5 Volume 32 No. 2 | Winter 2022 Society Matters The first, entitled Ria Rago was written by P. Simon Buis SVD in 1925. It tells the story of a female character who struggled against the discrimination of the time where men often treated women unfairly. Ria fights against her treatment, but tragically is killed. “We produced this movie because we wanted to appreciate the work of P. Simon Buis SVD, who is considered as the pioneer of cinematography in the East Indonesia region, especially East Nusa Tenggara” Fr Yohan says. “By re-filming this movie, the millennial generation in Ende may get to know the work and traces of SVD missionaries in Ende at the time and appreciate that SVDs were pioneers in cinematography. “The message of the movie is still relevant for today’s society because discrimination still quite often occurs against women, children and other groups who are considered weak.” The second movie centres on the issue of people trafficking among the millennials in the local area. “Men, women and children are being used for profit in Ende, Flores,” Fr Yohan says. “Based on data, the millennials who are trapped in this issue are classified as either victims or perpetrators. There are various reasons why the millennials become traffickers or are trapped as victims. “Perpetrators, often from broken homes, are seeking to escape being trapped in poverty. The same issues can lead people to become victims of people trafficking as they desperately look for a better life.” The movie will be launched either at the end of this year or early next year. The SVD is also working with young people to produce theatre productions and workshops to highlight the dangers of people trafficking for young people. In a recent workshop, Fr Charles Beraf, SVD, a sociologist, gave input to the youth about human trafficking issues and how to overcome them. Another project being undertaken by the SVD Social and Communication Commission is the hosting of workshops involving social media activists, millennials and the general public. Fr Yohan says the aim of the workshops is to tackle the irresponsible use of social media. “There is a lot of news spreading on social media that contains hoaxes, hate speech, provocation, violence and terror,” he says. “And the millennials and those active on social media have not received any assistance on how to use the media and technology responsibly. “Our aim is to show them how digital and communications technology can be used for important things.”
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