'Twixt orangutans and puppets

'Twixt orangutans and puppets

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan

Each time he starts his leather puppet show in English, Ki Peter
Karsono, always quote Shakespeare: "The world is but a stage and
we are only players." Then, he will also quote from Nawaruci, an
ancient leather puppet book: "We are but dolls and the puppet
master controls our movements. The world is only a stage..."

Karsono, better known as Ki Peter Karsono as a puppet master,
always quotes these words of wisdom in the introduction to his
leather puppet shows. For expatriates living in East Kalimantan,
Karsono is something like a Jack of all trades: a leather puppet
master, an artist, a teacher at an international school and an
activist and founder of the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival
Foundation.

Peter Karsono is famous among expatriates in oil-rich East
Kalimantan, particularly in Balikpapan International School
circles. He used to be a teacher at Pasir Ridge International
School in Balikpapan and frequently performs leather puppet shows
in English and French. His reputation among the expatriates is
attributable to his position as executive director of the
Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation.

For him, this prestigious position came to him because "The
Puppet Master" wants him to be one.

"We are just like puppets. God has arranged everything for us
and we simply have to lead our lives," he said when explaining
why he always quoted Shakespeare and Nawaruci.

At first he got involved in rescuing orangutans in Kalimantan
because he only wanted to lend a hand. It was in 1991 and he was
still teaching at the international school in Balikpapan. He was
assigned to organize school students to collect money for
orangutan conservation. As he acquired more influence among the
students and their parents, he was able to persuade the community
of expatriates in Balikpapan to collect money and set up the
Balikpapan Orangutan Society.

Together with others concerned about orangutans, Peter, who
began teaching at the international school as far back as 1976,
set up the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation. Since then,
he has always been associated with the foundation.

"I got involved in orangutan conservation for fun but now I'm
serious about it. Now I devote most of my time to this
undertaking although I don't get paid at all. I wish I could find
someone else to take care of the institution. Still, deep in my
heart I'm rather reluctant as I'm afraid this position will go to
an irresponsible person."

Karsono, who was born in 1940, said he was also afraid this
position would go to a foreigner although he admitted that most
of the donors were foreigners.

"I don't think we need a foreigner to take care of orangutans,
which are part of Indonesia's natural wealth. My nationalism
always gets the better of me. Although I have mixed with and
teamed up with foreigners for many years, I cannot allow them to
play a determining role in this regard."

Apart from a strong sense of nationalism, someone suitable for
this executive position in this institution, which requires about
Rp 14 billion annually for its operational expenses, must have
great loyalty and be ready to work for the institution without
compensation.

How does Karsono earn a living? "My pension from the
international school is enough for a decent life in East
Kalimantan. All my four children have now got their own jobs," he
said. Apart from taking care of orangutans, he also gives courses
on Javanese arts.

"On certain occasions, the expatriate community invites me to
give them a course on the Javanese arts and knowledge. They are
interested, for example, in how to make traditional play things
for children, make decorations from young coconut leaves, prepare
ritual equipment from banana leaves and perform leather puppet
shows.

"Foreigners here are really interested in the Javanese arts.
When I perform a leather puppet show, the gamelan is played by
expatriates. They have set up the Unocal Gamelan Orchestra," said
Karsono, who is a graduate of Sanata Dharma University in
Yogyakarta.

Karsono, who used to be a domestic helper in an American
family in Yogyakarta while he was still a student, said that
although he was busy taking care of orangutan, he did not know
much about the animal.

"I cannot distinguish one orangutan from another, let alone
communicate with them like the orangutan caretakers do. Still,
I'm greatly concerned over their wellbeing, their future and
their supporting habitat."

What does Peter Karsono really want from his dedication to
orangutans? "I often dream than when I die some day, orangutans
with wings donning white garbs like angels will be waiting for me
at the door to heaven. That will be the satisfaction I've been
dreaming about."