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