A marriage to Encompass all!

Congratulations to Anton Muhajir and Luh De Suriyani on their marriage and their 2-year-old son, Bani Nawalapatr! Anton and Luh met on the October 2003 ‘Journey of Understanding’ which took place on the Tall Ship Prince William. Anton is Muslim and Luh is Hindu, but this made no difference to their decision to be together…

“Both of us come from different faiths: I’m Muslim and Luh was Hindu. For some people it can be a concrete wall to building a relationship, but not for us.
On the Encompass ‘Journey’ in 2003 with participants from the UK, Israel, Scotland, and Indonesia, we sailed in the North Sea and had in-depth discussions, particularly with Itay Lachman, the only participant from Israel.

We got many new experiences along the Journey. Besides how to survive in the middle of a long unbroken wave of Northern Sea on our Tall Ship, it also gave us new perspectives about how to see human relationships. We had the opportunity to have discussions with people about different religions, nationalities, cultures, and strengths. It was an invaluable journey for us. We learnt that difference in backgrounds should not hinder our human relationships. That is also the reason why we got married. For us, coming from difference faiths (Muslim and Hindu) is like celebration of difference – more colourful is more powerful!

Since the programme, in addition to community volunteer work, we established an informal school for children from different backgrounds in outskirt of Denpasar, the capital of Bali province, where we live now. The Naknik Community (derived from the idiom of Balinese language Nak Nik, or kids) gives children and families from different faiths (Muslim, Christian, Hindu) a chance to live in one neighbourhood in harmony.

We hold a small class for kids 3 times per week with about 10 kids attending the class. This class held in our library. Most of them are pre-kindergarten school; about 2 to 5 years old. Our son, Bani, also joins in with this class. We teach many subjects to the kids. We didn’t set it up as something formal but it has become like an alternative class. It gives us pleasure and we are proud that even a small thing like this can be meaningful and help to familiarise the kids with something different.

This is our story from Bali. Perhaps it will spread optimism among us about tolerance and harmony…”