What is human?
This was my simple question when I flew to the USA for my SUSI Summer 2022 program. As a multilevel minority in Indonesia (Catholic, Chinese mixed descent, queer) I experienced many discriminations in my life. I tried my best to contribute to society as a good person so people won’t question my identity as a problem anymore just like Gus Dur (the 4th Indonesia’s president) said: “If you are a good person, no one will ask your religion”.
But still, I questioned my identity at that time. Yes, I believe that God created us differently and each one’s unique identity is a hidden gem. But in reality, those differences are often seen as problems. What if I, for once, proudly show my identity without any social pressure? Would I grasp a deeper meaning of being a human?
Who is human?
“We the people”. That part of the preamble of the US Constitution was one of the major points of my reflection. Who are the people? We are all! No matter your religion, skin color, gender, etc. We are all the people. We are all human!
I was really touched when for once I could be proud and accepted for my identity during the SUSI Summer program. And in turn, I was blessed to know my friends’ unique identity in SUSI that I never met before in Indonesia. Unknowingly, I become blessed precisely because of the unique identity that molds me into a unique person. I was there, I met them, had conversations with them, and helped them as a unique color called “me”. No one can replace me and my color.
At that point, I understood that being human is being me with all my identity, and giving that “me” as a whole in my relation with others. And having identity means having struggle. So, I must be open to the others’ and my own struggle in my relation.
Why human?
"If the church stays silent, who will speak for the poor and discriminated?”. This speech I got in Bethel Church, Philadelphia, still gives me goosebumps now and that is also the answer to the next question: why human?
We are all blessed through our unique identity and struggle! Our identity and struggle shape us as a person with our own lessons that we learned from our struggles. And our mission in this world is simply to be truthful to ourselves, to our “color”, learn from the struggle, and share what we’ve learned from the struggle to inspire a better society. Be a unique blessing for others that can’t be replaced.
So, here I am, sharing with you what I’ve learned so far. If I stay silent, who will speak for people who are in the same identity group as me?
How to be human?
I can’t mention one by one all the beautiful quotes I got from all the beautiful-hearted people I met during SUSI. I can say that I met big people with even bigger hearts there. But, one important thing I can say is they showed me how to be human: embrace the identity, and the struggle, and share and care for others.
And they showed how to do it in the simplest way: through friendship. Through friendship, we open to others’ struggles, we try to understand and respect others’ identities, and we learn how to share and care with kindness. We also respect ourselves by staying true to our identity and giving it as a gift to others. And together, we paint this world with our combined colors, creating new colors that we never thought could exist before. This is exactly what dialogue is all about.
