik:

As someone who lives in #Kyiv under almost nightly … attacks, let me tell you something.
There has never been a diplomatic formula built on fear of #Putin that protected Ukrainian civilians. The only thing that has worked is reducing #Russia's ability to wage war.
…
The destruction and #decolonization of the #RussianEmpire would be one of the best things that could happen to #Europe - and the only lasting strategic outcome worthy of the immense price this war has already demanded.

Another excellent, sprawling series from the #TheDigRadio: Nusantara covers the history of #Indonesia from the period of Dutch #colonialism to the present.

Latest ep (no. 7) covers conflicts in the state's colonial periphery: #WestPapua, #EastTimor & #Aceh

https://thedigradio.com/podcast/nusantara-ep-7-suhartos-fall/

series site: https://thedigradio.com/Nusantara/

#DutchEastIndiaCompany #SoutheastAsia #colonialViolence #decolonization #Sukarno #Suharto #PKI #decolonialStruggles #FreeWestPapua #documentaries

cc @Jinjirrie

Another excellent, sprawling series from the #TheDigRadio: Nusantara covers the history of #Indonesia from the period of Dutch #colonialism to the present.

Latest ep (no. 7) covers conflicts in the state's colonial periphery: #WestPapua, #EastTimor & #Aceh

https://thedigradio.com/podcast/nusantara-ep-7-suhartos-fall/

series site: https://thedigradio.com/Nusantara/

#DutchEastIndiaCompany #SoutheastAsia #colonialViolence #decolonization #Sukarno #Suharto #PKI #decolonialStruggles #FreeWestPapua #documentaries

cc @Jinjirrie

“This book is about the #decolonization process. It's…about showing that there are a lot of us out there who are in this middle road, who don't know our past and there's a lot of people coming home…”

#Indigenous #FirstNations #books #autofiction

https://www.windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/connecting-indigenous-roots-takes-more-just-showing-status-card-and-dna

“This book is about the #decolonization process. It's…about showing that there are a lot of us out there who are in this middle road, who don't know our past and there's a lot of people coming home…”

#Indigenous #FirstNations #books #autofiction

https://www.windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/connecting-indigenous-roots-takes-more-just-showing-status-card-and-dna

Listening your body is decolonization.

#decolonization

Listening your body is decolonization.

#decolonization

This is my ultimate, long-processing conclusion on the thread I wrote the other day about issues in the secular atheist community wrt the term "spirituality," and ultimately how Matt Dillahunty treated Britt Hartley. I reached this conclusion after extrospecting on both his and her POVs.

He approached her video with zero curiosity (in spite of his posturing otherwise), and with zero care or attempt to actually understand what she was saying. It shows in his methodology.

If he had, a man as smart as him would have understood her. Not necessarily AGREED with her. But he would have understood her.

Rationality is only as good as its empirical inputs. Rationality without extrospection is garbage.

https://defcon.social/@corbden/116898313009019827

🧵

#CareCulture #AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

This is my ultimate, long-processing conclusion on the thread I wrote the other day about issues in the secular atheist community wrt the term "spirituality," and ultimately how Matt Dillahunty treated Britt Hartley. I reached this conclusion after extrospecting on both his and her POVs.

He approached her video with zero curiosity (in spite of his posturing otherwise), and with zero care or attempt to actually understand what she was saying. It shows in his methodology.

If he had, a man as smart as him would have understood her. Not necessarily AGREED with her. But he would have understood her.

Rationality is only as good as its empirical inputs. Rationality without extrospection is garbage.

https://defcon.social/@corbden/116898313009019827

🧵

#CareCulture #AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

BTW, I just looked it up, and curiosity is cognate with both cure and care. Thanks, Latin!

🧵

#CareCulture #AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

BTW, I just looked it up, and curiosity is cognate with both cure and care. Thanks, Latin!

🧵

#CareCulture #AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

If you think it's hard to follow the reasoning of someone you can't understand or strongly disagree with, it really isn't. Everyone in our society has practiced this skill.

Have you ever read a novel filled with mythical beasts and magic? Have you ever seen a show where a bank robber or warlord is the protagonist? Have you ever seen a "science" fiction movie with a bunch of technobabble that you couldn't comprehend and felt like it was made up?

Yet you could still follow the logic and know why the hero has to use the magic sword to kill the dragon, root for the guy whose impact on the world is ultimately evil, and know why the nanotachyons need to be inserted into the hyperengine core.

We all have the skills to set aside our own grasp of reality or moral reasoning to live inside someone else's for a little while. And these experiences expand our ability to think and our appreciation of the world.

Extrospection is simply doing that for a real person, and accepting that their reality exists in the same sense yours does.

🧵

#AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

If you think it's hard to follow the reasoning of someone you can't understand or strongly disagree with, it really isn't. Everyone in our society has practiced this skill.

Have you ever read a novel filled with mythical beasts and magic? Have you ever seen a show where a bank robber or warlord is the protagonist? Have you ever seen a "science" fiction movie with a bunch of technobabble that you couldn't comprehend and felt like it was made up?

Yet you could still follow the logic and know why the hero has to use the magic sword to kill the dragon, root for the guy whose impact on the world is ultimately evil, and know why the nanotachyons need to be inserted into the hyperengine core.

We all have the skills to set aside our own grasp of reality or moral reasoning to live inside someone else's for a little while. And these experiences expand our ability to think and our appreciation of the world.

Extrospection is simply doing that for a real person, and accepting that their reality exists in the same sense yours does.

🧵

#AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

All casual forms of bigotry boil down to one thing: being stuck in your own perspective.

Words only mean what you mean them to mean, experiences are limited to experiences like those you've had, intensity of pain is limited to whatever you've felt, emotional reactions only make sense if they're similar to reactions you've had.

Extrospection, aka perspective-taking, is the cure. Hold curiosity for those experiences outside of yourself.

This person disagrees with me. Why? Why would I be exclusively right while they're uniquely wrong? What am I missing? How can I understand what they're trying to communicate?

That's the key to anti-abuse culture, from interpersonal conflicts, to local decolonization, to fighting the spread of global fascism. You undo your own biases by extrospecting others. By thinking emphathetically. By asking sincere questions. By trying to understand why someone would believe a certain conclusion or action is reasonable.

Extrospection even helps against active bigotry and abuse, that is, when someone's values motivate them to actively cause harm. It doesn't mean you have to agree with someone after you've understood them, or that you have to side with their values. By understanding how their values differ, by understanding their thought process, you can better strategize to counter their actions in defense of those who deserve your empathy.

🧵

#AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

All casual forms of bigotry boil down to one thing: being stuck in your own perspective.

Words only mean what you mean them to mean, experiences are limited to experiences like those you've had, intensity of pain is limited to whatever you've felt, emotional reactions only make sense if they're similar to reactions you've had.

Extrospection, aka perspective-taking, is the cure. Hold curiosity for those experiences outside of yourself.

This person disagrees with me. Why? Why would I be exclusively right while they're uniquely wrong? What am I missing? How can I understand what they're trying to communicate?

That's the key to anti-abuse culture, from interpersonal conflicts, to local decolonization, to fighting the spread of global fascism. You undo your own biases by extrospecting others. By thinking emphathetically. By asking sincere questions. By trying to understand why someone would believe a certain conclusion or action is reasonable.

Extrospection even helps against active bigotry and abuse, that is, when someone's values motivate them to actively cause harm. It doesn't mean you have to agree with someone after you've understood them, or that you have to side with their values. By understanding how their values differ, by understanding their thought process, you can better strategize to counter their actions in defense of those who deserve your empathy.

🧵

#AbuseCulture #decolonization #extrospection #solidarity

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2026/0714/1582544-meet-the-man-reclaiming-irish-placenames-with-app-baile-beo/
"Irish place names were anglicised over centuries. We never restored them. Let's start."
https://www.bailebeo.ie/
#Decolonization

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2026/0714/1582544-meet-the-man-reclaiming-irish-placenames-with-app-baile-beo/
"Irish place names were anglicised over centuries. We never restored them. Let's start."
https://www.bailebeo.ie/
#Decolonization

“Do we ever fully have a decolonized state? …That's a really big question. And I guess I don't know it because there's no kind of evidence or even what are we working towards?”

#Indigenous #books #Canada #decolonization #reconciliation

https://www.windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/book-explores-fully-decolonized-canada-and-whether-dreams-been-dreamt

“Do we ever fully have a decolonized state? …That's a really big question. And I guess I don't know it because there's no kind of evidence or even what are we working towards?”

#Indigenous #books #Canada #decolonization #reconciliation

https://www.windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/book-explores-fully-decolonized-canada-and-whether-dreams-been-dreamt

For more on the (mostly) peaceful process toward #decolonization and #democratization in #Canada, see my recent piece on a #book by #JohnRalstonSaul: doncurren.blogspot.com/2026/06/book...

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5zca2ola2zxpkw37w4f3wxtu/post/3mpvmgmfous2d

“In its very dullness it was actually momentous – nothing less than the first example in history of #peaceful #decolonization.” Interesting piece in the Globe about the #AmericanRevolution and how it contrasts with the path to #independence in #Canada. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/24ca038... 🎁📎

America may not have needed re...

“In its very dullness it was actually momentous – nothing less than the first example in history of #peaceful #decolonization.” Interesting piece in the Globe about the #AmericanRevolution and how it contrasts with the path to #independence in #Canada. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/24ca038... 🎁📎

America may not have needed re...

I believe every Canadian should watch this video: https://youtu.be/QP9x1NnCWNY

#TedX #Canada #decolonization

I believe every Canadian should watch this video: https://youtu.be/QP9x1NnCWNY

#TedX #Canada #decolonization

"In an age overflowing with corrupt and divisive politicians, genuinely principled leadership has become rare. Leadership measured not by charisma or electoral victory, but by ethics, courage and integrity. That is what people thought they heard in those AI generated words."

Kenneth Mohammed for The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/06/african-leader-speech-decolonisation-ai-generated-fake-president-namibia-africa-caribbean

#AI #Deepfakes #Decolonization

"In an age overflowing with corrupt and divisive politicians, genuinely principled leadership has become rare. Leadership measured not by charisma or electoral victory, but by ethics, courage and integrity. That is what people thought they heard in those AI generated words."

Kenneth Mohammed for The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/06/african-leader-speech-decolonisation-ai-generated-fake-president-namibia-africa-caribbean

#AI #Deepfakes #Decolonization

There can be no such thing as equal rights when any of those rights include "the right to gain power over others."

That's what property rights include in our current society.

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

There can be no such thing as equal rights when any of those rights include "the right to gain power over others."

That's what property rights include in our current society.

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

We look back at the founders and say haha can you believe they bought the idea that only land-owners should vote??

Well today we think that only land-owners should have full rights to security, sovereignty, building design, and the ability to set boundaries in the place they sleep.

It's terrifying!

We're not just in an increasing rent economy. We're in a society where our core rights come down to rent.

Will you have enough money (units of power) to rent your rights back once the monopolies really kick in?

🧵

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

We look back at the founders and say haha can you believe they bought the idea that only land-owners should vote??

Well today we think that only land-owners should have full rights to security, sovereignty, building design, and the ability to set boundaries in the place they sleep.

It's terrifying!

We're not just in an increasing rent economy. We're in a society where our core rights come down to rent.

Will you have enough money (units of power) to rent your rights back once the monopolies really kick in?

🧵

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

I think people SHOULD have a place where what they say goes (within limits). Where we live should be sacred space, where we can say who gets to be here, where we put our personal things that are protected from theft or destruction, where we can sleep soundly. Where we can build and rearrange and paint and plant and do whatever we want to fit our needs and aesthetics.

In our society, this freedom or right is attached to the concept of property. Which is why some people get very upset at the idea of taking that away. Every man needs his castle, but it isn't the castle he wants so much as a little place to rule.

Freedom ultimately is that, right? A sovereign, self-ruled little place. Power distributed equally amongst everyone, each person inside their own place of sovereign boundaryship.

But we've tied that right to ownership of land.

So they can just buy that right up.

And now where have your rights gone?

The slogan is wrong. Property isn't "theft." It's a separation of you from you liberty. It's an alienation of every person from our inherent rights.

🧵

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

I think people SHOULD have a place where what they say goes (within limits). Where we live should be sacred space, where we can say who gets to be here, where we put our personal things that are protected from theft or destruction, where we can sleep soundly. Where we can build and rearrange and paint and plant and do whatever we want to fit our needs and aesthetics.

In our society, this freedom or right is attached to the concept of property. Which is why some people get very upset at the idea of taking that away. Every man needs his castle, but it isn't the castle he wants so much as a little place to rule.

Freedom ultimately is that, right? A sovereign, self-ruled little place. Power distributed equally amongst everyone, each person inside their own place of sovereign boundaryship.

But we've tied that right to ownership of land.

So they can just buy that right up.

And now where have your rights gone?

The slogan is wrong. Property isn't "theft." It's a separation of you from you liberty. It's an alienation of every person from our inherent rights.

🧵

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

Like money, property becomes an abstraction layer for the language of power, and isn't much different from fuedalism of old. "Property" is merely a justification for why the lord gets to tell everyone forced onto it what to do.

But at least then, serfs could keep a much larger portion of their labor than we do. They had clean air to breathe and wholesome food they knew where it came from and what was in it.

Moreover, at least then lords had a sacred duty to protect those who lived on their land.

We've got all the noblesse without the oblige.

🧵

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

Like money, property becomes an abstraction layer for the language of power, and isn't much different from fuedalism of old. "Property" is merely a justification for why the lord gets to tell everyone forced onto it what to do.

But at least then, serfs could keep a much larger portion of their labor than we do. They had clean air to breathe and wholesome food they knew where it came from and what was in it.

Moreover, at least then lords had a sacred duty to protect those who lived on their land.

We've got all the noblesse without the oblige.

🧵

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything

So unpacking a little further: The concept of land-property is an abstraction of a type of micro- warfare and empire put into terms that make it feel ok.

It's disturbing to me to dig this deep, because I'm a former libertarian who likes the idea of property, a type of order within freedom, where I am theoretically able to earn a square of land that is mine, where I are nearly completely free to do with it and on it whatever I like.

But zoom out. Consider the rent economy. Not scary when it's just an elderly couple with an extra house or a duplex with which they make supplemental money.

That becomes an empire when it becomes a sky rise. Or a corporation buying up every cheap property in a town and jacking up prices for shelter.

It is land upon which they can do whatever they want and set whatever rules. Lots and lots of land. In some cases, all the land as far as the eye can see.

They are Kings of vast segments of area that they didn't (themselves) raise a sword to gain. But don't let that fool you into thinking it wasn't conquest. They spent their units of power (money), that when traced back far enough, the methods of its "earning" were, in fact, quite violent in nature. In order to gain enough units of power to buy a kingdom, violence was surely done. Freedoms were surely taken.

And once they have purchased enough land, they are effectively lords, and no one has any freedom but they.

Viewed through this lens, property is antithetical to core libertarian values. Property is a form of tyranny and empire. An instrument of theft and inherently a fraud.

I hate it. But that's what's under the curtain.

🧵

#deconstruction #decolonization #AbuseCulture #QuestionEverything