Heroes’ Day: My Hero, My Inspiration
Heroes’ Day: My Hero, My Inspiration. At that time, many fighters were born who sacrificed their time and life for the independence of their country. Heroes’ Day is also celebrated in several countries, including Indonesia. November 10 was chosen as Heroes’ Day for Indonesian along with the battle of Surabaya which took place on November 10, 1945. Today, International Office of Telkom University held another After Class Talk on international student series on how the international students celebrate the Heroes’ Day on their country under the topic “My Hero, My Inspiration”.
Our first speaker, Humprey Takunda from Zimbabwe explained that the story of Heroes’ Day in Zimbabwe was originated by the Operation Eland in which Rhodesian Special Forces hit ZANLA base at Nyadzonya that killed 3000 people on August 1976. The public of Zimbabwe celebrate the Heroes’ Day every 2nd Monday of August. Heroes’ Day is usually celebrated by listening to the speech of the President of Zimbabwe, singing patriotic/heroes’ songs, and giving the tribute to the unknown soldiers by laying wreaths at their tomb. The Hero who inspires him a lot is the late President R.G. Mugabe. He adores his ideology and how he ruled the country for the past 37 years. Furthermore, he explained that by celebrating the Heroes’ Day, many youths in Zimbabwe contribute to the development of technology, agriculture, entrepreneurship as well as academics by pursuing higher education.
Heroes’ Stories
Meanwhile, Arthur William, as student from Malaysia explained that in Malaysia, the Heroes’ Day is celebrated to commemorate the servicemen who died during the two World Wars and the Malayan Emergency. Until 2010, the Heroes’ Day in Malaysian was celebrated every 31st of July by the King and Prime Minister as well as senior representatives of the Royal Malaysian Police and the armed force by gathering at the National Monument in Lake Gardens to lay wreath and pay homage to Malaysia’s fallen heroes. However, after 2010, they celebrate the Heroes’ Day by gathering at Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur, or in Kem Perdana in Sungai Besi. He really adores the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman as the hero among the heroes who really inspire him. As a student, he wants to contribute a lot to his nation to continue the struggle of the heroes by playing an active role in education.
Different with other two speakers, Carlos Soares, a student from Timor-Leste mentioned that every 31st of December commemorates as the Heroes’ Day in Timor-Leste. He is inspired by Xanana Gusmao, a resistance leader and the late Prime Minister of Timor-Leste. As a citizen, he wants to contribute to the nation by playing an active role in the development of economy.
This episode marks the last episode of After Class Talk 2021 on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and International Students Series. There will be another upcoming episode on the After Class Talk next year. So, follow our social media for the updates!(IO)***
