Sahabatku Hebat: Fotografer dari AFP

SEKITAR tahun 2002 atau ketika konflik bersenjata masih berkecamuk di Aceh, aku melihat seorang wartawan foto ceking yang menenteng kamera yang sepertinya terlihat lebih berat dari tubuhnya. Dia sungguh tidak meyakinkan sebagai seoragn fotografer profesional, kalau melihat dari penampilannya.

Namun, jangan menilai sebuah buku dari sampulnya. Itu nasihat yang sering terdengar dan benar adanya. Demikian juga yang terlihat dengan lelaki itu. Siapa sangka, lelaki yang terlihat ringkih itu adalah fotografer dari Agence France Presse (AFP). Foto-fotonya tentang konflik dan bencana di Aceh banyak menghiasi media terkemuka di dunia seperti TIME, National Geographic, The Guardian, dan sebagainya.

Lelaki kecil itu bernama Hotli Simanjuntak yang belakangan saya ketahui ternyata juga seorang Steemians dengan akun @hotlisimanjuntak. Kami akrab dengan cepat, dan dalam masa-masa konflik, @hotlisimanjutak menjadi sejarah tak terpisahkan dari hidup saya dan keluarga. Ummi, istri, dan anak-anak saya mengenal Hotli dengan akrab.

Semasa saya masih bekerja sebagai wartawan di harian Serambi Indnonesia, kami sering meliput bersama. Bahkan @hotlisimanjuntak sudah menjadi seperti saudara sendiri. Kalau ke Lhokseumawe, keluarga kami pasti meminta Hotli menginap di rumah, meski itu tidak mudah karena ia termasuk tipe orang yang tidak mau merepotkan orang lain (padahal, kami sekeluarga malah senang dengan kehadirannya).

Semasa masih sendiri, Hotli selalu tampil dengan seragam kebangsaannya; celana kanvas dan baju kaos oblong warna biru dengan logo bebek angsa warna biru di bagian bawah. Hotli memang sangat cuek dengan penampilan. Dia sangat sederhana, termasuk saat menikmati makanan. Sewaktu baru-baru memotret di Aceh dan tinggal di Lhokseumawe, kehidupannya sangat sulit dan ia hanya makan pisang saja selama beberapa hari karena honornya belum masuk ke rekening. Pengalaman pahit itu kini diceritakan Hotli sambil tertawa.

Saat gempa dan Tsunami melanda Aceh, saya kehilangan kontak dengan Hotli. Hubungan telepon terputus. Beberapa hari kemudian, saat melihat lelaki itu di Lhokseumawe bersama sejumlah wartawan. Ternyata, ia sedang menggalang bantuan dari luar Aceh untuk korban Tsunami di Banda Aceh dan sekitarnya. Foto-foto dan video karya @hotlisimanjuntak tentang Tsunami banyak beredar dan ditayangkan media internasional.

Sebelum @hotlisimanjuntak berkeluarga, kami sering jalan-jalan bersama. Aku sungguh bangga berjalan dan berdiskusi dengan lelaki kelahiran Toba, Sumatera Utara, pada 15 Desember 1972. Yah, dua pekan ke depan Hotli akan merayakan ulang tahun ke-45. Dan aku menulis ini sebagai catatan di hari ulang tahunnya.

Atas beberapa prestasinya, @hotlisimanjutak sudah beberapa kali diundang ke luar negeri, termasuk Amerika Serikat. Sosoknya juga sudah pernah tampil di harian Kompas dan beberapa media nasional lainnya. Profil @hotlisimanjuntak di Kompas saya kliping dan saya simpan sampai sekarang.

Pada Selasa 28 November 2017 lalu, saya kembali melihat foto @hotlisimanjuntak sedang menggendong anak sambil bekerja memotret. Foto bidikan Fendra Trysanie itu dipajang dalam pameran foto dengan tema “Ini Ayah Hebatku” di Bentara Budaya Jakarta, 20 – 25 November 2017.

Hotli memang hebat. Saya selalu berharap ia sehat agar bisa terus merekam berbagai peristiwa penting di Aceh. Melihat berbagai peristiwa penting di Aceh, mulai dari konflik bersenjata, bencana, sampai masa damai, adalah melihat perjalanan hidup seorang @hotlisimanjuntak.[]

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Kompas tanggal 28 November 2017 yang memuat foto @hotlisimanjuntak karya Fendra Trysanie yang ditampilkan dalam pameran foto di Bentara Budaya Jakarta, 20 - 25 November 2017.

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My Great Friends: Photographers from AFP

AROUND 2002 or when armed conflict still raged in Aceh, I saw a straggly photo journalist carrying a camera that seemed to look heavier than his body. He is not as convincing as a professional photographer, if you look from his appearance.

However, don’t judge a book by its cover. That's a very often heard and true advice. So it was with the man. Who would have thought, the man who looks frail it is a photographer from Agence France Presse (AFP). His photographs of the conflict and disaster in Aceh adorned many of the world's leading media such as TIME, National Geographic, New York Time, The Guardian, and so on.

The little guy named Hotli Simanjuntak who I later discovered was also a Steemians with the account @hotlisimanjuntak. We are fast-paced, and in times of conflict, @hotlisimanjuntak becomes an inseparable history of my life and family. Ummi (my mom), my wife, and my childrens know Hotli.

While I was still working as a journalist on the Serambi Indonesia (daily in Banda Aceh), we often covered together. Even @hotlisimanjuntak has become like your own brother. If we were to Lhokseumawe, our family would have asked Hotli to stay at home, even though it was not easy because he was the kind of person who would not bother anyone (in fact, our family was happy with his presence).

Before his get married, Hotli always appeared in his national uniform; canvas pants and a blue T-shirt with a blue goose duck logo on the bottom. Hotli is very indifferent to the appearance. He is very simple, including while enjoying food. Having recently photographed in Aceh and lived in Lhokseumawe, his life was very difficult and he only ate bananas for a few days because his honor had not yet entered the account. Bitter experience is now told Hotli while laughing.

When the earthquake and Tsunami struck Aceh, I lost contact with Hotli. Phone call lost. A few days later, seeing him in Lhokseumawe with a number of journalists. Apparently, he is raising assistance from outside Aceh for tsunami victims in Banda Aceh and surrounding areas. Photographs and videos by @hotlisimanjuntak on the Tsunami are widely circulated and aired by international media.

Before @hotlisimanjuntak married, we often hangout together. I am really proud to walk and discuss with the man born in Toba, North Sumatra, on December 15, 1972. Well, two weeks ahead Hotli will celebrate the 45th anniversary. And I write this as a note on his birthday.

For some of his achievements, Hotli has been invited several times overseas, including the United States. His figure has also been featured in daily Kompas and some other national media. Profile @hotlisimanjuntak in Kompas daily I am clipping and I save until now.

On Tuesday 28 November 2017, I again saw the photo @hotlisimanjuntak was holding a child while working photographing. Photo shoot Fendra Trysanie was on display in the photo exhibition with the theme "It's My Great Dad" at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, 20 - 25 November 2017.

Hotli is great the men. I always hope he is healthy in order to keep recording important events in Aceh. Seeing important events in Aceh, ranging from armed conflict, disaster, to peacetime, is to see a life journey of a @hotlisimanjuntak.[]

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Photo doc @hotlisimanjuntak

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