Photographs bring RI and Australia together

Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne, Australia

At a time when the relationship between Indonesia and Australia is still riding on the surf rather than cruising on solid ground, there is nothing like looking at photographs beaming messages of friendship based on goodwill and mutual learning, spanning over 50 years, to bring back some sense of stability.

Nothing in the photographs or the stories behind them indicates bad faith, exploitation or resentment, not even implied.

The photographic exhibition, titled Australian Volunteers & Indonesian Communities: 50 Years of Partnership and housed in the Sydney Myer Asia Center of the University of Melbourne, was launched on May 23, and opened for public viewing the following day for two weeks.

The pictures are silent witnesses to various situations. Some show serious moments where learning is taking place: Indonesian students learning specific skills as well as Australian volunteers learning the real-life know-how of living in a place where the environment and culture are completely different from their own homeland.

Others are nostalgically cute and touching, such as that in which the four-year-old child of an Australian volunteer couple walks nonchalantly into the water followed by two bigger Indonesian boys who seem overcome with curiosity about where the little boy is leading them.

Then there is one of camaraderie and bonding where volunteer English teacher, Betty Feith, helps her Indonesian friend and interpreter Djaelani unfurl an Indonesian flag to hang up on Independence Day in 1954.

The organization known now as Australian Volunteers International indeed began its life in Indonesia, and has been one of the more solid testimonies to Australia's unfailing yet unassuming friendship for Indonesia.

The genesis of this volunteer program goes back to 1950, to an international student conference in Bombay, India, to be precise.

Having heard of the new nation's great need for education, the Australian delegation felt challenged to share their skills, working in Indonesia for the same rates of pay as their Indonesian colleagues.

The late Herb Feith, a leading Indonesianist and a member of a committee later founded at the University of Melbourne, became the first volunteer when he sailed to Jakarta in 1951 to work as a translator with the Ministry of Information.

Over the last 50 years, some 400 volunteers have worked in Indonesia in more than 70 professions and vocations and in as far-flung places as Jakarta, Ende, Palembang, Padang, Banda Aceh, Banjarmasin, Tondano, Maumere, Tual, Kendari, and many more.

In interviews, Herb Feith often emphasized that what had motivated him was his "curiosity", his desire to learn and experience first-hand the cultures, lifestyles and values of the diverse populations of the newly independent Indonesia.

In his remarks at the 50th anniversary celebration for Australian Volunteers International held in Jakarta last November, he expressed his desire to break the mold of Western parochialism, also known as first-world parochialism.

Peter Britton, a senior manager at Australian Volunteers International, in his article in Inside Indonesia, wrote of his belief that what motivated a volunteer was a complex mixture of factors, altruism and self-interest among others. Indeed many former volunteers have gone on to influential positions in various fields in Australia.

Looking around the room at the launch of the exhibition, it was reassuring to see some of the people in the photographs walk around in real-life, albeit somewhat more mature and maybe older.

And talking and reminiscing with them were some Indonesians whom had worked with them in various parts of Indonesia during their time as volunteers.

Political storms may toss the relationship between the two countries about, but these friendships between real people will always be the mainstay.