Red Pools in Beutong Ateuh1
people come and express their greetings
people shake hands
people walk with gloom on their faces
people hold rifles, cocked and ready
people don’t hear the Quranic recitation
people forget to announce the call to prayer
people hear the sound of gunfire
people hear howls of terror
people hear moans of pain
people see blood turn into red poolspeople count, with teeth chattering from fright,
the number of men martyred at Friday noon
people recall anxiously how many men were taken
and how many returned home
people begin to dig holes
so very soon soon filled
people begin to give witness;
witnesses wheeze with fearand I and the thousands of others here
cannot be bought
I have an instinct
a conscience
although long besieged
I choose death
and I too give witness
(that the massacre really did occur)
Kolam Merah di Beutong Ateuh2
orang-orang datang mengucap salam
orang-orang berjabatan tangan
orang-orang berkeliling wajahnya suram
orang-orang di tangannya senjata siap kokang
orang-orang tak mendengar pengajian
orang-orang lupa mengumandangkan azan
orang-orang mendengar suara tembakan
orang-orang mendengar raungan kengerian
orang-orang mendengar rintihan kesakitan
orang-orang lalu melihat darah merah menjadi kolamorang-orang menghitung dengan gigi gemerutuk ketakutan
berapa lelaki syahid Jum’at siang
orang-orang mengingat dengan harap cemas
berapa lelaki dibawa pergi kembali pulang
orang-orang mulai menggali
lubang-lubangpun berisi
orang-orang mulai bersaksi
saksi-saksi berdesah ngeridan aku serta ribuan orang disini
tak dapat dibeli
aku punya naluri
hati nurani
walau lama terkepung
aku memilih mati
akupun bersaksi
(bahwa pembantaian itu benar-benar terjadi)
English translation by Debra Yatim, edited by John H. McGlynn
- 115: SPACE
with A Sometimes
114: NO THEME 13
with J Toledo & C Tse
113: INVISIBLE WALLS
with A Walker & D Disney
112: TREAT
with T Dearborn
111: BABY
with S Deo & L Ferney
110: POP!
with Z Frost & B Jessen
109: NO THEME 12
with C Maling & N Rhook
108: DEDICATION
with L Patterson & L Garcia-Dolnik
107: LIMINAL
with B Li
106: OPEN
with C Lowe & J Langdon
105: NO THEME 11
with E Grills & E Stewart
104: KIN
with E Shiosaki
103: AMBLE
with E Gomez and S Gory
102: GAME
with R Green and J Maxwell
101: NO THEME 10
with J Kinsella and J Leanne
100: BROWNFACE
with W S Dunn
99: SINGAPORE
with J Ip and A Pang
97 & 98: PROPAGANDA
with M Breeze and S Groth
96: NO THEME IX
with M Gill and J Thayil
95: EARTH
with M Takolander
94: BAYT
with Z Hashem Beck
93: PEACH
with L Van, G Mouratidis, L Toong
92: NO THEME VIII
with C Gaskin
91: MONSTER
with N Curnow
90: AFRICAN DIASPORA
with S Umar
89: DOMESTIC
with N Harkin
88: TRANSQUEER
with S Barnes and Q Eades
87: DIFFICULT
with O Schwartz & H Isemonger
86: NO THEME VII
with L Gorton
85: PHILIPPINES
with Mookie L and S Lua
84: SUBURBIA
with L Brown and N O'Reilly
83: MATHEMATICS
with F Hile
82: LAND
with J Stuart and J Gibian
81: NEW CARIBBEAN
with V Lucien
80: NO THEME VI
with J Beveridge
57.1: EKPHRASTIC
with C Atherton and P Hetherington
57: CONFESSION
with K Glastonbury
56: EXPLODE
with D Disney
55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUS
with M Chakraborty and K MacCarter
55: FUTURE MACHINES
with Bella Li
54: NO THEME V
with F Wright and O Sakr
53.0: THE END
with P Brown
52.0: TOIL
with C Jenkins
51.1: UMAMI
with L Davies and Lifted Brow
51.0: TRANSTASMAN
with B Cassidy
50.0: NO THEME IV
with J Tranter
49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH
with M Hall and S Seita
49.0: OBSOLETE
with T Ryan
48.1: CANADA
with K MacCarter and S Rhodes
48.0: CONSTRAINT
with C Wakeling
47.0: COLLABORATION
with L Armand and H Lambert
46.1: MELBOURNE
with M Farrell
46.0: NO THEME III
with F Plunkett
45.0: SILENCE
with J Owen
44.0: GONDWANALAND
with D Motion
43.1: PUMPKIN
with K MacCarter
43.0: MASQUE
with A Vickery
42.0: NO THEME II
with G Ryan
41.1: RATBAGGERY
with D Hose
41.0: TRANSPACIFIC
with J Rowe and M Nardone
40.1: INDONESIA
with K MacCarter
40.0: INTERLOCUTOR
with L Hart
39.1: GIBBERBIRD
with S Gory
39.0: JACKPOT!
with S Wagan Watson
38.0: SYDNEY
with A Lorange
37.1: NEBRASKA
with S Whalen
37.0: NO THEME!
with A Wearne
36.0: ELECTRONICA
with J Jones