NTT village subdued on Aug. 17 gala

NTT village subdued on Aug. 17 gala

Jemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kabuka

Preparations are being made nationwide as Indonesia's 60th
Independence Day on August 17 draws near, with many people
beginning to erect flags and banners in front of their homes.
However, the annual festivities have little resonance in Kabuka
hamlet, Kupang regency, a remote area on the border between
Indonesia and East Timor.

In this area, some 200 kilometers north of Kupang, the capital
of East Nusa Tenggara province, there is no sign that the
celebration will be celebrated. No flags or banners are to be
seen on the streets, and no sports competitions will be staged
ahead of Independence Day.

The subdued mood is attributed to the remoteness of the area,
which is located far away from Kupang, while the roads leading to
it are so badly damaged that it can only be reached by
motorcycle, and not by car.

The hamlet borders on Oecusi district in the neighboring
country of East Timor. It has a population of some 200 people,
whose homes are round in shape. The houses are made of wood, and
it is common for the people to house their cattle inside their
homes, leading to an unhealthy lifestyle. Each house is some 10
square meters in length. Electricity has not reached the area so
the people use oil lamps.

The population rarely have contact with people from other
areas. When The Jakarta Post came the area, both adults and
children stared in curiosity.

Most of them do not wear shoes or sandals, and their clothes
are dirty. Mucus was hanging from the noses of many of the
children.

There are no radios or TVs in the hamlet so that the people
there are completely cut off from what is happening in the world
around them. They spend their days tending their cattle or
tilling the land in their bare feet.

Some people cannot count. Sem Tanesib, 36, a resident, said
that he was 21. However, when the Post asked him when was he
born, he said "I was born in 1969."

Sem, a farmer, did not know who was the Kupang Regent, East
Nusa Tenggara governor or even the president of this country.
When asked who the Indonesian president is, some residents
answered that Soeharto was the Indonesian president.

Others, like Philipus Naif, 69, even answered that the
Indonesian president was Piet Tallo, who is in fact the current
governor of East Nusa Tenggara province.

The hamlet is truly isolated. For those who wish to visit the
area, they have to cross 156 unbridged dry rivers and pass
through the mountains.

Given the remoteness of the area, it seems to have been
forgotten by the government. Development never reaches the
hamlet, leading to rampant poverty in the area.

This sad situation is one of many ironies in this country,
which will celebrate its 60th independence anniversary next week.
It should send a signal to the country's leaders that although
independence has been formally established and celebrated for 60
years, many people are still weighed down by the chains of
poverty.