Green Flies<\/p>\n
By Maria Magdalena Bhoernomo<\/p>\n
Green flies the size of ostriches swarmed around Mangga Dua
\ntrading center in Jakarta, droning like the sound of planes.
\n"Look, giant flies," shouted someone in front of an electronics
\nshop, startling those around him.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, everyone in the trading center smelled the stink,
\nlike the fetid odor of a dead rat. Disgusting. Everybody pinched
\ntheir noses, but their eyes watched the meandering green flies,
\nwhich then flew off into the distance.<\/p>\n
"Green flies as big as ostriches," a demonstrator shouted in
\nthe middle of a group crowding the traffic circle in front of
\nHotel Indonesia. The demonstrators stared at the giant flies
\nbuzzing around the traffic circle but then their noses caught the
\nhorrible smell.<\/p>\n
They put their hands on their noses and their faces contorted,
\nshowing their disgust. Unexpectedly, the green flies landed on
\nthe street, causing a severe traffic jam.<\/p>\n
All TV stations rushed to provide live broadcasts about the
\ngreen flies the size of ostriches at the Hotel Indonesia traffic
\ncircle that had caused a traffic jam.<\/p>\n
They interviewed economic, social and military observers about
\nthe emergence of the giant flies. TV stations also broadcast the
\ncomments of several members of the political elite and the
\npresidential spokesmen via telephone.<\/p>\n
"The emergence of green flies is a signal from God that the
\npresent government is rotten and needs replacement," said a
\npolitical observer.<\/p>\n
"Putrefaction is found in all sectors, particularly the
\neconomic sector. It is reasonable, therefore, that so many green
\nflies as big as ostriches have emerged," an economic observer
\ncommented.<\/p>\n
"It is now the time for such green flies to appear. It looks
\nstrange as they are about the size of ostriches, but if we
\nobserve horizontal conflicts in several areas that have claimed a
\nlot of victims, we should not be surprised by the presence of
\nthose giant flies," intoned a social observer.<\/p>\n
"They may come from conflict areas, where they have been
\nsatisfied with food, which has made them very fat, as big as
\nostriches. Their presence in Jakarta today may signal that
\nsevere violence will break out in the capital city again in the
\nnear future."<\/p>\n
Even the military had their say.<\/p>\n
"The presence of giant flies may be a warning joke from God as
\nthe country is no longer peaceful today. There are murders
\nclaiming a lot of victims, but no significant measures have been
\ntaken. People have become accustomed to seeing dead bodies
\neverywhere."<\/p>\n
"With the emergence of green flies, the President should
\nresign soon. God may have sent the green flies now roaming in
\ndowntown Jakarta," said a member of the House of Representatives
\n(DPR).<\/p>\n
"The political elite should be aware soon that our political
\nperformance is repugnant or even loathsome, which has caused the
\npresence of green flies in Jakarta," added another House member.<\/p>\n
"Therefore, they should end their political conflicts. Let the
\npresident accomplish the tasks till the end of the tenure!"<\/p>\n
"If the President refuses to withdraw from his position, I am
\nafraid the country will be under the domination of green flies,"
\na member of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) remarked.<\/p>\n
The presidential spokesman refused to accept the demand.<\/p>\n
"The President will not act like a coward by withdrawing from
\nthe presidency only because of the presence of green flies. The
\nPresident may even suspect that the emergence of green flies
\nresults from a political conspiracy to topple him from power."<\/p>\n
The direct broadcast of the presence of green flies in Jakarta
\nby all TV stations captivated the public. People gossiped with
\neach other about the giant flies.<\/p>\n
"Those green flies are U.S. made. They bring dangerous
\nviruses. The stink following the emergence of those green flies
\nmay come from a toxic gas or a chemical weapon that can damage
\nthe nervous system of people who smell it," some surmised.<\/p>\n
"Evil spirits sent by shaman have transformed themselves into
\ngreen flies to create traffic jams in Jakarta so as to prevent
\nstudents from launching demonstrations besieging the State
\nPalace," others said.<\/p>\n
"Those green flies are only toys made by students and
\nintentionally spread around Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to
\nmock the political elite and the President, who are considered
\ndepraved," yet others said.<\/p>\n
All the gossip left the public confused. Some people believed
\nit but others regarded it as nonsense. Those who believed the
\ngossip revealed prejudices they considered logical, but those
\nregarding it all as ludicrous preferred to remain silent.<\/p>\n
People watched TV images showing the DPR-MPR building and the
\nState Palace, which looked like dead carrion swarmed over by
\nmillions of green flies.<\/p>\n
Giant green flies also emerged in big cities like Bandung,
\nSemarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Jayapura,
\nPontianak, Medan and Banda Aceh. Their number kept increasing,
\naccompanied by that awful odor, as if Indonesia had become a
\ndecaying, rotten state.<\/p>\n
"Green flies also devastate paddy fields all over Indonesia,"
\nnewspaper headlines said. Farmers throughout Indonesia became
\nrestless. They strived to eradicate green flies using
\ninsecticide, but the insects were resistant.<\/p>\n
"We must kill those green flies. Their flesh may be
\ndelicious," shouted a farmer amid his fellow farmers in the
\nrice fields. They tried to catch the green flies, which were tame
\nand easily taken.<\/p>\n
But farmers who caught the green flies immediately vomited
\nbecause of the odor. They cursed as they quickly let the flies
\ngo.<\/p>\n
"Damn flies, rotten flies," they pronounced.<\/p>\n
Children also tried to catch the green flies, but, strangely,
\nthey did not smell the stink. They played with the green flies.
\nIt seemed the flies did not smell bad to children.<\/p>\n
Adults followed children's behavior by catching the green
\nflies and playing with them. Surprisingly, the green flies no
\nlonger smelled bad because they were caught to play with, not to
\nbe killed.<\/p>\n
Then, everybody became absorbed in playing with green flies.
\nThey treated the green flies like doves by catching the flies and
\nthen releasing them and letting those insects fly in the air,
\naccompanied by their clapping and cheerful shouts.<\/p>\n
Women who did not play with green flies and were even not
\ninterested in catching the flies preferred to sit and watch TV,
\nwhich broadcast news from Jakarta. They could see the President
\nand Cabinet ministers playing with green flies in the front yard
\nof the State Palace as they clapped their hands cheerfully.<\/p>\n
Then the TV reported a House special session, which was full
\nof gaiety as all the participants applauded and laughed
\ncheerfully while watching a green fly as big as an ostrich
\nwearing a suit with a necktie and donning the national cap of the
\npeci as it delivered a speech from the speaker's platform.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the fly used animal language that could not be
\ntranslated into Indonesian or other human languages. Still,
\neverybody laughed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/green-flies-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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