Indonesia Tatler - October 2018

In these days when every other international news headline seems to scream about divisive politicians of all stripes; national, regional and international conflicts; and discord among blocs that should be uniting rather than opening up rifts, it’s helpful—if not downright healthy—to focus on what draws us together rather than what separates us. In this month’s Editor’s Note, I’d like to focus on three stories we’re featuring in Indonesia Tatler’s packed October edition that perfectly illustrate this. The first is struggle through adversity as exemplified by our cancer survivors’ stories. When you’ve lost someone close to you to this dreadful disease, as I and many of my friends have, such battles come into sharp focus, and with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it seems fitting that we talk to Magda Hutagalung, Raline Shah, and Wanda Ponika, all of whom are survivors or whose families have battled cancer and won (“Think Pink”). Our three heroines reveal what being diagnosed with cancer meant to them and their families, and how they shaped their strategies for overcoming it—and ultimately what really sealed their fate as survivors: treating cancer like the cowardly foe it is with a positive mindset.
The second is unity through a common cause. This issue, in advance of the upcoming elections, we talk to several prominent celebrities who have chosen to follow a nobler path—that of politics. While they may represent different parties and approaches, they all have one thing in common: a desire to serve the people and the country. We also chat with Diaz Hendropriyono, a politician who highlights the fact that it’s the younger generation who will, fittingly it seems to me, decide the fate of this great nation.
Lastly, we talk to four ambassadors about the ties that bind their nations with ours. From South Korea, Hungary, the UK, and Singapore, we delve not only into their lives as career diplomats, but also what drives them personally.