Brits maintain a stiff upper lip in Surabaya<\/p>\n
Duncan Graham, Contributor, Surabaya<\/p>\n
When young English teacher Alex Gough arrived in Surabaya about
\n12 years ago there was a small, but active British community
\nfunctioning in the East Java capital.<\/p>\n
There was also a British Consul backed by a system of
\n\"wardens\". Their job was to maintain contact with expats and pass
\naround information. There was also a branch of the British
\nCouncil promoting arts, culture and education.<\/p>\n
\"I can remember gathering around the pool at the consul's
\nhouse with other British expats and drinking gin and tonics,\"
\nsaid Gough.<\/p>\n
\"This was during the 1990s when the political and economic
\nsituation was unstable.\"To my surprise, we were told very clearly
\nthat we were on our own and there was no way the British
\ngovernment was going to repatriate us if things got nasty.<\/p>\n
\"At the time the Americans were organizing muster stations for
\ntheir citizens and the Koreans had pickup points. We just had to
\nkeep a stiff upper lip. That's how it felt, like something out of
\nOur Man in Havana\" (the famous Graham Greene novel).<\/p>\n
Now there is no honorary British Consul in Surabaya, a job
\nthat traditionally fell to the manager of the Hongkong and
\nShanghai Banking Corporation, but later passed to industrialists
\nwho worked far out of the city. The wardens have also vanished,
\nmore victims of Internet communication.<\/p>\n
And, last year, the British Council closed its beautifully
\nrefurbished study center in central Surabaya. This was a
\nmarvelous place for locals and expats to read English literature,
\nwatch British videos and discuss international affairs over a cup
\nof Java coffee.<\/p>\n
Many of the Council's resources have been passed on to the
\nInstitut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Surabaya. It is a
\nfitting location (see sidebar).<\/p>\n
'A few blobs in lots of water'<\/p>\n
And Gough, the one-time footloose English hitchhiking
\nbackpacker from Kent who fell in love with Indonesia and an
\nIndonesian woman, is now well established. Through durability
\nand status he has become the de-facto head of the tiny British
\ncommunity in Indonesia's second-largest city.<\/p>\n
It's not a position he's sought or promotes, and thinks the
\nidea a hoot, particularly as his first arrival in Indonesia was
\nwith turtle smugglers plying the Malacca Straits. At the time
\nhis knowledge of the archipelago was of \"a few blobs in lots of
\nwater.\"<\/p>\n
Now he speaks fluent Indonesian, wears a tie and manages a
\nprestigious English language college with about 400 students and
\na reputation for excellence.<\/p>\n
There's been no conscious plan to Anglicize the place, but
\nhalf of Gough's expat staff at the Indonesia Australia Language
\nFoundation (IALF) are British. Ironically, this makes the
\nAustralian institution probably the largest employer of Britons
\nin Surabaya.<\/p>\n
Where are the Aussies? Some are out in the pesantren (Islamic
\nboarding schools) helping local English teachers improve their
\nskills (see The Jakarta Post Sept. 7, 2005). But persistent
\ntravel warnings and a bad press have made many Australians
\nreluctant to travel west of Bali.<\/p>\n
Another factor is the low wages offered to Australian teachers
\nwho can earn much more in Korea and Japan and where visa
\nrestrictions and tax imposts are reported to be less onerous.
\nFor British teachers seeking overseas experience Indonesia is not
\na worrisome neighbor but a distant and exotic location.<\/p>\n
Warnings against foreigners gathering in places like upmarket
\nhotels, where they may present fundamentalists with an easy
\ntarget, have also served to keep expats at home.<\/p>\n
Even in the well-known Jatim Club in the KADIN (Indonesian
\nChamber of Commerce) building, a cheery spot where businessfolk
\nquaff lager longer, the English is more Rhine than Thames.<\/p>\n
The Expat Women's Association of Surabaya has about only five
\nBritons in a total membership of around 100.<\/p>\n
\"The situation is different in Jakarta where the British have
\na substantial presence but in East Java we are now such a small
\ngroup of teachers and technical advisers that we can't maintain a
\nseparate identity,\" Gough said.<\/p>\n
\"That's not a problem for me. My wife, Dinda, is Javanese and
\nI've become a Muslim. We live in the community. But our two-year
\nold daughter, Olive, is British and like me can only stay here on
\na visa.\"<\/p>\n
It's these sorts of citizenship difficulties that often
\nconfound expats in Indonesia who form relationships and have
\nchildren. For these people consular offices have traditionally
\nprovided information and sometimes assistance. That's when
\nthey're not promoting trade opportunities or encouraging
\ntourists.<\/p>\n
France, Germany, the U.S., the Netherlands, India, Sweden,
\nJapan, Sri Lanka, Belgium and Denmark all have consular or
\nhonorary consular services in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
The centralization of services and the expanding use of the
\nInternet have weakened the demand for a local presence, but
\nIndonesian culture prefers face-to-face contacts, particularly in
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
\"It's a shame to see the British Council break up in
\nSurabaya,\" said Gough. \"There's a great need for cultural events
\nto promote our way of life, and that's not happening. The cross-
\ncultural component of education is extremely important, and we
\nteach this at the IALF.<\/p>\n
\"Surabaya gets a hammering in the guide books and Westerners
\ntend to roll their eyes when they hear East Java, but I find
\nliving here is great. Sure, there's some pollution but it's
\nnothing compared with some industrial cities in China.<\/p>\n
\"The British should be far more active here. If you come here
\nwith the right attitude it's an awesome experience -- and I mean
\nthat in the American sense of the word. This is a wonderful
\ncountry -- it's so many countries within a country.<\/p>\n
\"As a bule you can't lock yourself away in an expat enclave
\nand pretend it's Gibraltar. You either like it and join in, or
\nhate it and get out.<\/p>\n
\"East Java is very Indonesian. It's also very safe. There's so
\nmuch to do and see. But there's no point in living here if
\nyou're really not into the place.\"<\/p>",
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