Let locals be heard

After what Indonesia has had to endure these past two years, I've pretty much gotten used to the idea that many Western expatriates (especially fellow journalists) are merely sneering foreigners, whose written (or televised) observations on Indonesia are often little more than caricatures, even thinly veiled insults toward our education and life experiences. I've also gotten used to the irritation caused, whenever they invoke the term "nationalist", to dismiss our point of view, before even hearing us out.

Somehow, "talking back" to Westerners most often draws derogatory comments toward one's intellectual capacity as a child of 32 years of miseducation, rather than constructive dialog. I'm amazed at how many foreign journalists I meet who still retain the old colonial mentality of "saving the natives from themselves".

I'm happy whenever I meet or find one who shatters the stereotype of the pontificating visitor or the nagging guest. Of course, having more foreign friends than the average Indonesian, I understand how misleading generalizations can be. Being a Javanese (traditionally soft-spoken) who sometimes has to excuse myself to my (characteristically blunt) Australian friends for my often brutal frankness, I also know how racial and cultural stereotypes can sometimes be off the mark.

That said, I was genuinely moved by the letter sent by Ch. T. Sas (Ignored guest, Jan. 11, 2000) who complained of the unfair treatment he received after his horrendous ordeal at the hands of armed robbers. I admired Mr. Sas' courage (I am assuming the writer is a man?). His decision to stay and adopt a family shows how he transcends his horrid experience, which would have left others merely deeply embittered. Far from being a whining guest, Mr. Sas' letter sheds light on the great insensitivity of Indonesian institutions when it comes to individual lives.

Sadly, the points he addresses on Indonesia's bureaucratic hell also rings true for native Indonesians. All of us suffer from a systematic corruption of our institutions, where social services are often only a "business" for enterprising insiders. The private sector is no better either, with more scams passing as honest businesses than we should be comfortable with. With the democratic transition, hopefully corporate and bureaucratic profiteering (as well as other social ills, such as mob politics and organized violence) will soon be a thing of the past. But this will take time, of course. I hope Mr. Sas will find his father's country more hospitable in the years to come.

I've noticed a degree of social activism on the part of other members of the expatriate community here, and I hope to see their positive role in improving the daily lives of the average citizen, including in criticizing the old ways that definitely must go.

Foreigners have an edge in identifying these abuses, because we locals have mostly desensitized ourselves so much that we forget they should not happen. Meanwhile, native Indonesians also have an edge, in that we often have a unique, deeper insight and understanding of the issues. But in addressing problems and issues, expatriates and natives such as myself are bound to differ on the details. I only ask that we locals be afforded the same courtesy of being heard without being labeled.

NOVA ARDONO

Jakarta