Expats in Indonesia

I believe that as expatriates, and therefore guests of this country, we shouldn't complain always and about everything. I'm not saying that in Indonesia everything goes right, but that isn't a good reason for going too far with criticism.

Sometimes this column looks like the revised edition of the biblical "Lamentations of Jeremiah". Someone complains about the inefficiencies of Indonesian airlines, without wondering, for example, how uneasy a foreigner, in our respective countries, could feel during airport wildcat strikes.

Someone wails over the management and prices of Jakarta's duty-free shops (where he can get whatever he likes), without wondering what would happen if an Indonesian citizen, living in Rome, London, New York, etc., fancied some mie, abon or durian. There is also someone who grumbles about his neighbor's behavior without wondering if the problems are due to his own way of living, perhaps too different from his neighbor's...and I could go on giving examples by the dozens.

PIERO RONCI

Jakarta