This is Indonesia

“This is Indonesia,” the man next to me told me somewhat smugly as I looked up vaguely appalled at the prospect of cramming a fourth person into our already snug row of three. I already had a box jammed next to me, the corner digging into my thigh, my knees crammed against the row in front of me, and my bag on my lap. I was on a short trip (one day there, next day back) to Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan in order to renew my visa. Luckily I had Samuel, ASRI's "fixer" to help me out with the process. Exciting business, really. I was just thankful it all went smoothly; when some of the Indonesian doctors from ASRI went to Pontianak last week to get new passports, they had to stay the week. So, this is Indonesia: a land where a 5 seater car fits 10 and where the bureaucracy is enough of a nightmare to require organizations to have a “fixer” whose sole job is to navigate it. This brings back some thoughts from Weber's classic On Bureaucracy, but those are probably best left alone for now.

And again, the man told me, “This is Indonesia,” in response to my renewed look of dismay when our boat broke down and drifted listlessly into some mangroves on the side of the river. As if a 5 hour boat trip isn’t enough? I wish I had a picture of the situation, but alas, we were crammed in so tight there was no way for me to get out my camera, never mind attempt to use it. Instead, I have a lovely sunburn on the left half of my face and body as a souvenir.

Indonesia is also a place where much is cheap; quality NOT guaranteed. Example: As I was leaving at 6 am to go to Pontianak the other morning, our almost-new front door-handle literally self-destructed in my hand. It was the most expensive one available in town. Furthermore, our lovely little house has the unfortunate problem that the cement was laid directly on the ground and thus water is constantly soaking through via capillary action and causing our beautiful, hand-woven bamboo mats to mold.

My biggest pet peeve here, however, is exemplified as I sit here writing this post, worrying that I’m causing my future self lung cancer. My house is currently full of smoke from nearby trash burning. Yes, I wrote an earlier post deriding the way that people still burned trash on the side of the street in Yoyga. Here, there is no waste system to speak of and everyone (including ASRI) burns their trash out of necessity. Including plastic. What makes the plastic problem worse is that everything here seems to be individually wrapped. Granted, what is not individually wrapped often goes stale almost immediately (e.g. Oreos put out on a plate to eat during a meeting are crisp and crunchy at the beginning, and already a bit soggy within half an hour; it’s really quite astounding).

I’m not sure just how bad this burning is for the environment (and our lungs!), but I’m pretty sure it’s not good. The other option is just as appalling to me: to litter. There is trash everywhere: in people’s yards, on the beach, in the rivers, etc. What is to be done with it? Yesterday on the boat, I watched, appalled, as the people all around me casually tossed their wrappers and other plastic bags into the river, as if it were a giant trash can. I guess it is.

This trash problem continues to irk me every time I’m presented with its intractable nature (so, everyday). To me, this trash problem is symptomatic of a much larger problem, namely that of global consumerism. Admittedly, I am very much a part of the problem. But, when I think with longing of the nice, organized US where the trash man comes along once a week to take away those large bags of unwanteds, I’m forced to ask myself: is it so much better to pile mounds and mounds of trash into giant land-fills that create noxious gas than it is to burn it? I think the answer is yes, but it’s still not good. Just because we often don’t see where I trash ultimate ends up, doesn’t mean that it magically disappears. What is good about the system here is that people are generally less wasteful. Anything that can be re-used, will, a natural recycling system of sorts. Unfortunately, plastic wrappers appear to have limited re-use value.

This post started due to my reflections on that statement uttered to me, somewhat laughingly, no less than three times, as I was faced with various frustrations on my journey yesterday. I have meandered a bit from my original thread, but I want to return to it to balance the tally a bit. This is also Indonesia: a beautiful land full of warm, friendly people. A fascinating collection of islands with very different religious and cultural backgrounds; Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) alone is reputed to have over 300 different languages. This is Indonesia: a place where communities come together and work together, and where children are revered and loved by all, but where life is very hard for many. A place of spectacular rainforests (though disappearing at an alarming rate), beautiful coral reefs, magnificent rice paddies (and all the rice you can eat!), and so many things more. Despite all the frustrations, this is clearly special place, and I feel fortunate to be here.

Picture: the public beach in Sukadana at Sunset