Seeing the two faces of American people

James S. Kallman, Jakarta

It has taken several years and a tragedy on the other side of the world, but at last the true face of the American people has once more been shown in a very visible manner.

I was in the air on September 11, 2001, inbound for the USA, but in light of what had happened on the ground that morning we were diverted to Canada. When I did eventually reach my destination it was to find a very different America from the one in which I had grown up.

The sense of shock was obvious, but underlying this was a genuine sense of fear, for let it not be forgotten that the United States has no history of being under attack at home. The full horrors of two world wars and the countless smaller conflagrations of the 20th century had all taken part on foreign shores -- Hawaii not being a State of the Union at the time of Pearl Harbor.

So although many American lives had been lost, these had to a large degree been those prepared for military action and its consequences. This targeting of civilians was something entirely new, something that tragically happened elsewhere, but never in mainland America.

This loss of innocence on the part of the American public engendered a steely resolve not seen since Pearl Harbor. It was also accompanied by a backlash of anger, the anger associated by the infliction of a deep and grievous wound.

During numerous visits since, as the pain has subsided, I have seen the fear replaced by a wariness; though no slackening in resolve. And if the anger was not so obvious, it still festered at a lower level.

The cataclysmic events of the Dec. 26 however, saw the reappearance of the other face of America, the caring face of generosity.

Miami is my kampong and like anyone else I am a creature of habit, patronizing the places where the service has pleased through the years. Wherever I went, people would come up to me and say, "You live in Indonesia, don't you? I hope your family and staff are all safe. Our prayers are with you."

The latter is worthy of note, for although America is often depicted as being a "Land of Satan", nothing could be further from the truth. While there is total segregation of religion and state, the former not even being included on census forms for over 50 years, no country on earth has as much freedom of religious choice and over 86 percent of the population profess a religious belief. For the majority of these, religion is an integral part of their daily life and "our prayers are with you" means just that.

Yet it was not just the people that I met who were expressing such sentiments, for I was inundated with e-mails, some from people who I had not even seen for many years, but who had remembered me and taken the time to express their concern.

While this was a personal experience of the other face of America, which I always believed had never really gone away, it was more publicly shown by the way the American people swiftly moved to provide financial help for those nations who had been devastated by the effects of the tsunami.

In part this was a demonstration of common understanding for those that had suffered from a totally unexpected tragedy, but to a much larger degree it was a spontaneous outpouring of help for those in need by a people who have always been generous in helping those less fortunate.

As in other western countries, it was the people's efforts that set the agenda for official government aid. The people spoke and the government listened, which is the way democracy is supposed to work.

Important though raising money was, the most immediate need was for the rapid deployment of men and equipment to bring relief to stricken communities as swiftly as possible. Only one nation on earth had those resources so readily available and the American military responded to the call.

Heavy though the death toll has been, we will perhaps never know how many more lives have been saved thanks to efforts spearheaded by the American military in bringing supplies to totally inaccessible areas. For the military it is just a matter of getting the job done, yet for the people of Aceh it has been a personal and perhaps unexpected experience showing that America and the world truly cares about their plight.

While people in some lands might claim that the face of America has changed post Sept. 11 tragedy, the basic nature of the American people is too deeply ingrained to ever change.

Any perceptions to the contrary are due more to failures in American public diplomacy efforts to counter the picture painted by those who would vilify the United States.

Perhaps the sight of American troops in Aceh bringing help to those in need will paint a different portrait, one more in keeping with the true face of America. Certainly, the unreserved response of the American people and their armed forces to a tragedy halfway around the globe has once more made me feel proud to be an American.

The writer is President Director of Moores Rowland Indonesia.