On expatriates

I infer our "mystery writer" is Ms. Sylvia Gill. I will gladly answer her letters. Expatriates are not nomads running away from recessions. They are subject to the law of supply and demand. It is a small floating population covering gaps here and there. For example: If there is a demand for skilled workers abroad, Indonesians will go out as expatriates to fill it.

"According to the latest Ministry of Manpower report, until March 1996, Indonesia had sent 950,000 workers abroad" (The Jakarta Post, May 31, 1996). Conversely, if Indonesia's insurance, energy, hotel or telecoms sectors grow faster than the supply of specialists in these fields, expatriates temporarily fill this vacuum.

As an answer to Ms. Gill first letter I have to inform her that Brazilians are welcome to Indonesia without a visa. Second, I faced strict rules to get a working visa by the same reason people climb the Himalayas: Just because they are there.

OSVALDO COELHO

Bandung, West Java