Scotch mist at Highland Gathering?

Scotch mist at Highland Gathering?

The Highland Gathering at Lippo Karawaci was a high point for
me last week, until I noticed a lot of children outside the
grounds attempting to watch the event through a very high wire
fence. I left the grounds to see how the children and some
parents were experiencing the event.

Inside the grounds children, mostly of Western or mixed race
origin enjoyed themselves on the grease pole. This is a pole over
water where two children fight each other to stay on the pole.

Outside the grounds, groups of Indonesian children could just
about see the heads of the competitors, little more. A few boys
climbed to the top of the fence to watch the spectacle. The
reason the activity couldn't be observed by the children was the
presence of a banner with a company advertised on it. It occurred
to me that simply raising the banner would allow the children
outside to see the fun.

At the same time, outside of the Highland Gathering fence,
helicopters took mostly Western joyriders up into Jakarta's skies
for a bird's eye view of the event. The fee for this was Rp
200,000 per person for a five-minute flight. The pilot took off
with or without full seat occupancy. Children gathered on the
large grassy area to watch the takeoffs and landings of the
choppers.

Despite the fact that there is this large grassy area outside
of the festival grounds, nothing was provided for the local
children. They spent the day seeing, or attempting to see another
world, mostly the First world, having a great deal of fun.
Sunday's admission charge was Rp 20,000 for a child and Rp 30,000
for an adult: quite a fee for a local family. A sign at the
entrance announced that the money collected would go to charity.
Where does the charity begin?

I would like to encourage the organizers to think about local
families and how they can be included in future events rather
than leaving them feeling that they live in another world.

DES PRICE

Jakarta