Life in Irian Jaya
Life in Irian Jaya
On Nov. 14, 1994, I underwent a cataract operation. It seems
that cataracts are an unescapable illness for most old men, so
there was nothing special about such an operation. I spent one
night in the recovery room and, on this occasion, I made the
acquaintance of a husband and wife who occupied the same room.
This again is nothing special, but what the husband and wife told
me about life in Irian Jaya as the well-known Freeport (American)
company's employee is worth writing about.
The husband was admitted to the Eye-Center (name of hospital),
because during the performance of his duty, a grinding stone
suddenly got loose from its position and hit him in the eyes. One
eye was totally blinded and even the best ophthalmologists in
Australia and Indonesia could not save it. The other eye could
still be saved although when I came to know him, everything he
saw was blurred. Freeport Company was magnanimous enough to give
him the best possible treatment, even though he has to spend a
couple of weeks in an Australian Hospital. Needless to say that a
substantial amount has been spent for the patient.
When Freeport was first established a few decades ago, only
men were employed. I happen to know someone who worked as a truck
driver at that time. They lived a Spartan life and they were
indeed pioneers of the establishment. The hardships they endured
and the dangers the workers were exposed to, at a region a few
thousand meters above sea-level, were remarkable.
At present, Freeport has its own amusement facilities, schools
for even the children of foreign employees, because the employees
of this company consist of a melting pot of all races; most of
them engineers. Copper is what the company is looking for, and it
seems that the world needs a great deal of this mineral,
otherwise this company would not establish a modern city in such
a remote place at three to four thousand meters above sea level.
Food, including vegetables are in abundance although it must
have cost a lot of money to import from faraway places by plane.
The lodgings of the male workers are comfortable. In short, the
company takes great pains to see to it that their foreign, as
well as the local, employees are living comfortably. With the
establishment of Freeport company, new villages sprouted up which
were mostly created by people from Java, who are willing to
endure hardships where it is easier to earn extra money than in
Java.
As most of the workers are men, naturally the oldest
profession on earth came into existence to cater the libido of
the menfolk and the off-color tales that go with profession are
many and hilarious, but I do not think suitable for print.
A. DJUANA
Jakarta