Disinterested or lazy

Disinterested or lazy

I agree with G.S. Edwin (Sunday, March 9) that the phrase
"It's so easy" is not usually very constructive. However, in the
case of the Indonesian language, it is perfectly true. Any
foreigner who is still unable to hold a simple conversation in
Indonesian within six months of arriving must either be half-
witted, lazy, or plain disinterested. Or maybe all three.

I suspect that many expatriates, especially the ones who live
in a perpetual state of semi-paranoia in big villas behind barbed
wire fences in Pondok Indah and Kemang, and who count their maids
and their drivers as their closest Indonesian friends, fall into
the "disinterested" category. Why bother? After all, they're not
here to promote social awareness or make significant
contributions to the welfare of the people in whose country they
reside; they're here to bank their "hardship" allowances and live
like the kings they think they are.

What's the point in learning the local language? They rarely
come into contact with Indonesians anyway, except the plumber,
the electrician and the odd taxi driver. And if they do have the
occasional communication problem, they can always write a letter
to the newspaper implying how stupid the Indonesians are.

BEN DOWSON

Jakarta