Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian Heroes of Humanity

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the man who was born in Blora, Central Java in 1925 is one of Indonesia's controversial writers, as well as difficult to beat. Raised in a modest family, with a father who worked as a teacher and food sellers mother, Pramoedya Ananta Toer grown into one of the most respected writer not only by his friends but also by enemies.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer was educated at the Radio Vocational School in Surabaya and then worked as a typist for the Japanese newspaper in Jakarta during the Japanese occupation in Indonesia. After the proclamation of Indonesian independence, Pramoedya follows a military group in Java.

Throughout his life, Pramoedya Ananta Toer wrote dozens of short stories and novels. In his works, Pram (as he is called) are often cast a criticism to the government. That choice makes him was sentenced to jail as political prisoners many times, both in the colonial period (3 years), Soekarno Regime (1 year), as well as in the Soeharto era (14 years).

As an Indonesian writer, Pramoedya Ananta Toer classified as one of the left authors because of his involvement with Lekra (Institute of Folk Culture), one of the left-wing organizations in Indonesia. It also makes him sentenced without court in the reign of Suharto. Pramoedya Ananta Toer then sent to Nusakambangan, and finally exiled to Buru Island in eastern Indonesia.

On this Buru island, Pramoedya Ananta Toer write his monumental work known as the Buru tetralogy, consisting of: "Bumi Manusia" (Earth of Mankind,1980); "Anak Semua Bangsa" (Child of All Nations,1981); "Jejak Langkah" (Trails,1985); and
"Rumah Kaca" (Glass House,1988). Through the Buru tetralogy and his other works, Pramoedya Ananta Toer prove to his friends and enemies, that he was a writer with humanity and Indonesian-ness concern. That's what makes the name of Pramoedya Ananta Toer become one of the important milestones in the history and maps of Indonesian literature .

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