Travel warning shadows student exchange

Travel warning shadows student exchange

Prapti Widinugraheni, Contributor, Perth, Australia

The hope of creating lifelong friends across cultural and racial
divides is diminishing for young Australians as politics and
security come between them and Indonesia.

For the second consecutive year, Australian youths were taken
out of the equation in the annual Australia-Indonesia Youth
Exchange Program (AIYEP), because of their government's warning
against travel to Indonesia following the 2002 Bali bombing.

A former Australian participant considered this a great loss,
as the experience of living with Indonesian host families and
interacting intensively with fellow participants for two months
was the greatest experience he gained from the program.

"The bond I created with my Indonesian counterparts was really
strong... I think it sucks, it really sucks that Australians
can't go," said Liam Prince, 23, over the weekend.

Liam, who speaks flawless Bahasa Indonesia, was one of 18
young Australians who participated in the 2001-2002 program,
living for two months at the home of a South Lampung family. He
still stays in touch with his Indonesian friends.

Founded in 1981, the exchange program each year involves 18
Australians and 18 Indonesians between the ages of 20 and 25.

In Australia, the exchange program is organized and funded by
the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) at the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade. In Indonesia, it is organized by the
Ministry of National Education in Jakarta.

The AII budget for youth and educational programs, which
includes the exchange program, dropped significantly after the
October 12, 2002 Bali bombings.

In 2000-2001, youth and educational programs received 46.27
percent of the AII budget and in 2001-2002, 43.9 percent. But in
2002-2003, priorities shifted and the budget allocated to youth
and educational programs fell to a mere 22.7 percent. Meanwhile,
newly introduced interreligious programs that made up 4.1 percent
of the 2001-2002 budget jumped to 16.9 percent in 2002-2003.

Maurice Sawyer, the exchange program's local coordinator, said
as long as the travel warning was in place, Australians would
most likely refrain from participating in the program.

"There's not much we can do about it. We just have to hope it
gets lifted," he said in Indonesian.

According to the AII, the exchange program was designed to
enable Indonesian and Australian youths to appreciate each
others' cultures and lifestyles.

Under the program, Australian participants are paired off with
Indonesians upon their arrival here, and each pair lives with a
host family, spending one month in a rural setting and one month
in an urban setting.

During their stay in a rural area, the participants are
involved in community work and social activities; while in the
city, they gain work experience -- preferably in their chosen
fields of study or expertise.

For the rest of the time, participants spend time interacting
with each other.

"I'd meet the others every day because houses and villages
were all quite close to each other," said Liam, explaining how
ties among group members became very close.

In turn, Indonesian participants fly to Australia for a
similar two-month experience with Australian host families.

But this year, like last year, Indonesian participants are
doing it on their own, thanks to the Australian government's
travel warnings.

Thea, 23, a participant from East Java, said her month-long
stay in Palembang, the Indonesian province chosen to host this
year's program, was uneventful with no Australian counterpart to
share in the fun.

"Well, you know, we just lived in the village," she said in an
offhand manner when asked about her rural experience.

Thea was speaking over the weekend at a barbecue lunch hosted
by the Westralian Indonesian Language Teachers' Association in
Perth. It was her third barbecue in the three weeks she had been
in Perth.

"It's a good way to escape the heat indoors," she said.

Perth was chosen as the urban Australian venue for this year's
program and Geraldton, a town 450 km to the north of Perth was
the rural venue.

Maurice said the 18 participants came from 16 provinces,
giving the group a good ethnic mix.

Apart from experiencing an Australian way of life, the
participants were also expected to be ambassadors for Indonesia
-- meaning they were expected to conduct cultural performances
for of Australian audiences.

Thus, every Monday since their arrival, the Indonesian group
has been visiting schools and various institutions to perform
traditional dances. The highest in demand, said Thea, were the
Acehnese ensemble dances.

"We had intensive dancing lessons during the briefing period
in Indonesia, so we're all pretty good dancers now," she said.
For the rest of the week, the participants worked at institutions
in the field of their choice.

Maurice said he had managed to get all the participants their
first choices.

"It wasn't always easy getting work placements. Sometimes, I'd
have to call 30 times asking for a placement before they'd
finally give me one -- just to get rid of me!" he said.

Ridwan, 23, from Central Kalimantan, worked at the agriculture
ministry and had a chance to attend a seminar during his stint.

"The minister of agriculture was so laid back. In Indonesia, a
minister would be treated like royalty, but here he's just like
everyone else," he said.

None of the participants became homesick. In fact, Thea said,
the group seemed to be seeing too much of each other, and it
didn't help that they kept running into Indonesian students on
the streets.

"There's not enough interaction with Australians," she
lamented.

They said they had good times with their host families, who
were generally attentive and happy to include them in family
activities, especially on weekends.

Maurice said most of the host families were very protective of
the participants, especially female participants wearing the
jilbab, or Muslim head scarf.

"The only times the hosts have ever called me were when they
got worried that their guests weren't home on time, or when their
guests stayed out late without permission," he said.

Yuyun, 24, from Bengkulu, said her hosts drove her to work
almost every day, even though public transport was easily
available.

"I don't know why. They're just really nice people," said
Yuyun, who wears a jilbab and works here as a kindergarten
teacher.

When they return to Indonesia, the participants will be going
back to their daily grind. For most of them, this would be the
task of finishing university.

Wawan, 25, a participant from Central Sulawesi who studies
English at Tadulako University's School of Teaching and
Education, said he wouldn't miss a chance to return to Australia
in the future.

"It would be nice if I could get a post-graduate scholarship
one day," he said.