“Nema Tafai”: Returning to the Roots, Stepping into the World
“Nema Tafai”: Returning to the Roots, Stepping into the World
By Paulus Laratmase
Translated (Indonesian-English) by Leni Marlina
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“Nema Tafai” is not merely a sequence of words. It is a statement of stance an awareness of identity born from the land of Yamdena in the Tanimbar Islands, Maluku. In the Yamdena language, nema means “so that,” while tafai means “to know.” Together, they signify a journey of return: a return to roots, values, and origins, while simultaneously expressing readiness to step beyond geographical and cultural boundaries into a wider world.
This spirit lives vividly in the journey of Bertha Aboyenan Ndityair Samponu, a young woman from Eastern Indonesia who has chosen the path of advocacy, education, and global peace without severing her ties to local cultural roots.
Bertha’s formal journey began at Pattimura University, Ambon, between 2017 and 2021, where she pursued a degree in English Literature, not merely as an academic discipline, but as a lens through which to engage the world. As early as 2018, even before completing her studies, she initiated an independent effort by founding an English course called Beta Course. More than a language classroom, it became a space of empowerment where young people in Ambon cultivated confidence, the courage to speak, and dreams that extended beyond local horizons.
Bertha’s social consciousness deepened through her involvement in various action-oriented and advocacy organizations addressing social issues in Ambon since 2019. Rather than occupying an intellectual ivory tower, she chose to engage directly with lived realities—listening to stories of injustice, witnessing inequality firsthand, and learning that meaningful change is born not of rhetoric alone, but of committed solidarity.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, the crisis unexpectedly opened new avenues of learning. Through online work and study, Bertha maximized technology and global networks, which eventually led her to Pax Romana – the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS), an international Catholic student movement dedicated to justice, peace, and human dignity.
A pivotal moment came on October 10, 2022, when Bertha was elected Asia-Pacific Regional Coordinator of IMCS and relocated to Manila, the organization’s regional office, with its international headquarters in Paris, France. This appointment was not merely a personal achievement, but a profound expression of trust in the voice of a young woman from Eastern Indonesia to help shape global conversations.
In this role, Bertha assumed responsibility for empowering young people on issues of peace and environmental justice, Indigenous peoples’ rights, women’s empowerment, and the practice of living within diversity. She conducted trainings, working visits, and accompaniment across member countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Asia.
She engaged in dialogue with Church leaders, bishops and cardinals as well as state officials, not in ceremonial capacities, but as part of substantive international advocacy and dialogue. Within these spaces, she carried the stories of young people, Indigenous communities, and marginalized groups from across Asia to global negotiation tables.
Her work also brought her into various United Nations forums. Bertha voiced youth empowerment issues at UNESCAP in Bangkok and participated in international forums in Geneva, Switzerland. Beyond the UN, she took part in the World Liberation Theology Forum in Nepal (2024) as a representative of young Catholic leaders and served as a speaker at the International Seminar for the Synod in the Diocese of Suwon, South Korea (2024). Across these forums, she consistently framed human rights, environmental protection, Indigenous issues, and peace not as optional agendas, but as non-negotiable moral imperatives.
To date, Bertha has visited approximately 21 countries across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Yet these global journeys have not uprooted her from her origins. She continues to write, reflect, and share her experiences. Her inspirational life narratives in Indonesian can be found at nematafai.blogspot.com, while her English-language opinion pieces and social analyses are available at abatberth.com.
For Bertha, writing is another way of returning home—a return to conscience—while simultaneously inviting others to walk the journey alongside her.
“Nema Tafai” stands as a portrait of a generation unafraid to dream globally without losing its local grounding. In Bertha Aboyenan Ndityair Samponu, we witness how returning to one’s roots is not a step backward, but a solid foundation for stepping into the world. A journey still unfolding, yet already offering powerful testimony that from the East, a voice of peace can resonate on the international stage. (PL-LM-NN)
