The depression of the 1930s

The depression of the 1930s

Present circumstances remind me of the great depression of the
1930s. My father, who had grandiose ideas, attempted to live
beyond his means.

I was a child of six attending the Dutch elementary school. I
lived in a boarding house with my brother in the city of Madiun
in East Java. My parents lived in a remote village, about 60
kilometers distant, with no electricity or mains water supply,
connected to civilization by a hard clay road with a gravel base
-- no tarmacadam in those days.

My father ran a thriving business, exporting gaplek (dried
cassava) as a winter feed for cattle in cold countries, or so I
thought.

My father bought a sedan and a truck for his business on hire
purchase. In those days, to own an American vehicle was very
prestigious indeed. The vehicles were to be paid off in
installments.

Everything went smoothly for one year, two more years of
payments remained. Then the great depression commenced, amid
beginnings which in many aspects were similar to the present
monetary crisis.

Then, one day, when my brother and I were going home from
school, accompanied by a chaperone, we happened to pass the
garage where my father bought the two vehicles. My father, who
was standing forlornly in front of the shop, beckoned us over and
explained, in a tearful voice, that he could no longer afford the
monthly installments and had forfeited both the sedan and the
truck.

I had never seen my father in such an emotional state as on
that unforgettable day. I believe that similar cases could be
caused by recent economic events. As a matter of fact, television
on Jan. 6 showed people pawning motorbikes, sedans and trucks in
government pawn shops.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta