E. Timor and food shortage

E. Timor and food shortage

Dino Patti Djalal had the kernel of an excellent story in his
piece about East Timor False alarm over alleged starvation in
Atauro published March 6, 1998. Unfortunately, his own prejudices
appeared to have got in the way of his powers of observation and
deduction.

Indeed, the east of Indonesia, including East and West Timor,
is in the grip of an extremely severe drought brought on by a
protracted El Nino effect. What Dino failed to mention is that
the El Nino is combined with the Southern Oscillation (ENSO),
which brings sporadic light rain every 30 to 40 days. This tragic
climatic tease tempts farmers to borrow money for seed and to
plant, only to have the crop wither in the ground. It also means
that we can talk about a green famine because from the air the
land indeed looks green (maybe Dino should have forgone the
invitation of his good friends in the military and taken the sea
and land route). Grass sprouts and seedlings make a verdant
carpet, seducing observers into thinking that all is well.

However, if he had talked to farmers instead of to his friends
in equally resplendent green, he would have found out that like
their brothers and sisters in large areas of East Nusa Tenggara
and West Nusa Tenggara, this is the second and third crop they
have planted. Earlier crops failed due to lack of rain. A large
number of people are in debt to money lenders and to bodies such
as Koperasi ABRI (Armed Forces Cooperatives) for seed.
Consequently, many communities have no food in storage and
harvest is still two months away. Chats to the Ministry of
Agriculture would reveal that good rains may not come until April
(if they come at all).

Chats with local project leaders would have told him that yes
there is food but wages are so low that people cannot afford to
buy it. While food aid may be a highly visible form of aid, cash
for work is a more essential form of assistance. Local economies
are fragile and need to be sustained. In Flores a few weeks ago,
the daily wage was Rp 3,500. Rice was Rp 1,600 per kilogram and a
bunch of beans Rp 2,000. A worker from a government hotel wrote
to us and told us that since the Chinese shops had been burned,
there were no distribution points for food, no jobs for the local
Indonesians. We met Chinese merchants that were selling rice at a
loss in order to keep the community fed. Their shops have been
burned.

A polemic like Dino's, which is colored by bias (of which he
accuses others), and by fact and careful investigation, does
little to add to the debate or to the development of solutions.
The situation is serious and needs to be viewed through clear
eyes.

He is right to say that the issue is not food, but he does not
identify the problem, which is poverty. People throughout the
region cannot afford to buy the food that is available in those
shops that still stand. The government is doing its best, but it
cannot keep up with the size and dimensions of the demand. There
is no agency that is set up for large-scale relief nor adequate
coordination of efforts -- mainly because of misinformation. One
can also be concerned at the well-being of the 15 or more
battalions stationed in East Timor. One wonders how they can be
effective guardians of the integration if they too are hungry.

MELODY KEMP

Ubud, Bali