Veteran Paleocon Urges Washington Not to Let Kiev Drag US Into Unwanted War With Russia

©AP Photo/Roman Koksarov

The United States and its allies have sent tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Ukraine over the past nine months, ignoring Moscow’s warnings that the arms flow escalates the conflict, and results in the uncontrolled spread of Western weaponry to terrorists and criminal groups across the planet

As chief sponsor to Kiev in the ongoing Ukrainian security crisis, Washington has the right to tell Kiev when enough is enough as far as US arms deliveries are concerned, and that time is right now, says staunch anti-interventionist and veteran paleo-conservative commentator Pat Buchanan.

Pointing to the $38 billion in new assistance requested by the Biden White House last month ahead of the convening of a new Congress where Republicans will control the House of Representatives, Buchanan, a former advisor to presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan, asked what interest Americans have in granting the request, besides possibly igniting a war with Russia.

“The US ought not dictate to Kiev when it should move to the negotiating track to end this war. But we Americans do have, given our indispensable contributions to the Ukrainian war effort, the right to tell Kiev when we believe that the risks of further fighting exceed any potential gain for us; and, if Kiev is determined to fight on, to give notice that Ukraine will be doing so without any more US munitions,” Buchanan wrote in a recent op-ed.

“Great powers should never cede to lesser powers, unconnected to their vital interests, the capacity to drag them into unwanted wars,” Buchanan emphasized, pointing to the risks posed by Washington continuing to finance the Ukraine conflict with $38 billion in new aid, which would “virtually guarantee” that fighting continues into the spring, as the suffering of ordinary Ukrainians grows.

The commentator stressed that given the US’s decisive financial contribution to propping up the Kiev government, Americans “also need to have a voice” in saying when the conflict ends, and that for the US, the “greatest” interest lies not in who controls the Donbass, Kherson, or Central and Eastern Europe as a whole for that matter, but in avoiding being drawn directly into situation “that would put us on the escalator to a war with Russia, a world war and perhaps a nuclear war.”

There is “nothing” of strategic value to the US in Central or Eastern Europe worth escalation into a nuclear Armageddon that would kill millions of Americans, the retired politician stressed, pointing out that Moscow and Washington managed to avoid precisely this sort of conflict during the Cold War.

Unfortunately, Buchanan lamented, the ‘War Party’ in Washington remains strong and “eager for the next confrontation” with Russia, as evidenced by the Ukrainian missile incident in Poland in November, which briefly heightened tensions to the brink of World War III as NATO hawks blamed Russia.

Buchanan, 83, has been considered a senior ideologue of the anti-interventionist wing of the Republican Party, represented most prominently in recent years by its pro-Trump ‘MAGA’ faction.

Dozens of GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate voted against the $40 billion Ukraine appropriations bill in May, and promised to fight their neocon rivals for the heart and soul of the party, including on the issue of Ukraine aid, ahead of the midterm vote.

Some senior Republicans including incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy have promised to audit assistance to Kiev more thoroughly in the next Congress and to avoid giving the White House the same kind of “blank check” it got in the current one. However, observers have expressed concerns that the latest $38 billion in proposed spending may be rolled into the $1.7 trillion must-pass omnibus budget bill to get it through Congress ahead of the holidays.

Partai Libertarian AS mendesak Washington untuk menyelesaikan masalah dengan Rusia secara diplomatis

In early November 2022, the US Libertarian Party had urged Washington to stop its military aid to Ukraine and opt for diplomacy with Russia.

"We sure could use an Armistice Day in Ukraine, but we won’t get it if Washington continues to favor endless war funding over diplomacy with Russia," the party’s press service posted on Twitter on Friday.

In US congressional midterm elections held this week, Libertarian candidates in most cases failed to garner any significant number of votes.

Vladimir Putin says US is trying to drag Russia into war

Vladimir Putin blamed western powers on Tuesday for ignoring Russia’s security concerns and demands for guarantees that Ukraine will not join Nato, while insisting he wanted talks to continue to avoid a “negative outcome” such as war.

In his first public comments in several weeks since the US warned that Moscow was massing over 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border, the Russian president said the US and Nato had disregarded his demand for a guarantee that Kyiv would not join the transatlantic alliance.

Speaking during a press conference with Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Putin added that Washington’s main goal was not to facilitate the security of Ukraine but to hold back Russia’s power by dragging it into a conflict that would then trigger economic sanctions, while at the same time pulling Ukraine into Nato.

“Let’s imagine Ukraine [becomes] a Nato member and starts these military operations. Are we supposed to go to war with the Nato bloc? Has anyone given that any thought? Apparently not,” Putin said.

Moscow: UN ‘Silent’ on Reports of Ukrainian Women Falling Prey to ‘Sexual Slavery’ in West

©AP Photo / Petr David Josek

Baseless claims made in October by Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on Sexual Violence, that sexual assaults were part of a “military strategy” ostensibly used by Russia in the course of its operation in Ukraine were denounced by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as going “beyond the reach of reason.”

The United Nations (UN) is conspicuously silent on the issue of Ukrainian female refugees reportedly falling victim to sexual slavery in the West, Maria Zakharova underscored in a Telegram post.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman excoriated Kiev authorities, along with a plethora of international human rights bodies, for eagerly spreading various baseless and openly concocted lies about Russian servicemen allegedly resorting to sexual violence against Ukrainian women.

Meanwhile, the real threat to Ukrainian women does not come from Russia, but rather awaits them in Europe, emphasized Maria Zakharova.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman cited a recent statement released by the Swedish Ministry of Gender Equality, which expressly said that Ukrainian female refugees were increasingly becoming victims of unscrupulous pimps and falling into sexual slavery.

Despite this statement being actively disseminated by the local media, there was no reaction from Kiev or the international community, Zakharova said. In fact, numerous reports about rapes committed against Ukrainian women have been surfacing in Swedish media for some time now. But they are hardly likely to elicit a response from either the UN or human rights structures. Why bother to focus on a genuine humanitarian problem, the Russian spokeswoman said, when a churning out yet another political “put-up job” is more up their alley.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, former Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova, and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative Pramila Patten have all perpetuated the lies, which were later exposed as entirely false, said Zakharova.

She recalled how the disgraced Ukrainian ombudswoman Denisova admitted that she had “exaggerated” reports of sex crimes allegedly committed by Russian soldiers in an effort to "convince the world to provide weapons and pressure" on behalf of the regime in Kiev. Denisova was removed from her post for spreading misinformation following a no-confidence vote of 234-to-9 in Ukraine’s parliament on May 31.

Pramila Patten, special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, was actively used to perpetuate this lie. The influential UN representative's claims that Russian soldiers were being “supplied with Viagra” to rape Ukrainian women were readily treated as factual by major Western media outlets.

"When women are held for days and raped, when you start to rape little boys and men, when you see a series of genital mutilations, when you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it's clearly a military strategy," Patten reportedly told media in October.

At the time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the claims as going "beyond reason” and serving as evidence that the West uses "the same patterns in its hybrid wars."

However, Patten, like many before her, slipped up in a prank call, acknowledging that she has no evidence for the accusations.

“It’s not my role to go and investigate,” noted Pramila Patten in a call with the Russian comedy duo Vovan and Lexus.

EU parliamentarians warned on November 29 that trafficking and sexual exploitation of female Ukrainian refugees was on the rise.

"Sixty-five per cent of human trafficking involves women, usually for sexual exploitation,” Jo-Anne Bishop, deputy director of UN Women Europe, said at the hearing, adding that Ukrainian women were at “high risk” of finding themselves trapped in prostitution networks or the pornography industry.

Since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have made a beeline for European countries, which were quick to follow Washington's lead in slapping Moscow with sanctions while funneling aid to prop up the Kiev regime. However, despite being promised access to housing and financial support, many refugees from Ukraine, numerous of whom were not so much fleeing actual areas of conflagration as hoping to better their prospects abroad, have found their job prospects uncertain amid issues with qualifications or language skills.

Amid the raging energy crisis and skyrocketing inflation which have also been exacerbated by the self-harming restrictions on Moscow, Europeans have since grown weary of the unfolding refugee situation. Waning volunteer aid, refusals to accommodate refugees, and sporadic demonstrations across the European continent are further testimony to the fallout from the collective West's obdurate insistance on fanning the flames of the Ukraine conflict.

Twittergate: Key Takeaways From Exposed Censorship of Hunter Biden Laptop Scoop

CC BY 2.0 / Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff / Hunter Biden

After Elon Musk took over Twitter, he hinted at coming revelations about how the social media site along with Facebook had been eager to censor the Hunter Biden "laptop from Hell" story ahead of and during the 2020 presidential election.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk planted a popcorn emoji next to his promise of “awesome” revelations about how the microblogging site had opted to censor the “Hunter Biden story.” And the billionaire Tesla CEO followed through on his promise. The first instalment of the so-called “Twitter Files” was dropped on December 2 after Musk had provided investigative journalist Matt Taibi with the social media platform's internal documents.

2. What you’re about to read is the first installment in a series, based upon thousands of internal documents obtained by sources at Twitter.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 2, 2022

Twitter, conceived as a platform “to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers,” has been gradually injected with tools for “controlling speech” by its staff and executives, wrote independent journalist Matt Taibbi in a thread on his account.

While tailored to combat spam and financial fraudsters, over time, the company found itself “petitioned” to “manipulate speech.

The original Hunter Biden scoop and how Twitter dealt with it is a glaring case in point, according to the journalist.

It was store owner John Paul Mac Isaac who recovered the data and zeroed in on the potentially “geopolitically sensitive” information about Hunter’s alleged shady dealings with foreign businessmen. The reporting on the story was swept under the rug by mainstream media, declared a "Russian disinformation" scheme and censored by Facebook* and Twitter.

"The Twitter Files, Part One: How and Why Twitter Blocked the Hunter Biden Laptop Story" is based on redacted emails of employees of the social media site. Here are some of the key takeaways from part one of the revelations shedding light on Twitter’s dubious censorship decision.

'Unsafe' Story

Twitter posted warnings that the bombshell Hunter Biden story might be “unsafe” at an early stage, not only ditching all links to it, but even blocking its transmission via direct message (a measure used for extreme cases such as child pornography).

Furthermore, White House spokeswoman at the time, Kaleigh McEnany, was locked out of her account for tweeting about the story just weeks ahead of the 2020 presidential election. This prompted Donald Trump campaign staff member Mike Hahn to pen a missive to the social media company to quiery when she would be unlocked. The response was that McEnany had violated the company’s “hacked materials” policy.

'Hacked Material'

A small group of top-level executives at Twitter opted for the decision to label the original Hunter Biden story as “hacked material” without any evidence. Many staff, like, for example, Trenton Kennedy, a communications official, reportedly "struggled" to understand the “policy basis” for marking the Hunter Biden laptop story as “unsafe.” Thus, the leaked emails reveal former VP of Global Comms Brandon Borrman questioning whether they could "truthfully claim that this is part of the policy.”

In response to those questioning the rationale, former Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker was seen as appearing to argue that it was “reasonable” to assume materials were hacked and that “caution is warranted.”

But despite the fact that “everyone knew this was f***ed,” one former employee said, no one appeared to have the resolve to stand up to it.

Indeed, at the time, a plethora of mainstream outlets also eagerly sought to discredit the story. The reporting was declared a "Russian disinformation" scheme and censored by Facebook* as well.

However, a couple of mainstream media outlets confirmed that the laptop was authentic earlier this year, and that the damning information contained on the device was genuine amid ongoing Justice Department investigations into Hunter Biden’s taxes and dubious foreign consulting work.

26. By this point “everyone knew this was fucked,” said one former employee, but the response was essentially to err on the side of… continuing to err. pic.twitter.com/2wJMFAUBoe

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 3, 2022

'Freelanced Decision'

The move to censor the laptop reporting was taken behind the back of then-CEO and founder Jack Dorsey. Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s former head of legal, policy, and trust, had taken on a “key role” in the decision. According to Taibbi, the leaked internal communications lay bare the truth about "how much was done without the knowledge of CEO Jack Dorsey, and how long it took for the situation to get ‘unf***ed’ even after Dorsey jumped in.”

Elon Musk has since teased more revelations on the issue forthcoming.

Tune in for Episode 2 of The Twitter Files tomorrow!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2022

‘Twittergate’

Meanwhile, the first instalment of the “Twitter Files” elicited an immediate response from the Republicans, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, Sens. Rand Paul and Josh Hawley, and the House Republican’s official Twitter account.

We're learning in real-time how Twitter colluded to silence the truth about Hunter Biden's laptop just days before the 2020 presidential election.⁰
In 32 days, the new House Republican majority will get answers for the American people and the accountability they deserve.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) December 3, 2022

McCarthy vowed that after House Republicans officially take majority control of the lower chamber, in January, they intended to “get answers for the American people and the accountability they deserve.”

The House Republicans’ Twitter account also tweeted to point to the revelations as showing “what collusion looks like.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who went on the platform to share a video of then-President Donald Trump slamming Joe Biden as a “criminal” over the damning Hunter Biden revelations, added that “Twittergate” proved that the 45th POTUS has been “right all along.”

Earlier, GOP lawmakers announced a formal probe into the activities of the Biden family, citing suspected criminal activity, some of which they allege may pose a threat to national security. After gaining control of the House in the November midterm elections, the Republicans from the chamber’s Committee on Oversight and Reform announced that a formal inquiry into the Biden family’s business activities would be conducted once the next Congress is sworn in in January 2023.

Gempa M 4,5 di Pangandaran Sabtu Pagi

Pangandaran Jawa Barat diguncang Gempa bumi pada hari Sabtu pagi, 03/12/2022, pukul 03:37:21 WIB. Keterangan BMKG menunjukkan bahwa gempa bumi ini berkekuatan M=4,5. Episenter terletak pada koordinat 8.11 LS dan 107.92 BT, atau tepatnya berlokasi di laut pada jarak 78 km BaratDaya Kab. Pangandaran, Jawa Barat pada kedalaman 26 km.

"Dengan memperhatikan lokasi episenter dan kedalaman hiposenternya, gempabumi yang terjadi merupakan jenis gempabumi dangkal akibat aktivitas subduksi Lempeng," ujar Kepala BBMKG Wilayah II Tangerang Selatan, Hartanto dalam siaran persnya.

Hartanto menjelaskan, dampak gempabumi yang digambarkan oleh peta tingkat guncangan (Shakemap) BMKG dan berdasarkan laporan dari masyarakat, gempabumi ini dirasakan di wilayah Pangandaran dengan Skala Intensitas III MMI. Getaran dirasakan nyata dalam rumah, terasa getaran seakan-akan ada truk berlalu.

"Gempa juga dirasakan di Tasikmalaya, Garut dengan Skala Intensitas II - III MMI. Getaran dirasakan oleh beberapa orang, benda-benda ringan yang digantung bergoyang - Getaran dirasakan nyata dalam rumah. Terasa getaran seakan-akan ada truk berlalu)," paparnya.

Sedangkan di Ciamis dan Banjar, gempa dirasakan dengan Skala Intensitas II MMI. Getaran dirasakan oleh beberapa orang, benda-benda ringan yang digantung bergoyang. Namun hingga saat ini belum ada laporan mengenai kerusakan bangunan sebagai dampak gempabumi tersebut.

"Hasil pemodelan menunjukkan bahwa gempabumi ini, tidak berpotensi tsunami," katanya.

Hartanto mengatakan, hingga pukul 04:15 WIB, hasil monitoring BMKG belum menunjukkan adanya aktivitas gempabumi susulan.

"Kepada masyarakat dihimbau agar tetap tenang dan tidak terpengaruh oleh isu yang tidak dapat dipertanggungjawabkan kebenarannya," katanya.

Pastikan, kata dia, informasi resmi hanya bersumber dari BMKG yang disebarkan melalui kanal komunikasi resmi yang telah terverifikasi (Instagram/Twitter @bmkgwilayah2 atau @infoBMKG), website (http://balai2.bmkg.go.id/ atau http://www.bmkg.go.id atau inatews.bmkg.go.id).), atau melalui Mobile Apps (IOS dan Android): wrs-bmkg atau infobmkg.

"Dalam beberapa menit pertama setelah gempa, parameter gempa dapat berubah dan boleh jadi belum akurat, kecuali telah dianalisis ulang seismologist," demikian keterangan BMKG.

Hingga saat ini, belum ada laporan terbaur mengenai kerusakan akibat gempa hingga kemungkinan adanya korban jiwa

Siaran Analog Kota Besar Resmi Dimatikan Semalam

Kominfo telah matikan siaran tv analog di sejumlah kota besar, pada hari Jumat kemarin, 02/12/2022, untuk wilayah Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, dan Batam.

Komisioner Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (KPI) Pusat Mohammad Reza mengatakan bahwa pemutusan sinyal TV analog pada lima wilayah dilakukan pada Sabtu, 3 Desember 2022 pukul 00.00 WIB.

"Pemutusan saluran TV analog giliran di wilayah Bandung, Semarang, Batam, Yogyakarta, dan Solo," kata Reza saat dihubungi Kompas.com.

Reza mengimbau kepada masyarakat untuk segera memperhatikan ketersediaan Set Top Box (STB) yang non-bantuan di tiap daerah.

"Lembaga penyiaran swasta dan pemangku kepentingan lainnya sudah menetapkan tanggal untuk penghentian siaran analog, 2 Desember jam 24.00," kata Direktur Penyiaran Kementerian Kominfo Geryantika Kurnia.

Sebelum Kominfo menetapkan tanggal dihentikannya siaran TV analog di enam kota besar Indonesia yakni pada 2 Desember 2022 mendatang, analog switch off (ASO) sudah terlebih dahulu dilaksanakan di Jabodetabek pada 2 November 2022 lalu.

Pada 2 November 2022 tercatat ada 222 wilayah di Indonesia yang siaran tv analognya dihentikan.

Wilayah ini termasuk 9 kabupaten di Jabodetabek dan 173 wilayah yang tidak dijangkau layanan TV terresterial.

Dan untuk 2 Desember 2022 ada enam kota besar yang siaran tv analognya akan dihentikan.

Kota-kota besar yang siaran tv analognya yang sudah dimatikan adalah Bandung, Batam, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Solo dan Surabaya.

Perlu diketahui frekuensi TV digital untuk siaran saluran stasiun televisi seperti RCTI, SCTV, Indosiar akan berubah menyesuaikan satelit Telkom 4.

Dalam perubahan frekuensi TV digital, di sinilah peran penting dari Set Top Box (STB).

Pengguna TV analog bisa mulai mengubah saluran TV digital dengan mengganti frekuensi dari sekarang.

EU Reaches Agreement on Price Cap on Oil From Russia at $60 Per Barrel

©AFP 2022 / INA FASSBENDER

The European Union has reached an agreement on a $60 a barrel price cap for Russian oil after Poland dropped its objections.

Poland previously did not agree with the proposed level of oil prices, demanding its reduction.

The EU may now launch a written approval process for the deal and intends to formally announce it on Sunday, Andrzej Sados, Poland's permanent representative to the European Union, said in a statement.

According to Sados, the agreement also provides for a price review mechanism that will keep the price cap at 5% below market value.

The Czech presidency in the Council of the EU countries has officially confirmed that the EU member states' envoys had reached an agreement on price cap for oil from Russia.

The United States welcomed the reports about the European Union reaching a price cap agreement, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

The West stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia over Ukraine, which led to higher prices for electricity, fuel and food in Europe and the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said cheap and reliable Russian energy resources were Europe's competitive advantage, and even a partial rejection of them already had a negative impact on its economy and residents. And the US, pushing through the EU's complete rejection of Russian energy carriers and other resources, is leading to the de-industrialization of Europe, he said.

Commenting on the West's idea to limit prices for Russian energy resources, Putin said Russia would not supply anything abroad if this was contrary to its own interests. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia would not supply oil to countries that set any price cap. He added that such restrictions were interference in market tools, and Moscow was prepared to work with consumers ready for market conditions.

Under the agreement, Western companies will not be able to insure, finance or ship Russian oil unless it is sold for less than $60 a barrel, The Wall Street Journal reported.

EU leaders negotiated for days over the price cap with some nations like Poland and the Baltic States arguing for an even stricter price cap set at $30 a barrel. Nations with direct ties to the shipping industries that help transport Russian oil, like Greece, Cyprus and Malta, pushed for a higher price cap set at $70 a barrel, EuroNews reported Friday.

EU agrees, not Russia agrees. So the price is the result of the Russian offer. And as usual all the western media wrote it as if Russia had agreed to the price with additional sentences, the price was to put pressure on Russia That is a form of Western arrogance that still feels superior.

West’s support encouraging Kiev to reject talks, Putin tells German chancellor

©Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

Flooding Ukraine with weapons is a destructive policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out in a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, according to the Kremlin press service.

"Attention was drawn to the destructive policy that is being pursued by Western countries, including Germany, who are flooding the Kiev regime with weapons and training Ukrainian troops," the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

According to the Kremlin, "as a result of all this, as well as of the comprehensive financial support for Ukraine, Kiev keeps outright rejecting the very idea of talks." "In addition, it encourages radical Ukrainian nationalists to commit more heinous crimes against civilians," the statement added.

"The Russian president called on Germany to reconsider its approach with regard to Ukraine developments," the statement stressed.

The leaders of Russia and Germany discussed various aspects of the situation around Ukraine. "Putin once again explained the details of Russia’s approach to conducting its special military operation," the Kremlin press service noted.

The conversation was initiated by Germany. Putin and Scholz last held a phone call on September 13.

Biden Wants to Avoid Expanding Conflict in Ukraine, Not Seeking War With Russia - Blinken

US President Joe Biden wants to avoid expanding the conflict in Ukraine, as the US does not want a war with Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.

In an interview with the France 2 broadcaster, the US official said that Washington would not determine the terms of negotiations with Russia for Kiev, but would support any decision of the Ukrainians.

Non-Recognition of New Russian Territories by US Impedes Dialogue, Kremlin Says

The United States still does not recognize the new territories of Russia, which significantly complicates the search for mutual ground for discussions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"The United States still does not recognize the new territories as part of Russia. And, of course, this significantly complicates the search for some kind of mutual ground," Peskov told a briefing.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said earlier that he does not plan holding contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, but is open to such a possibility if the Russian president "shows interest" in ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Anak-anak Pengungsi Gempa Bumi Cianjur Kembali Sekolah

Anak-anak pengungsi di Cianjur (BNPB)

Anak-anak yang berada di pengungsian terpusat di Desa Mangunkerta, Kecamatan Cugenang, kembali mengikuti Kegiatan belajar mengajar, setelah lebih dari sepekan terhenti karena sekolah mereka roboh oleh gempa bumi 5.6 Magnetudo.

Dengan kondisi yang sangat serba terbatas, namun tidak mengurangi antusias anak-anak untuk belajar. Semangat belajar mereka terlihat sangat tinggi. Seperti yang terlihat pagi tadi, pada hari Jumat, 02/12/2022, dari balik tenda darurat yang didirikan di lapangan bola basker SMP Negeri 1 Cugenang, semangat anak-anak seakan terpancar dari wajah yang berseri-seri.

Dari balik tenda berukuran tak kurang dari 6x10 meter, sorak-sorai anak-anak pun bak memecah lara, mengubah duka menjadi suka.

Satu demi satu, mereka berebut kesempatan menjawab pertanyaan dari guru pendamping. Tak ragu, mereka bahkan turut ambil bagian untuk maju ke depan saat diberi kesempatan untuk bernyanyi dan memperagakan bagaimana cuci tangan yang benar.

Kehadiran tenda belajar itu menjadi pelita harapan bagi anak-anak. Kepercayaan diri mereka bangkit dan seakan menolak untuk larut dalam kesedihan.

Heni, warga RT 03 RW 2, Kampung Cariu, Desa Mangunkerta, Kecamatan Cugenang, yang mengantarkan anaknya untuk ikut belajar dan bermain menuturkan bahwa sebelum ikut sekolah darurat, anaknya sering terlihat jenuh dan melamun di rumah.

Wanita 35 tahun itu kemudian mengajak anaknya untuk ikut kembali belajar agar tidak ketinggalan pelajaran dan tidak jenuh di rumah. Heni mengatakan, sejak satu hari mengikuti belajar di tenda darurat, anaknya kembali ceria.

“Saya antar anak ke sini biar nggak ketinggalan pelajaran, biar tidak jenuh di rumah, biar tidak melamun. Kalau di sini kan banyak teman-temannya dan belajar sambil bermain bersama,” ucap Heni.

Siswa yang mengikuti kegiatan belajar mengajar ini mulai dari Taman Kanak-Kanak, Sekolah Dasar, dan Sekolah Menengah Pertama.

Sebelum memulai belajar, para siswa melaksanakan senam pagi untuk menjaga kebugaran selama kurang lebih 10 menit.

Setelah itu, para siswa akan diberikan materi pelajaran sesuai jenjang pendidikan. Untuk siswa TK maka mereka akan diberi kesempatan untuk bermain sambil belajar. Bagi anak-anak TK, mewarnai gambar menjadi pelajaran favorit mereka.

Untuk usia SD, maka mereka akan diberikan materi pelajaran sesuai tingkatannya seperti berhitung, menulis kata dan kalimat hingga cerdas tangkas. Bagi siswa SMP, pelajaran seperti mengarang cerita pendek, ilmu agama, ilmu pengetahuan umum diberikan secara bergantian.

Sekolah dibuka pada pukul 08.00 sampai 10.00 WIB. Kemudian sore hari sampai petang, mereka mengikuti sekolah agama Islam di tenda pengungsian yang dilanjutkan sampai salat berjamaah bersama.

Pjs Vice President Corporate Communication Heppy Wulansari, menjelaskan bahwa kegiatan ini bertujuan untuk menghilangkan rasa trauma dan sedih bagi para pengungsi, terlebih pada anak-anak.

"Kita adakan bermain bersama anak-anak supaya anak-anak bisa lebih senang dan rileks menghadapi pasca gempa. Hal ini kita lakukan juga untuk membuat mengurangi rasa traumatis akibat gempa yang terjadi di Senin kemarin," ungkap Heppy dikutip dari siaran pers, pada hari Jumat, 02/12/2022.

Heppy menambahkan bahwa kegiatan seperti ini rutin dilakukan di posko Pertamina Peduli. Ia pun berharap, kegiatan trauma healing bisa membantu para pengungsi khususnya anak-anak dari sisi psikologis.

"Harusnya mereka memiliki waktu dan masa bermain yang cukup supaya tumbuh kembangnya tidak terganggu. Kami harap itu (trauma healing) bisa mengurangi dan tidak ada dampak yang buruk bagi psikis anak-anak," tambahnya.

Lina Marlina (40) mengungkapkan terima kasihnya kepada Pertamina karena telah menggelar kegiatan trauma healing. Menurutnya hal ini sangat membantu anak-anak agar tidak trauma pasca mengalami kejadian gempa bumi bermagnitudo 5,6 yang mengguncang Cianjur.

"Alhamdulillah anak-anak jadi senang. Jadi enggak trauma lagi. Jadi semangat lagi. Tadinya sempat trauma, suka takut. Terima kasih untuk Pertamina," kata Lina.

Pada kesempatan yang sama, Fatma (11) salah seorang anak yang tinggal di posko pengungsian Pertamina Peduli mengaku terbantu dengan adanya kegiatan ini. Ia mengaku sudah tidak trauma akan kejadian gempa.

"Sudah senang (tidak trauma). Terima kasih Pertamina," imbuhnya.

Hal yang sama juga diungkapkan Siti Alya Kumala Sari. Siswi kelas enam Sekolah Dasar (SD) ini mengaku bahagia dengan adanya kegiatan tersebut.