Green Flies

Green Flies

By Maria Magdalena Bhoernomo

Green flies the size of ostriches swarmed around Mangga Dua
trading center in Jakarta, droning like the sound of planes.
"Look, giant flies," shouted someone in front of an electronics
shop, startling those around him.

Suddenly, everyone in the trading center smelled the stink,
like the fetid odor of a dead rat. Disgusting. Everybody pinched
their noses, but their eyes watched the meandering green flies,
which then flew off into the distance.

"Green flies as big as ostriches," a demonstrator shouted in
the middle of a group crowding the traffic circle in front of
Hotel Indonesia. The demonstrators stared at the giant flies
buzzing around the traffic circle but then their noses caught the
horrible smell.

They put their hands on their noses and their faces contorted,
showing their disgust. Unexpectedly, the green flies landed on
the street, causing a severe traffic jam.

All TV stations rushed to provide live broadcasts about the
green flies the size of ostriches at the Hotel Indonesia traffic
circle that had caused a traffic jam.

They interviewed economic, social and military observers about
the emergence of the giant flies. TV stations also broadcast the
comments of several members of the political elite and the
presidential spokesmen via telephone.

"The emergence of green flies is a signal from God that the
present government is rotten and needs replacement," said a
political observer.

"Putrefaction is found in all sectors, particularly the
economic sector. It is reasonable, therefore, that so many green
flies as big as ostriches have emerged," an economic observer
commented.

"It is now the time for such green flies to appear. It looks
strange as they are about the size of ostriches, but if we
observe horizontal conflicts in several areas that have claimed a
lot of victims, we should not be surprised by the presence of
those giant flies," intoned a social observer.

"They may come from conflict areas, where they have been
satisfied with food, which has made them very fat, as big as
ostriches. Their presence in Jakarta today may signal that
severe violence will break out in the capital city again in the
near future."

Even the military had their say.

"The presence of giant flies may be a warning joke from God as
the country is no longer peaceful today. There are murders
claiming a lot of victims, but no significant measures have been
taken. People have become accustomed to seeing dead bodies
everywhere."

"With the emergence of green flies, the President should
resign soon. God may have sent the green flies now roaming in
downtown Jakarta," said a member of the House of Representatives
(DPR).

"The political elite should be aware soon that our political
performance is repugnant or even loathsome, which has caused the
presence of green flies in Jakarta," added another House member.

"Therefore, they should end their political conflicts. Let the
president accomplish the tasks till the end of the tenure!"

"If the President refuses to withdraw from his position, I am
afraid the country will be under the domination of green flies,"
a member of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) remarked.

The presidential spokesman refused to accept the demand.

"The President will not act like a coward by withdrawing from
the presidency only because of the presence of green flies. The
President may even suspect that the emergence of green flies
results from a political conspiracy to topple him from power."

The direct broadcast of the presence of green flies in Jakarta
by all TV stations captivated the public. People gossiped with
each other about the giant flies.

"Those green flies are U.S. made. They bring dangerous
viruses. The stink following the emergence of those green flies
may come from a toxic gas or a chemical weapon that can damage
the nervous system of people who smell it," some surmised.

"Evil spirits sent by shaman have transformed themselves into
green flies to create traffic jams in Jakarta so as to prevent
students from launching demonstrations besieging the State
Palace," others said.

"Those green flies are only toys made by students and
intentionally spread around Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to
mock the political elite and the President, who are considered
depraved," yet others said.

All the gossip left the public confused. Some people believed
it but others regarded it as nonsense. Those who believed the
gossip revealed prejudices they considered logical, but those
regarding it all as ludicrous preferred to remain silent.

People watched TV images showing the DPR-MPR building and the
State Palace, which looked like dead carrion swarmed over by
millions of green flies.

Giant green flies also emerged in big cities like Bandung,
Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Jayapura,
Pontianak, Medan and Banda Aceh. Their number kept increasing,
accompanied by that awful odor, as if Indonesia had become a
decaying, rotten state.

"Green flies also devastate paddy fields all over Indonesia,"
newspaper headlines said. Farmers throughout Indonesia became
restless. They strived to eradicate green flies using
insecticide, but the insects were resistant.

"We must kill those green flies. Their flesh may be
delicious," shouted a farmer amid his fellow farmers in the
rice fields. They tried to catch the green flies, which were tame
and easily taken.

But farmers who caught the green flies immediately vomited
because of the odor. They cursed as they quickly let the flies
go.

"Damn flies, rotten flies," they pronounced.

Children also tried to catch the green flies, but, strangely,
they did not smell the stink. They played with the green flies.
It seemed the flies did not smell bad to children.

Adults followed children's behavior by catching the green
flies and playing with them. Surprisingly, the green flies no
longer smelled bad because they were caught to play with, not to
be killed.

Then, everybody became absorbed in playing with green flies.
They treated the green flies like doves by catching the flies and
then releasing them and letting those insects fly in the air,
accompanied by their clapping and cheerful shouts.

Women who did not play with green flies and were even not
interested in catching the flies preferred to sit and watch TV,
which broadcast news from Jakarta. They could see the President
and Cabinet ministers playing with green flies in the front yard
of the State Palace as they clapped their hands cheerfully.

Then the TV reported a House special session, which was full
of gaiety as all the participants applauded and laughed
cheerfully while watching a green fly as big as an ostrich
wearing a suit with a necktie and donning the national cap of the
peci as it delivered a speech from the speaker's platform.

Unfortunately, the fly used animal language that could not be
translated into Indonesian or other human languages. Still,
everybody laughed.