Suruh-Salatiga: 20 Minutes Route, 20 Years Gap
Since then, I’ve been going back and forth from Suruh to Salatiga almost every single day. It is a 20 minutes route but feels like 20 years of development gap.
I spent most of my childhood and teenage life in a village called Suruh. It’s about 10 kilometers from Salatiga. Suruh has a rich culture and beautiful landscape. But, I realize there is something wrong with my hometown.
Suruh was meant to be a fast village. There are no sidewalks here, only the 5 meters road. The road is full of heavily loaded trucks, cars, and motorcycles. You can’t travel by walking here simply because there is no room to step.
That road led us to Pasar Suruh (The Traditional Market of Suruh), the heart of Suruh. It divides Suruh into several smaller regions (or I called districts). Each of them is unique and different from one to another.
For example, Kauman is the most developed district in Suruh and is full of residential areas. Pandean and Karangasem are the educational districts. Watu Agung is the woodworking center. Reksosari has the best souvenirs. Morangan and Jatirejo have the best rice fields.
Living in Suruh was easy. You can take your kids to the best public school in Karangasem, look for some knick-knacks in Reksosari, buy furniture in Watu Agung, take a deep breath in Morangan rice fields, and then take a nap on your couch inside of your house in Kauman.
Suruh also fulfills our religious needs. We have a lot of mosques. One of them is Masjid Besar Kauman Suruh (The Great Mosque of Kauman Suruh), one of the historical mosques. It was built in the early 19th century and finished by 1816. That was before The Great Java War by Diponegoro.
I thought Suruh had everything I needed, but my perspective changed when I had my junior high in Salatiga. Since then, I’ve been going back and forth from Suruh to Salatiga almost every single day. It is a 20 minutes route but feels like 20 years of development gap.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not new to Salatiga. I often went to Salatiga when I was a child. I’ve seen the same buildings, passed the same road, and walked on the same sidewalk. The only thing that makes all the difference is I met new people — the Salatigas.
The first time I had Salatigas friends was back then in the first year of junior high. Believe me or not, they were like nobody I’ve ever known. In my eyes, they were super “developed”. Once I saw them a meme, but they were barely laughing. “That is a rotten meme!” they said.
If I could describe the feeling, it would be when Richie Rich’s friends came to his house and realized there was a McDonald’s in it. There was only me as a Richie Rich’s friend, and my Salatigas friends were a bunch of Richie Richs.
Not only that, but I also make friends with people from different cultures and ethnicity. They have their uniqueness and so do me. We blend and support each other as members of society. We walk alongside on the beautiful Salatiga sidewalks.
“Salatiga is the home of different cultures and ethnicity, something that I never had in Suruh.”
You read it right. I never had that experience in Suruh. Even though we have different regions with all those specialties, Suruh people are practically the same. Mostly, we are of the same race, the same religion, the same beliefs, and the same breed.
The problem is that most of our social leaders still have stereotypes of certain ethnicities or religions. They are still living in the 90s when Soeharto’s regime run the government. That 20 years of rotten mindset makes the 20 years of development gap.
I wouldn’t feel safe walking on the street with my Chinese friends. Not only there are no sidewalks, but also because people would stare at us with “that” look. Just as a matter of fact, I have never seen a Chinese-Indonesian person go to Suruh if not for a reason.
The most heartbreaking story I’ve heard due to this awful mindset is about the heart of the Suruh — The Pasar Suruh. Roughly ten years ago, Pasar Suruh was about to be reconstructed. But, the plan had sunk because people around it did not believe in the investors.
“If those Chinese (the investors. Suruh people do not know if they are Chinese or not) want to take our money, step on me first!”
Due to this mindset, Suruh has been living as a wannabe. The most developed district is just a pinch of salt compared to Salatiga. Our schools are only good at the regional level. The furniture is nothing compared to Jepara’s. Souvenir industries suffer due to low demand. And our farmers are living in modesty.
Back then, Suruh was awesome. My mother, who was born in a village near Karanggede, said that people from her village went to Suruh to restock their supplies and then back to Karanggede to sell them. Today, it is upside down. Karanggede grows and becomes a beautiful small town. They have great waterparks, restaurants, and even malls.
And Suruh? Yes, we don’t have anything like that. For now, that is merely a dream. We’ve been living in stagnancy for over 20 years due to this 20 years rotten mindset.
“We’ve been living in stagnancy for over 20 years due to this 20 years rotten mindset”
Now, what to do? From my experience, it would take a long time to change this mindset. We are talking about getting rid of a 20-year-old crust. That would be extremely hard and out of our reach.
Suruh relies on the young generation that is more open to the changes and differences. If you are a Suruh youngster and read this, you are possibly more fortunate than most Suruh people. Soon, the youngsters like you will overtake the social leadership of Suruh.
Broaden your knowledge, meet new people, and makes friend with people no matter their culture or ethnicity. I believe soon you will be brave enough to make a change. Together, we can make Suruh great again.
