Misfortune never comes alone<\/p>\n
During my spare time, I muse over the past, present and future
\nof our daily life. In the pre-July 1997 era, it seems to me that
\nlife was good, everything was plain sailing. Then came the
\ndebacle of the exchange value of the rupiah against the U.S.
\ndollar. The rate before July 1997 was approximately Rp 2,500.
\nSuddenly it began to slide, until it touched its historic low of
\nRp 17,000, according to newspaper reports.<\/p>\n
I believe that nobody has the right answer as to why this
\nhappened. I have read one of Uncle Sam's magazines stating that
\nit is relatively easy to devalue a country's currency by, for
\nexample, 70 percent. But when I wrote to the magazine asking how
\nto do that, the reply was a deafening silence. No wonder that the
\nprime minister of our neighboring country accused a fabulously
\nrich tycoon in Uncle Sam's country of masterminding the downfall
\nof Asian economies.<\/p>\n
It reminded me of the New York Stock Exchange debacle in the
\n1930s which became the harbinger of the Depression, when I was 5
\nyears old.<\/p>\n
In the current case, the rupiah's depreciation against the
\ndollar has had far reaching effects -- a domino effect. For
\nexample, imported raw materials are five to six times their old
\nprices, which has resulted in lay offs because the finished
\nproduct prices are automatically five to six more.<\/p>\n
Then came El Nino, causing a protracted drought in Indonesia,
\nwhich resulted in crop failures, compelling Indonesia to import
\nmillions of tons of rice from neighboring countries. To make
\nmatters worse, forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra raged for
\nseveral months, which made neighboring countries' daily life
\nmiserable because of the haze. Then came dengue fever, which made
\nhospitals very busy. In Lampung (South Sumatra) out of nowhere,
\nmillions of locusts devoured everything green in the fields. In
\nIrian Jaya, about 600 people died of starvation.<\/p>\n
All these occurrences have caused the prices of the nine basic
\ncommodities to skyrocket, making the life of wong cilik (little
\nmen) miserable and frustrating. And to make the cup of bitterness
\noverflow, mobs went on a rampage (apparently to vent their
\nfrustration), setting fire to stores, homes and vehicles and
\nlooting shopping centers, which resulted in billions of rupiah of
\ndamage and more than 500 people became lumps of charcoal. The
\nabove is about the past and present.<\/p>\n
What about the future? People demand reform in all sectors and
\na general elections is a \"must\" and a drop of prices for sembako
\n(the nine basic commodities) is also a \"must\".<\/p>\n
Bisnis Indonesia reported last week that about one million
\npeople gathered in Surabaya to pray for forgiveness from the
\nAlmighty for our wrongdoings and to pray that He will save us
\nfrom our present miseries. A praiseworthy deed.<\/p>\n
About 40 years ago, when I paid for English lessons costing
\none-fourth of my salary, I learned, among other things, poems by
\nAmerican poets, one which I hereby recite: Life is hard, life is
\nbut an empty dream... for the soul is dead that slumbers and
\nlife is not what it seems... (Longfellow).<\/p>\n
A. DJUANA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/misfortune-never-comes-alone-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }