Poem: A Love Letter to Marsinah in Heaven
JAKARTA-JAYA NEWS.COM – Jacob Ereste’s poem, “A Love Letter to Marsinah in Heaven,” was read several years ago at the “Ngopi Ngerumpi” event to commemorate Kartini Day at the ILEW Office on Jalan Veteran 1 No. 33, Gambir, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday (April 24, 2018).
“The theme of the event, initiated by the National Committee for the Indonesian People to Sue (Komnas RIM), in collaboration with Forum 33, was ‘Women & Politics’. The speakers were Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, Coordinator of the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (LBH APIK), Titi Anggraeni Mashudi, Executive Director of Perludem, Dwi Septiawati Djafar, Chairperson of the Indonesian Women’s Political Caucus, and Queen Arimbi Nurtina, a member of the Kanoman Palace in Cirebon,” Jacob stated in a press release in Jakarta, Thursday, October 23, 2025.
*Love Letter to Marsinah in Heaven*
Work: Jacob Eresete
Great promises and hopes
Hanging that woman until she withers and falls has yet to bear fruit.
A heavy burden on her shoulders
Supporting the plight of millions of workers who are weakened and impoverished
by who knows who and for who knows who.
Perhaps you too will one day/when you are in power
Oppressing and exploiting because of a deep-seated grudge has become a legacy of the times.
My Beloved
I wrote this letter because my longing is increasingly pounding, hammering my shame, reaching for the unequal justice.
My Beloved
Upon the arrival of this letter, I declaim to the Angels that they too be cursed like those who are greedy and cruel to our brothers and sisters, the Indonesian workers.
( Kayu Ramin, Jakarta, May 14, 1993)
Editor
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Note:
*This poem was written less than a week after the late Marsinah was found in a very sad condition, her entire body—including her vagina—cruelly and cruelly mutilated. The Prosperous Labor Union, as the locomotive of resistance against the tyranny of the New Order, immediately held actions and demonstrations. Despite being severely repressed, the workers’ actions continued in various regions.
This poem was read live at a meeting of workers from 124 countries in Belgium in 1994, organized by the International Confederation of Trade Unions.
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