Former sportsman still has competitive edge<\/p>\n
Mario Koch, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
After 10 successful years, German Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff, 37,
\nturned his back on playing professional basketball to become a
\njournalist in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
For almost five years now he has exclusively covered the
\nregion as foreign correspondent for four German dailies
\n(Frankfurter Rundschau, Der Tagesspiegel, Hannoversche Allgemeine
\nZeitung and Stuttgarter Zeitung), which jointly sponsor one
\nreporter.<\/p>\n
At his house-cum-office in Menteng, Central Jakarta, he spoke
\nto The Jakarta Post's Mario Koch about his remarkable career
\nchange and some aspects of the experience it entails.<\/p>\n
\"Until I was 20, my life was all about basketball; playing as
\na professional, driving a new BMW 318 and receiving a monthly pay
\ncheck exceeding those of my peers, I somehow felt the world
\nbelonged to me.<\/p>\n
\"But then I had my first serious injury, forcing me to spend
\nfive months in rehab. Just after I recommenced training, the
\ninjury recurred, with the doctors telling me they were not sure
\nif it could ever be completely resolved.<\/p>\n
\"This made me realize for the first time that playing
\nbasketball was not something I could rely on in life, so I
\nstarted to study physical education and journalism.\"<\/p>\n
From the age of 27 onwards, Kleine-Brockhoff was almost
\ncontinuously in an injured state. Thus, in 1997 he finally
\ndecided to quit playing altogether to focus on his thesis dealing
\nwith another sport, golf, and consequently complete his studies.<\/p>\n
\"Today, my former teammates begrudge my adding another string
\nto my bow in time. In turn I begrudge them for their exploding
\nbank accounts following deregulation of the transfer market.\"<\/p>\n
Southest Asia passion<\/p>\n
Kleine-Brockhoff developed early a strong personal interest in
\nSoutheast Asia. \"I'd been to Singapore with a friend when I was
\n18. We did this real backpacker thing -- going all the way to
\nBangkok by train. Later, I often traveled the region by
\nmotorcycle. When I started to work as a journalist, I had already
\nbeen to all the countries and truly wanted to combine the passion
\nwith my professional ambitions.\"<\/p>\n
His wish was granted when he worked with the BBC as part of an
\n18-month training program with Deutsche Welle and associated
\nmedia, being assigned to assist in covering the 1999
\nparliamentary elections in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Thereafter he worked at BBC bureaus in Hong Kong and Bangkok,
\nbefore being sent to cover the independence referendum and its
\noutcome in Timor Leste.<\/p>\n
When militias, backed and instructed by the Indonesian
\nmilitary, started to systematically devastate the capital, Dili,
\nkilling or driving out its inhabitants, he held out: first
\ninside, then later on the roof of the city's biggest hotel. He
\nended up as the last German journalist in Timor Leste and his
\ndramatic account was published in Germany's high-quality weekly
\nDie Zeit, thus bringing the young reporter to the attention of a
\nwider public in his home country.<\/p>\n
\"In Dili that time I still was very much a novice to the
\nbusiness. Even though the development of events didn't come from
\nnowhere, as there had been widespread violence before the
\nreferendum already, it was still one of the most frightening
\nexperiences in my career.<\/p>\n
\"Before that, I had only experienced violence on TV, but then
\npeople were killed brutally right before us. When the militias
\nentered our hotel, firing shots into the ceiling, I really feared
\nfor my own life as well.<\/p>\n
\"Today, we know they didn't want to kill us, but wanted to
\ndrive us out of there to complete their detestable task without
\nanyone on hand to witness their action.\"<\/p>\n
Even if Kleine-Brockhoff gradually gained prestige as a
\nreporter, it was only after almost two years of financially
\nunstable freelance writing that in 2001 he got the job he still
\nholds today.<\/p>\n
He chose Jakarta as his base and rented a house in up-market
\nMenteng. \"I knew the landlady and renovated the place myself, so
\nthe rent is reasonable. Still, my standard of living is better
\nreflected in the Daihatsu Taruna outside than by this house.\"<\/p>\n
One spacious room, wallpapered with title pages of Newsweek,
\nTime or Far Eastern Economic Review and the floor covered by
\nstockpiled issues of various dailies, serves as his home office.
\nHere he writes his articles (148 in 2004, with the tsunami being
\nthe dominant issue), always sending them to all four German
\ndailies, whose total circulation is 1,000,000 copies.<\/p>\n
Never a dull moment<\/p>\n
Kleine-Brockhoff chooses most of his subjects independently,
\nwith only about 10 percent being specific assignments from
\nGermany.<\/p>\n
\"I cover a wide variety of topics that bear some relation to
\nGermany. From in-depth political analyses, economy and trade to
\nstories on Inul (the dangdut performer) or the obsessions of
\nIndonesian women with white skin.<\/p>\n
\"At the moment I'm working on a profile of this year's Miss
\nIndonesia. Fortunately, nobody in Germany seems to have realized
\nyet that she was born in Hanover. This should be a great story
\nfor Hannoversche Allgemeine.\"<\/p>\n
When talking like that, it is obvious that he enjoys his job.
\n\"I particularly like its versatility. One is frequently
\nconfronted with completely new issues and thus forced to keep on
\nlearning about things.<\/p>\n
\"Of course there are moments of doubt as well -- especially
\nwhen one has to worry about one's health or life being in danger.
\nI felt real fear in Timor Leste in 1999, or when I was in Jolo,
\nthe Philippines, in 2001.<\/p>\n
\"I was traveling in Patikul, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold,
\naccompanied by now detained Muslim leader Nur Misuari when our
\nconvoy was fired at.<\/p>\n
\"More often it is not genuinely fear, but a feeling of
\nuneasiness that one senses. When I was visiting Ambon, Maluku, in
\n2000, together with two reporters from Antara for instance. They
\nsent a Christian for the Christian part and a Muslim for the
\nMuslim area of the city; I covered the whole of it.<\/p>\n
\"Just recently, I went to Sulianto Saroso Hospital, North
\nJakarta, where suspected bird flu patients are being treated. I
\nsaw a terrifying leaflet that had been published by WHO (the
\nWorld Health Organization) about all the precautions to be taken.
\nReading it certainly makes you scared.<\/p>\n
\"But in the end, you have to take the rough with the smooth.
\nI remember writing about a contest for models, namely the Elite
\nTalent Search World Final in Singapore. All the journalists
\nstayed in a five-star hotel and enjoyed all kinds of luxuries.
\nSo, being a foreign correspondent is not so bad after all!\"<\/p>\n
Kleine-Brockhoff has maintained his distinctly competitive
\nstreak.<\/p>\n
The day the interview took place, he had just returned from
\nthe German research vessel, Sonne, to witness the handover to
\nIndonesia of the first buoy of a tsunami warning system.<\/p>\n
Moritz asked to be excused, saying: \"I must finish this
\narticle first. I discovered that the operational costs of the
\nsystem and who will pay for them is totally unclear.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure I'll be first to get this published in Germany.\"<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/former-sportsman-still-has-competitive-edge-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }