Kupang

Recent news about starvation in east Indonesian area including the province which the capital is this city made me want to share some story about it.

I went to this city, eh town kali ye, last year. It was a very hot town. Built upon lime coastal rock, I thought it must have a rigid land support that very good for a building's structure. Blue sky upon it remind me of sub tropical sky, that I rarely found in Java. In the night it even better, stars and moon looked very clear, this lack of electricity is such an advantage for astronomers, remembering Boscha observatorium that suffers of light pollution. The air was very dry, I could not stand for more than two hours without water. The people were nice, very nice, even though some of them have a such scary appearance, like me :D.


Like usual Indonesian bureaucratic customs, it was hard to show hospitality without glorious welcome. But behind the glorious ceremonials there were many problems. Inadequate equipments, unproper place, and something about payments. I really appreciated the people who have worked very hard for the event. I saw some exausted faces but they stayed on from 7a.m to 7p.m.

Eventhough there were glorious ceremonials, I saw also an admirable humble life of my event coordinator. His office is so "minimalist", his apparels and so did his son, but I know he showed his best to honour us. I would like to visit him again if I have the opportunity. At least I plan to go Soe, coldest town in the prairie, its weather may freeze gasoline. I hope I can realize this plan, yeah after Bukittinggi of course.

Anyhow everything was gone well, very well. I did my job, and did some short course for them eventhough it wasn't my formal responsibility. Anyway I was graduated from public university, that the cost was burdened upon everyone in this country, so ....

The farewell party was also very nice, toasted fish, vegetables in such Balinese "sambel plecing" style, and the best of all I didn't afraid of everything related to pork and alcohol. I really love these people. Thank you everyone. May God reunite us again.

The journey home was rather unpleasant. I was really angry at a beatiful stewardess who yelled at a migrant woman worker. I would like to point my finger and yelled back at her "Watch your manner lady, we're the same customers, you should serve us equally!". But I couldn't, I just faced her beatiful face angrily and said "you should be taught about manner". Fortunately she changed her attitude, and serve these women nicely. I didn't know this thing brought me into an undeterministic emotional feeling, remembering many sad story about these migrant women worker who might also financing some portion of my education cost. May God give them and their family bless, strength, courage and luck. I sat on the middle seat, between a migrant women worker and my fellow, but I could still look at scene outside the window. There were so many inhabitated mountain islands below us, brown without vegetation. Sometimes I saw grey plain dried grass and bushes islands, depicting how dry these islands. Such a beatiful scene for me who live in green Java for the entire life, but also scary, imagining I were there.

Visiting one of the poorest Indonesia province made me concious that there are many things to be done, to fight for, that what Mohammad Yunus said about living in developing countries.