Debby Lukito Goeyardi is a writer of children’s and teen literature from Indonesia. She recenly visited Norwich with Avianti Armand and Nuril Basri for a week-long residency funded by the Indonesian Book Committee. I fell in love with Norwich once I stepped on its roads and breathed its fresh and … [Read more...]
Writings
I hated gays, and they weren’t real — back then
Sometimes we hate something just because we don’t understand it. This is exactly what happened to me when it comes to homosexuality. Ten years ago, I was in my early 20s and had just moved from my village in East Java to Yogyakarta to further my studies. I was not familiar with the internet then. … [Read more...]
I Left Indonesia to Pursue a Life without Fear
I was still in high school when the May 1998 riots, which targeted Chinese Indonesians and their properties, broke out just outside of Catholic high school (Bunda Hati Kudus). I was among the lucky ones who could go home right before the riots went out of control. But as a Chinese Catholic, I … [Read more...]
I’m Changing Citizenship – It Doesn’t Stop Me from Being Indonesian
In Norway, where I live, I volunteer as a mentor for Indonesian students who wish or have been accepted to study abroad through a not-for-profit global educational platform. In a text message, one of my would-be mentees once asked me when I would return to Indonesia. “I am not going back. I am … [Read more...]
Keeping your head
Hersri Setiawan, a writer, journalist and translator, was a tapol (political prisoner) in Indonesia for 13 years without trial following the military coup on October I, 1965. He was one of many Indonesian writers and journalists rounded up by Kopkamtib, the state security agency, because of their … [Read more...]
