I have written about an expat's nine year stay in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The names of people and institutions are inventions. A version with longer chapters appears at http://jakarta-kid.blogspot.com/
1. JAKARTA: SIX DEGREES SOUTH
Why Indonesia?
Adventure, discovery, love, waifs and strays
One of the world's great hot steamy cities
Three bedroom house
2. NIGHT AND DAY
Gamesman's Bar
Pop Gun
The Bintang Disco
The Ranamok and the J Bar Bogor
3. THE HILL TOWN OF BOGOR
Budi
Doctor
Carmen
Brother John
The Third World
4 THE HIGHLAND CITY OF BANDUNG
Minor scrapes on the road to Bandung
Abdul
His father's taken up with another woman
The Savoy
Where can the child stay?
5. TWO WEDDINGS
Budi
Asep and a wedding
Five star wedding
6. ONE HAND AND HIS MOTHER
Transmigration
Anne, Bob and Pauline in Menteng
7. BANGBANG ON JALAN SUDIRMANDr. Joseph
What would Bangbang's parents say?
Asep and Eddy
Eddy, Budy, Piste Top Bar
8. PELABUHAN RATU GIVES ME BAD VIBES
The Staffroom
The Samudra Beach Hotel and a warung
Rachman
Budi
9 SINGAPORE AND JOHOR BARU
Singapore
Malay Singaporeans
10. FOUND IN KEBAYORAN LAMA
Dipo Hospital
Jiwa Hospital
Doctor Bahari's clinic
11. DOCTOR JOSEPH
Golden Truly supermarket
Staffroom
Min
12 THE HAVE A NICE DAY HOTEL
Eddy, Andi, Asep and a little girl
Dunia Fantasi
Daus
13. THE BOY FROM SUMATRA
Dede, Rama, Melati, Tikus, Dian
Medan Merdeka
14 THEY SHOT YOUR FATHER?
I picked up a metal chair
Wisma Utara
Hamid from Pasar Mayestic
15. A LOVER LIKES HIS LOVED ONE TO BE POOR
Chong
Love and lust
16 HAMID'S GRANNY AND IWAN'S FEET
Iwan and Chong
The road to Ciomas
17. REJECTED BY HIS FAMILY
Andi and Dian
Tejo
New driver
18. MOTHER LIVES FAR AWAY
Tejo and Harjo
Tedi
Iwan
19 FAMILY
Teluk Gong
20 BATUTULIS BABY
Baby
Fingers
21 TWO WIVES TO SUPPORT
The scent of flowers
Sani and Indra
22 SUKABUMI
Marni
Ciah and Agosto
Iwan and Hamid
British children
23 NEW HOME
Iwan
Rubbish tip
House search
Cul de sac
Hamid
24 BANTEN AND MERAK
Moving in
Banten and Merak
25 SAEPUL PUNCHES HIMSELF IN THE FACE
Conversation
Saepul
Business
How's Min?
26 PUNCAK
Chong
Could it be Chong?
Agosto and Suhartini
27 A GIRLFRIEND AGED SIXTEEN
Poster
Sani and Indra; floods; garbage mountain; Cengkare...
Girlfriend
28 ENGAGED
Visits
Dede, Oman and Nurul
29 RAMADAN
Oman and Nurul
Tom
Ramadan
Iwan; vaccination
30 ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE
Alfred Russel Wallace and Indonesia
Justice
John and Saepul
31 ALDI
Aldi and a new house
Hospital
Dosage
Attachments
32 DADANG
Bar
Wisma Utara
Iwan
Irfan
33 BOROBUDUR
Prambanan
Do these things happen in Burma?
34 OLD BATAVIA
Irfan; John
Teluk Gong Hospital
35 CIOMAS AND BALI
Bali
John and Martha
Back to Teluk Gong?
36 NIGHT CLUB
Daud
Night Club
37 POLICE
Police
38 SEXUAL HABITS
Iwan
Mustapha
Dr Joseph
39 ARRANGED MARRIAGE
Ciah
Wisnu
40. ORPHANS
Agosto and Ciah
Wisnu and Saepul
Wisnu
Sally, Agosto, Ciah, Wisnu
41 BANDUNG CONFERENCE
Wisnu
Bandung
42 THIRD WORLD
Nur in the Dipo Hospital
Wisnu and the Taman Clinic
How is Nur?
43. TB
Aisa
Business, corruption and the Dutch.
44 PRIMATES
Bangbang and Wisnu
Didi
45 SAMSU'S GARDEN
Ramadan again
Piste Top and Plato
46 AGOSTO
Bedside
Church
47. PANTI BAMBU
Asep, Mukmin, Dede, Tikus
Wisnu
Wisnu and Panti Bambu
48. TAMAN MINI
Yin and Yang
My driver, Mo
49. OYA
Raj and Oya
Oya and Hydrocephalus
Suharto, Wahid and Megawati
50. THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
Oya and Wisnu
51. DUKUNS
Dukuns
52. THE BEACH AT ANYER
Anyer and Disa
Samsu and Jihad
53 ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL
Saib
Saib; Ibu Tien
54 FIRDAUS SQUEEZED MY HAND
Firdaus
Americans
55. FAJAR AND THE LITTLE STREET MUSICIANS
Firdaus in the children's ward
Fajar, Ali, Dikin, Min, Fergus and Megawati
Carmen
56. MEGAWATI AND RIOTS
Parung
Megawati; Plots
57 NEIGHBOURHOOD CHIEF
Dede and Chandra
Chandra; Novi
58 DENGKLOK - Lady Living on the Street; Child With No Anus
Dengklok
Parung; Jasmin; Dengklok Riots
59. THE ROAD TO CICURUG
Jasmin; Plantations; Dekker; Bayou
Elections
60. ELECTIONS AND TESTICLES
Bayou, Min, Iwan, Economic Crisis, Elephantiasis, ...
61. STRESS
Mukhlas
Christmas, Min in Lamaya, Imah
62. KAMPUNG; SABAN
Aryo's Heart; Min's Rice Field; Dancow
63. MAY RIOTS
Riots in Jakarta, May 1998
64. KUALA LUMPUR
Suharto, Prabowo and Wiranto
65 AGUNG
Ninjas, Suli, Hari, Saryun, John, Anne, Agung
66. NINJAS
67. DESTABILISATION
68. CHANGE
Video and photography
1 comment:
"Panti Bambu, the overcrowded prison-like institution which is on the edge of Jakarta and which was home to Suli, Hari and Saryun, aged between about ten and twelve. A jaunty young man in the office led me across the courtyard to the shed-like buildings that house the inmates. When released from her crowded room, barefoot Suli, still wearing the same torn dress as on the last occasion, shyly approached me and hugged me round the waist. Imp-faced Hari gave me a grin. The boy called Saryun, who had to share his bed with a man, looked too tired to smile. He was wearing a girl’s dress."
"I took the three children for a short drive into the mainly rural area on one side of Panti Bambu and we had a very brief walk."
"The following Saturday morning, I arrived at Panti Bambu for another visit to the children. The sky was dull and the air was humid. Outside the open entrance-gate there was the usual homemade food cart, selling hot snacks. As I approached, I was addressed by the gap-toothed young man who was the cart’s owner.
"Saryun is dead," he said, with the sort of Indonesian grin that often accompanies bad news. "Drowned in the toilets. There was some kind of rumpus. They found his body in the early morning."
"Dead." He grinned even more.
Jakartakid doesn't see the likelihood of murder as a silencing coverup by a homosexual adult put in charge by the Muslim children's home raping the boy.
"The Taoist might say that such suffering comes about because people interfere with the natural balance of things, by following their own selfish plans. In other words, Saryun’s parents may have abandoned him." John sipped his green tea, glanced in my direction, and then continued. "The Buddhists also would say that it’s a lack of moderation that leads to problems. The Buddhists talk about karma. Maybe it was your karma that led you to come across this situation. Maybe it was Saryun’s karma that led to his experience. This suffering may be the result of actions in previous lives."
NWO New Age Satanism: The victim is the culprit.
We are the natural order, boundless rulers, be moderate and follow the path we give you.
"Karma is one way of explaining things. Maybe we inherit the consequences of our actions, but only as long as we are attached to the idea of the individual self."
NWO New Age Religion: You are nobody, Be nobody.
"Zen Buddhists believe we should not [...] worrying about [...] evil. [...] We should keep on repeating to ourselves that the purpose of life is to be happy. [...] wife died and Kennedy received messages, via a medium, which convinced him that his wife was still alive. At the end of the day it is those sort of experiences that matter most."
"The main thing I learned was that the purpose of life is to be happy. And the way to be happy is to forget about yourself and to detach yourself from emotions"
NWO New Age: Don't worry, be happy. Be blind and Lie to yourself.
We do the raping, you the anaesthetics.
Post a Comment