What a dramatic situation!

More and more I find letters from readers to The Jakarta Post about strange situations in Jakarta, like crimes at Soekarno- Hatta Airport, uneasy things about airlines or parking spaces etc. But reading a published article A thankfully short walk on the wild side by Bruce Emond (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 14, 2001) makes me feel sad. Traveling the world businesswise for over 20 years now, the last 2.5 years have taken me all over Indonesia. My business brings me into contact with every walk of life, and indeed, sometimes things are very strange or difficult to understand. I myself drive in the jungle of Jakarta all day long, and believe me I know the nice and bad things about Jakarta, and sometimes this is hard to put up with.

I travel in and out of the country via Soekarno-Hatta airport seven to 10 times a year. Apart from a stolen mobile phone (my own stupidity) I've never experienced such dramatic events as those described in the article. Aren't we judging people a little prematurely, before we even try to imagine how different their culture is to ours.

I'm not a forgiving or patient person at all, things have to be improved, but don't you fear that articles like this in a reputed newspaper will widen the gap between cultures?

And last but not least, aren't we all guests in this country of our own choice? Only tolerance brings people together.

MAG RITTINGHAUS

Jakarta