Heroes’ Day, 10th November
Assalamu’alaikum Wr.Wb.
Honorable headmaster, dearest teachers, committees, my beloved friends ladies and gentlemen good morning.
First of all let’s thank to Allah SWT, the lord of the world, the master of the day after, the creator of everything in this universe.
Peace and Salutation be upon our prophet Muhammad SAW, who has brought us from the darkness into the brightness and guided us into the right way of life.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In this good opportunity, I would like to deliver a speech entitled “Heroes’ Day”. This speech aims at reminding us that the heroism, patriotism and nationalism are very important in developing our country. Without those attitudes, it is impossible for us to make our country survive.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Every year we commemorate Heroes’ Day on 10th November. It is the reflection of our country in appreciating the history of Indonesian people in struggling against the colonialism. Heroes’ Day also shows that our founding fathers had sacrificed everything to build this country. Heroes’ Day was taken from the history of the battle in Surabaya. It was a fighting of our people against Dutch and Allied forces due to the struggle of the Indonesian Independence. The peak of the battle was in November 1945. Allied Forces’ troops managed to conquer Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, on behalf of Dutch. More than 100,000 people of Indonesia were involved on the battle against the Allied Forces that approximated more than 30,000 soldiers. At least 16.000 Indonesian people died, while the enemies lost 2,000 soldiers. The battle was the heaviest single battle of the revolution and became a national symbol of Indonesian resistance. Considered a heroic effort by Indonesians, the battle helped our people get international support for Indonesian independence. In memory of the battle, 10th November is then celebrated annually as Heroes' Day.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
The battle in Surabaya was one of the battles happening in our country during the situation of the Indonesian independence. Other people from all over Indonesia’s territory also did the similar thing. Our people fought against the colonialist to keep our independence. Our people struggled to build a free country. They sacrificed everything, including their blood and lives. They had dedicated their heroism, patriotism and nationalism for this country. There is a quote: a great country is a country which appreciates all its heroes. We often hear about it. We know that without our heroes’ sacrifices, there would be no this country. The independence of Indonesia was not given by the colonialist. It was struggled by our founding fathers, by our heroes…
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Nowadays we live in an independence country. There is no more battle against colonialists. But, it does not mean that we stop fighting. There are many kinds of struggle that we must do. Fighting against corruption, collusion and nepotism are some examples of struggle. We must keep the spirit of heroism, patriotism and nationalism in developing this country. We implement it based on our condition now. We actualize it in every part of our life. We give the best what we can do. We devote our dedication to make this country better. That is the way we appreciate our heroes.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
I think that’s all my speech. Let us continue our heroes’ spirit, let us continue our struggle. Keep fighting… for our country, for a better future!
Thank you very much for your attention.
Wassalamu’alaikum Wr.Wb.
