Gian from Indonesia

Gian from Indonesia

Hello everyone, my name is Gian and I work for Tobacco control issues and also youth participation in development agendas. But I was not always like this.

I started as of a very very “recluse” person, also very shy. I couldn’t even speak in front of the public and I didn’t really know what to do with my life either.

All I know was I was a victim of child abuse from my former stepfather and my grandfather died of smoking. He had a stroke. And my mother was a survivor. She was a survivor of forced marriage.

When I think about it once I thought my life was not that ideal, my life wasn’t that "complete" like others. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that actually, I am a pretty good survivor.

I rise up every time that I learned from my mistake, I learned from the wounds that I have, the people that hurt me and my loved ones, and I realized that there is an option for me. There is an option for me to actually, be stronger than before rather than be silent and accept reality as it is.

So I moved on, and I started to join organizations, I started to do social works ever since I was in high school. And eventually, one door of opportunity leads to another. And I was active in a children forum. I am trying to facilitate children to fight for their rights so then they could be no more people like me who were silent when they were being abused. So then more kids would speak up to protect themselves and fight for their rights.

I did this for almost 6 years and then I realized in the middle that I should try something on my own. I should build my own organization that focuses on Tobacco control, that focuses on how we can protect young people from cigarettes. Because I realized in Indonesia the number of children who smoke is very high and most men think that cigarettes are a “male” thing to do, as a masculine thing to do, and I was one of the minorities who are against that. And my grandfather died because of that. My grandfather died because he was smoking.

So I realized, ok, that I will make my own organization, the movement that could work on tobacco control issues to empower young people to speak up against the tobacco industries who are targeting young people in Indonesia and all over the world.

So then, in 2015, I managed to make my own movement with my friends called “Youth Movement for FCTC”  Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. We support that convention to be signed in Indonesia and to “enforce” tobacco control policies to protect young people from cigarettes.

We have worked a pretty long way since we were first established. We managed to talk with government representatives, with mayors, with parliament members, with ministries even the President himself heard about our movement.

And we worked on a few research as well proving that cigarettes were very easy to be bought by young people especially children because there are very cheap in Indonesia and you don’t need an ID to buy it! And advertisement, promotion, and sponsorship are everywhere for cigarettes.

So our movement really moves to empower young people to wake up. Our movement was one of my ways to contribute to prove to the world that I am a survivor. That I will not be silenced by the things that kinda wrecked my life and my loved ones around me. I could do something more than just being silent, that I could speak up and empower other people, but also myself, most importantly myself. To speak up and do something about it.

So later in 2017, I had the opportunity to go to the United States where I went to Washington and I attended the Students Opposing Slavery Summit. It was a very fruitful meeting. I met a lot of inspiring young leaders from all over the world who are concerned about the issue of modern slavery. Why modern slavery? Because my mother was a survivor of it. My mother was in a forced marriage, which “resulted” in my birth. So, therefore, I don’t want any more people who have to go through what my mother did.
Who has to do a thing that they don’t want to do but they are forced to do because there are exploited or manipulated.

Then I managed to make my own organization working for modern slavery that’s called Emancipate Indonesia. We promote this decent work for everyone and freedom for you to develop potential without being forced into slavery, into exploitation. 

And also, this organization is also promoting fair trade products, products who are actually not only good for consumers but also serving justice. Making sure that their workers are being paid well and also they are responsible for the communities and also the environment there are affected by them.

These 2 organizations and movements focusing on tobacco control and modern slavery are only the beginning of my step. I still have a lot of things to learn. And I believe that everyone will always have things to learn and always have things to share.

So whoever is hearing this, whoever is hearing my voice here, sharing my stories; I believe you also something to share too. You have your own story. You have your own fight. You have your own values, and the world needs to hear it what matter what you think about it!

No matter you think, whether it's important or not, it is worth sharing! Let it out to the world. Let the world knows that you, once existed, that you have something to share, that you have a significance in the big history of this world, that you want to do something whatever you are, rich or poor. Whatever your conditions are, you always have something to share.

And it depends on you, whatever you want to share it or not. My suggestion: share it! Because you will never know what will happen to the world.
What kind of change will it bring to other people’s lives, because big change will always come from unexpected things?
Expect the unexpected! Because that’s where real change comes.
The willingness to risk everything, the willing to go on when other people are asleep or tired, the willing to see yourself not only as a victim but as a survivor, as a fighter. Because you know and everybody knows that you are all equal when it comes to principle. It only depends on your willingness and consistency and with the combination of luck.

But overall share it. Share what you need to say. Share what you feel. Share your fight. Share your wounds. Share your vulnerabilities, and use it as your own strength. Because you will have nothing to hide, and all you have is yourself and everything that's made you who you are. And that would be the moment when you think that I am invincible. I am who I am, I am where I need to be, exactly where I need to be. Because you’ve been in control of all your life to yourself and you will use it to the best knowledge that you have, to the best strength that you have, to share it with others people, to help other people. And please go on, keep doing it, keep doing it. Stay on the right track, stay passionate and break boundaries.