Tanya: Behind the natural beauty of Banda
Tanya: Behind the natural beauty of Banda
By Mehru Jaffer
JAKARTA (JP): Once upon a time England swapped with the Dutch
its claim to Banda in return for Manhattan, the island at the
heart of New York City and todays magnet for all the world's
money.
According to A Short History of British Expansion by James A.
Williamson, England gave up the claim to Pulau Run (Banda) in
1667. In return the Dutch yielded New Amsterdam (Manhattan), New
Jersey and the Delaware estuary to the English, thus retiring
completely from the North American Continent.
More recently it was the turn of 38 year old Tanya Marinka
Alwi to turn her back on Manhattan and swap a life in the USA for
her original home in Banda, one of the loveliest and most serene
of the Maluku islands.
And now that she is here under a canopy of blue skies and
immersed in the crystalline seas, she wonders how she survived
for so long without the island's beauty, its haunting history and
above all the wonderful people of her community.
Born in Singapore while her father Des Alwi, head of Banda's
first family was in self-exile, Tanya spent her childhood mostly
in Malaysia and graduated in film making from the San Francisco
Art Institute, University of California at Berkeley. In New York
she worked with several film production companies where she found
it difficult to get along with most producers and directors.
"I decided to have a good time instead. And I was having the
time of my life when I was asked to return home immediately. In
fact my family had to bribe me to come back to Indonesia," she
recalls. That was more than a decade ago.
By this time her father had returned to Banda and wanted the
family to be together once again on the island.
Des was introduced to the freedom struggle as an eight year
old by none other than Sutan Sjahrir and Mohammad Hatta when the
two founding fathers were exiled to Banda as political prisoners
by the Dutch in the 1930s.
About six years later Des united with Sjahrir, his foster
father and mentor, in Jakarta and was at the first meeting
between Sukarno, Hatta, Sjahrir and Dr. Tjipto Mangunkusumo in
August 1942. After having acted as an underground broadcaster
during the freedom struggle he was sent to study in London.
However, soon after independence, Des became increasingly
disillusioned with the policies of Sukarno and defected from the
Foreign Ministry when he was Indonesian Press Attache in Manila.
He fled first to Hong Kong and then to Malaysia where he acted as
official spokesman for the anti-Sukarno Permesta rebellion in the
early 1960s.
After nearly three decades, he finally returned to Banda to
find that the island was badly bombed during the war and reduced
to rubble. He decided to stay on and rebuild its colonial forts
and buildings and restore some of the island's lost glory.
Inspired by her father's love for the island and his untiring
efforts to improve the welfare of the people, Tanya too has made
it a full time job. Taking as much care as possible of a home
that she nearly lost.
Two years ago she set up PT Eco Bumi Nusantara with the aim of
creating a clean environment, and serving as a bridge between the
government and the public for the exchange of information on
environmental matters. She is working on a coastal and marine
resources book and website, and as co-founder and vice chairwoman
of The Banda Cultural and Heritage Foundation she has already
organized several seminars on marine conservation, workshops for
coral reef scientists and published books on the island that was
once the world's only source of the aromatic nutmeg seed wrapped
in a lace of ruby red mace.
However, at the moment, her most passionate plea is to see
that the Banda islands get the national nomination as one of
Unesco's World Heritage sites.
Tanya recently spoke to The Jakarta Post at length about
herself and her dreams for the conservation of not just the
natural and cultural heritage of Banda but of all Indonesia, a
country that is home to some of the natural world's most
spectacular creations.
Excerpts from the interview:
Question: What is so great about Banda?
Answer: The peace and beauty of the islands is unimaginable.
The hospitality and friendliness legendary. I have seen ten
children in my village sharing two cookies between themselves.
The island is a historic relic of forts and spice groves and
its waters yet another paradise of life in the world under. The
people are a joyful and colorful mixture of Malays, Papuans,
Europeans, Chinese, Bugis and Arab merchants from around the
world. The smoke houses where the spices were first dried and
then piled up for sale are still there. It is all very romantic.
Banda has always been great. Way back from 200 years before
Christ the Chinese from the early Han dynasty came here in search
of spices. Then the Spanish and Portuguese arrived in the 15th
century and later the Dutch.
Coral reef scientists tell me that the coastal and marine
habitats here are among the most productive and species rich on
earth.
At least 48 different types of marine ecosystems have been
classified. Indonesia's reefs, representing one-eighth of the
world total, are inhabited by a staggering 2,500 species of
dazzlingly colored fish and more than 400 species of stony
corals, making the region a very precious place of marine
biodiversity.
Q: What is the problem?
A: Nearly half of the coral reefs in Indonesia are under threat.
Millions of people live in the coastal areas of the country and
depend on resources from the sea. With the economic boom these
areas are being ruined. The waters are ravaged by pollution and
increased sedimentation from forests that are mercilessly logged.
Worst of all tons of cyanide are dumped on the reefs to stun
large reef fish for export. Traditional fishermen are now fishing
with dynamite as well. Soon all this depletion of natural
resources will have a terrible impact not just on Indonesians but
on the whole world. The thought of it is painful. I would like to
see the import of cyanide banned and we are lobbying very hard to
create public awareness amongst farmers and fishermen that it is
suicide to cut down all the forests and destroy life under the
sea.
Q: How are you working on this colossal problem?
A: By holding seminars and workshops we hope to keep the world's
eye on Banda. One of my first jobs in the field was as marine
conservation consultant with the WWF. I work very closely with
experts in environmental protection. I have no degrees in the
subject. But I am good with people, at public relations. Sarah
Ferguson and Mick Jagger amongst others have come over for
diving. Mike Chand, the English travel writer is a friend.
I encourage people to visit Banda and to write and photograph
the beauty of the island and to talk about it to the rest of the
world. In their own way, all these friends have been a source of
great strength to us during the recent trouble on the islands.
I organized a photo and painting exhibition called Kalimantan
on Fire in 1998 during the terrible forest fires that blazed here
due to the indiscriminate logging.
As someone who wants to revive the adat practices and
strengthen self sufficiency amongst the islanders our foundation
tries to send at least half a dozen high school graduates for
higher education and training from Banda to Jakarta every year.
Q: What do you say to the youngsters who are training themselves
in Java in preparation for a holy war against the Christians in
the Maluku islands?
A: That it is all quite there now and there is no need to go
there to fight. My mother was a Christian from Manado so I can
feel for both communities. When my mother died in 1983 my father,
a Muslim, gave her a Christian burial. We might practice two
religions but we are still one people with a common language and
culture. My message to both communities is: "Please do not be so
angry, so violent. There is no need to kill each other".
Q: But when you laugh and joke so much how do you get people to
take you seriously?
A: Let us say that my sunny personality helps me to keep all
doors open. Or better still, kick all doors open. I think it is
to my advantage that I do not have a threatening attitude when I
approach people. I feel that approaching people non-offensively,
giving them the benefit of the doubt makes people relax and
everyone is more willing to help.
Of course there are many who do not take me seriously but they
do not matter in my life.
Q: You are not exactly what an Indonesian woman is supposed to
be...?
A: I have always been a tomboy. Loud and playful. In fact at one
stage in my life my family threatened to send me to Japan to
learn the art of being feminine. At the age of about 25 years I
felt bad about the way I was; but no longer. Now I am very
comfortable with the way I am.
Q: Your great grandfather was the king of pearls but you don't
fit into the classical description of a princess, do you?
A: I have the airs of a princess. I have charm. People like me
and I love people. Networking with people is what I am best at.
Even though this is not a very well paid job.
By the way my father is no ruler or raja. He is a
democratically elected leader of seven villages in charge of
preserving the adat that includes the building of the warrior
ship kora-kora, the dances and other customs.
Q: If your job is not well paid how do you pay your bills?
A: I don't (laughs). Let us say that I am not rich but I am able
to manage. I work on projects and often get paid in dollars. I
have produced a series of coral reef films in Banda, Ternate and
Kepulauan Seribu and collaborated on productions for the BBC,
PBS, NHK, ABC and ITV.
I was production manager for Longest Chain of Islands in the
World, a Zebra production for BBC Natural, and public relations
person for Where Two Worlds Collide, a Tigress film production
that has just finished filming Julia Roberts with the Orang Utans
in Kalimantan.
Q: What about the personal side of you, marriage...?
A: I prefer to flirt; I have the whole Indonesian Navy, the
entire ministry of marine exploration and fisheries. Actually the
person I wanted to marry is wedded to his work. I found that out
only recently.
So I have little choice but to go on treating the children of
my brothers as my own and to continue working to preserve and
conserve for the future generation everything in this world that
has given me so much personal joy.
By Mehru Jaffer
JAKARTA (JP): Once upon a time England swapped with the Dutch
its claim to Banda in return for Manhattan, the island at the
heart of New York City and todays magnet for all the world's
money.
According to A Short History of British Expansion by James A.
Williamson, England gave up the claim to Pulau Run (Banda) in
1667. In return the Dutch yielded New Amsterdam (Manhattan), New
Jersey and the Delaware estuary to the English, thus retiring
completely from the North American Continent.
More recently it was the turn of 38 year old Tanya Marinka
Alwi to turn her back on Manhattan and swap a life in the USA for
her original home in Banda, one of the loveliest and most serene
of the Maluku islands.
And now that she is here under a canopy of blue skies and
immersed in the crystalline seas, she wonders how she survived
for so long without the island's beauty, its haunting history and
above all the wonderful people of her community.
Born in Singapore while her father Des Alwi, head of Banda's
first family was in self-exile, Tanya spent her childhood mostly
in Malaysia and graduated in film making from the San Francisco
Art Institute, University of California at Berkeley. In New York
she worked with several film production companies where she found
it difficult to get along with most producers and directors.
"I decided to have a good time instead. And I was having the
time of my life when I was asked to return home immediately. In
fact my family had to bribe me to come back to Indonesia," she
recalls. That was more than a decade ago.
By this time her father had returned to Banda and wanted the
family to be together once again on the island.
Des was introduced to the freedom struggle as an eight year
old by none other than Sutan Sjahrir and Mohammad Hatta when the
two founding fathers were exiled to Banda as political prisoners
by the Dutch in the 1930s.
About six years later Des united with Sjahrir, his foster
father and mentor, in Jakarta and was at the first meeting
between Sukarno, Hatta, Sjahrir and Dr. Tjipto Mangunkusumo in
August 1942. After having acted as an underground broadcaster
during the freedom struggle he was sent to study in London.
However, soon after independence, Des became increasingly
disillusioned with the policies of Sukarno and defected from the
Foreign Ministry when he was Indonesian Press Attache in Manila.
He fled first to Hong Kong and then to Malaysia where he acted as
official spokesman for the anti-Sukarno Permesta rebellion in the
early 1960s.
After nearly three decades, he finally returned to Banda to
find that the island was badly bombed during the war and reduced
to rubble. He decided to stay on and rebuild its colonial forts
and buildings and restore some of the island's lost glory.
Inspired by her father's love for the island and his untiring
efforts to improve the welfare of the people, Tanya too has made
it a full time job. Taking as much care as possible of a home
that she nearly lost.
Two years ago she set up PT Eco Bumi Nusantara with the aim of
creating a clean environment, and serving as a bridge between the
government and the public for the exchange of information on
environmental matters. She is working on a coastal and marine
resources book and website, and as co-founder and vice chairwoman
of The Banda Cultural and Heritage Foundation she has already
organized several seminars on marine conservation, workshops for
coral reef scientists and published books on the island that was
once the world's only source of the aromatic nutmeg seed wrapped
in a lace of ruby red mace.
However, at the moment, her most passionate plea is to see
that the Banda islands get the national nomination as one of
Unesco's World Heritage sites.
Tanya recently spoke to The Jakarta Post at length about
herself and her dreams for the conservation of not just the
natural and cultural heritage of Banda but of all Indonesia, a
country that is home to some of the natural world's most
spectacular creations.
Excerpts from the interview:
Question: What is so great about Banda?
Answer: The peace and beauty of the islands is unimaginable.
The hospitality and friendliness legendary. I have seen ten
children in my village sharing two cookies between themselves.
The island is a historic relic of forts and spice groves and
its waters yet another paradise of life in the world under. The
people are a joyful and colorful mixture of Malays, Papuans,
Europeans, Chinese, Bugis and Arab merchants from around the
world. The smoke houses where the spices were first dried and
then piled up for sale are still there. It is all very romantic.
Banda has always been great. Way back from 200 years before
Christ the Chinese from the early Han dynasty came here in search
of spices. Then the Spanish and Portuguese arrived in the 15th
century and later the Dutch.
Coral reef scientists tell me that the coastal and marine
habitats here are among the most productive and species rich on
earth.
At least 48 different types of marine ecosystems have been
classified. Indonesia's reefs, representing one-eighth of the
world total, are inhabited by a staggering 2,500 species of
dazzlingly colored fish and more than 400 species of stony
corals, making the region a very precious place of marine
biodiversity.
Q: What is the problem?
A: Nearly half of the coral reefs in Indonesia are under threat.
Millions of people live in the coastal areas of the country and
depend on resources from the sea. With the economic boom these
areas are being ruined. The waters are ravaged by pollution and
increased sedimentation from forests that are mercilessly logged.
Worst of all tons of cyanide are dumped on the reefs to stun
large reef fish for export. Traditional fishermen are now fishing
with dynamite as well. Soon all this depletion of natural
resources will have a terrible impact not just on Indonesians but
on the whole world. The thought of it is painful. I would like to
see the import of cyanide banned and we are lobbying very hard to
create public awareness amongst farmers and fishermen that it is
suicide to cut down all the forests and destroy life under the
sea.
Q: How are you working on this colossal problem?
A: By holding seminars and workshops we hope to keep the world's
eye on Banda. One of my first jobs in the field was as marine
conservation consultant with the WWF. I work very closely with
experts in environmental protection. I have no degrees in the
subject. But I am good with people, at public relations. Sarah
Ferguson and Mick Jagger amongst others have come over for
diving. Mike Chand, the English travel writer is a friend.
I encourage people to visit Banda and to write and photograph
the beauty of the island and to talk about it to the rest of the
world. In their own way, all these friends have been a source of
great strength to us during the recent trouble on the islands.
I organized a photo and painting exhibition called Kalimantan
on Fire in 1998 during the terrible forest fires that blazed here
due to the indiscriminate logging.
As someone who wants to revive the adat practices and
strengthen self sufficiency amongst the islanders our foundation
tries to send at least half a dozen high school graduates for
higher education and training from Banda to Jakarta every year.
Q: What do you say to the youngsters who are training themselves
in Java in preparation for a holy war against the Christians in
the Maluku islands?
A: That it is all quite there now and there is no need to go
there to fight. My mother was a Christian from Manado so I can
feel for both communities. When my mother died in 1983 my father,
a Muslim, gave her a Christian burial. We might practice two
religions but we are still one people with a common language and
culture. My message to both communities is: "Please do not be so
angry, so violent. There is no need to kill each other".
Q: But when you laugh and joke so much how do you get people to
take you seriously?
A: Let us say that my sunny personality helps me to keep all
doors open. Or better still, kick all doors open. I think it is
to my advantage that I do not have a threatening attitude when I
approach people. I feel that approaching people non-offensively,
giving them the benefit of the doubt makes people relax and
everyone is more willing to help.
Of course there are many who do not take me seriously but they
do not matter in my life.
Q: You are not exactly what an Indonesian woman is supposed to
be...?
A: I have always been a tomboy. Loud and playful. In fact at one
stage in my life my family threatened to send me to Japan to
learn the art of being feminine. At the age of about 25 years I
felt bad about the way I was; but no longer. Now I am very
comfortable with the way I am.
Q: Your great grandfather was the king of pearls but you don't
fit into the classical description of a princess, do you?
A: I have the airs of a princess. I have charm. People like me
and I love people. Networking with people is what I am best at.
Even though this is not a very well paid job.
By the way my father is no ruler or raja. He is a
democratically elected leader of seven villages in charge of
preserving the adat that includes the building of the warrior
ship kora-kora, the dances and other customs.
Q: If your job is not well paid how do you pay your bills?
A: I don't (laughs). Let us say that I am not rich but I am able
to manage. I work on projects and often get paid in dollars. I
have produced a series of coral reef films in Banda, Ternate and
Kepulauan Seribu and collaborated on productions for the BBC,
PBS, NHK, ABC and ITV.
I was production manager for Longest Chain of Islands in the
World, a Zebra production for BBC Natural, and public relations
person for Where Two Worlds Collide, a Tigress film production
that has just finished filming Julia Roberts with the Orang Utans
in Kalimantan.
Q: What about the personal side of you, marriage...?
A: I prefer to flirt; I have the whole Indonesian Navy, the
entire ministry of marine exploration and fisheries. Actually the
person I wanted to marry is wedded to his work. I found that out
only recently.
So I have little choice but to go on treating the children of
my brothers as my own and to continue working to preserve and
conserve for the future generation everything in this world that
has given me so much personal joy.