Archive for August 15th, 2007
THE relationship between Australia and Indonesia is longer than most people realise. Hundreds of years ago sailors from what is now Sulawesi, the Macassans, were coming ashore in northern Australia, socialising with the Aborigines during their expeditions in the season for gathering trepang (sea-cucumber).
During World War II, Australia at first sided with conservative and old established colonial ideas, so when the Japanese invaded Indonesia and the Dutch colonial masters had to flee, Australia allowed a Dutch “government in exile” at Wacol, in Brisbane’s southwest. Even now, just south of Brisbane, the suburb Tanah Merah (it means Red Earth, in Bahasa Indonesia) provides a reminder of the times when the Indonesians, who were in the Dutch service, were located in Queensland.
Tanah Merah was the name of the prison camp far upstream on the Digul River in West Papua (now Irian Jaya) – a malarial hell-hole, also known as Boven Digul – the camp where the Dutch held their political prisoners. In 1943 they were brought to Australia on a ship named The Both and at first were held in prison camps at Cowra and Liverpool, in NSW. They included 500 men, women and children.
Dockside workers and railway staff had found desperate notes explaining their predicament, thrown from portholes and trains by the Indonesian prisoners, at the time of their arrival.
Some time later Australia supported Indonesia’s application for entry into the United Nations.
After Ngurah Rai International Airport opened in Bali in 1972, that island soon became Australia’s “own back yard” holiday destination. It coincided with the rise of surfing as an international sport, and Bali had first class surf, so was popular for this, as well as for its unique cultural identity. It was also a first stop on the “hippie trail” through Asia to Europe. Many Aussies formed strong bonds with the Balinese, which have lasted to the present day. Bali became one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Little by little it surrendered its old way of life to accommodate tourism, all the time steadfastly maintaining its Balinese/Hindu traditions.
Then came the darkest day – the tragic Bali bombing of October 12, 2002. This shocked and horrified everyone – Balinese, other Indonesians and Australians alike. Bali was the epitome of a tropical paradise, and all who loved it were traumatised.
Tourism plummeted, especially from Australia, the primary tourism market, and the Balinese suffered deeply since their culture had become so dependent on tourism.
Two years later, when a recovery was beginning, a second bombing occurred and then there were drug busts of Australians. These foolhardy Aussies came with their forbidden baggage, at a time when there was a crackdown on “narkoba” – the Indonesian word for narcotics.
Laws were tough, because of concerns for the explosion of drug use within the nation. Marijuana was included in this definition. These drug busts provoked a media frenzy which caused further damage to tourism in Bali and wider Indonesia.
On the diplomatic front, Australia and Indonesia have had a companion roller-coaster ride for a long time – since the December 1975 East Timor invasion, which Australia chose to support (or at least not protest) until the time of East Timor’s fight for independence, when we switched sides, until more recent, disagreements regarding refugees from Irian Jaya.
Both sides assume postures, issue statements, attempt to score points against the other to gain political advantage, while the ordinary people struggle to understand one another’s motivations and policies.
But the most positive thing has always been the unshakeable bond that exists between the ordinary people of these two neighbouring nations, which transcends politics. As neighbours, we have communicated, we have befriended one another, we have married one another, forging unbreakable bonds.
Whatever the politicians do or say, there are many people on both sides of the Arafura Sea who know that we are all good people – friends and neighbours – and that as neighbours we must get along and support each other for mutual benefit. In every country there is a small minority of fanatics, our own included.
Indonesians are a very friendly and welcoming people. The history, art and culture of the Indonesian archipelago is certainly an eye opener and an education for Australians, who will gain much from exploring a culture that is older and richer than modern Australian history.
Indonesia is still a young nation and has been through very difficult times, so understanding and co-operation with its more fortunate southern neighbour is crucial – for both sides.
Because of the history of struggle, quite a lot of contemporary art of Indonesia has featured political and social themes.
Festival Nusantara, now on at The Brisbane Powerhouse, provides Australia’s first major arts festival celebrating Indonesian culture.
Cynthia Webb is a Gold Coast writer.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/
August 15th, 2007
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Thousands of children are set to benefit from The Westin Resort Nusa Dua’s latest fundraising event which runs until September 2007. The vital funds will be raised for UNICEF immunisation projects in the Asia Pacific region.
The event will be held as part of UNICEF’s Check Out for Children Challenge.
Beautiful traditional Balinese Egg Painting is being sold in the resort. By purchasing one of these skillfully painted eggs guest are able to help children around the world to have a better future, with 30% of the profits contributed to UNICEF.
Another event that Westin Bali will hold in conjunction with this charity program is The Annual Westin Bali Charity Tennis Tournament for children on Saturday, 1st September and Sunday, 2nd September 2007. This tournament is open for children from age 6 years old until 14 years old. The winner of the tournament will have the chance to personally meet with an International Woman Tennis player in the brunch party that the resort will throw for the players in conjunction with WTA tour tennis tournament in early September.
Now in its fourth year, the UNICEF Check Out for Children Challenge is an annual fundraising challenge among staff at Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Each year the challenge goes from strength to strength and this year the fundraising target for the Asia Pacific region is US$90,000.
The theme of the 2007 Challenge will be celebrating 18 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 1989 governments around the world united to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child and demonstrate their commitment to children. 18 years later a generation of children have been protected by this Convention.
Funds raised by The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali will assist UNICEF to immunise thousands of children in the Asia Pacific region. More than 30,000 children die every day, mostly from preventable diseases.
Source: http://www.asiatraveltips.com/
August 15th, 2007
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Officers with the Jakarta tourism police brush off criticisms they lack the English language skills needed in the tourism sector.
“To be frank, I can’t speak English. But there’s no shame in that,” said tourism policewoman Sr. Brig. Nani R.
“I get by because I never feel embarrassed when speaking to tourists.”
“Most foreign tourists in Jakarta can speak Indonesian. If they can’t, we resort to gestures,” 41-year-old Nani said recently.
Nani, who has been assigned to the Jakarta Police’s tourism unit since it was established in 1996, said she found it easy to communicate with most people.
“However, Japanese tourists pose a challenge. They keep saying haik, which sounds to us like they are assuming a karate attack position,” she said.
Nani’s colleague, Sr. Brig. Ni Putu Swasti, 31, said sometimes new recruits avoided coming into contact with foreign tourists altogether.
According to Putu, who has also served in the division for 11 years, being a tourism police officer requires no special skills and certainly not a high score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
There are only eight women in the division.
Putu said she hoped the division would offer an English conversation program as real use of the language was important for the job.
“Speaking English is hard because we are not familiar with the language.
“Officers with superior foreign language abilities used to teach the others, but not anymore,” Putu said, adding that only some 20 percent of officers in the division were fluent in English.
The tourism division aims to promote Jakarta as a city friendly to both domestic and foreign tourists.
The division has 57 personnel and 15 patrol cars, which are painted maroon with the words “Tourism Police” on the sides.
Tourism police officers are tasked with monitoring tourist attractions city-wide, including Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta; Ancol Dreamland, North Jakarta; Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta; heritage sites and museums.
In addition, the division routinely patrols 176 karaoke lounges, 132 cafes, 233 discotheques, more than 300 hotels and dozens of malls.
Putu said: “Not only do we lack English language skills but also the personnel to monitor those sites”.
It seems, however, this fact does not disturb the division’s chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. I Gusti Ngurah Warsika.
“There are other priorities. Jakarta is unlike Bali or Yogyakarta. There are just not that many tourist sites here, you see?”
“Most of the visitors are locals anyway,” he said.
When asked about the importance of having good foreign language skills for the tourism police, Gusti said: “They don’t have to be experts. So long as they can speak a little of the language, it’s alright”.
New recruits are, however, offered training opportunities.
The Jakarta Tourism Board, for example, runs a three-day language course every September. The National Police also hold 90-day Korean, Chinese, English, Japanese and Arabic courses twice a year.
Perhaps the division needs to learn that poor language comprehension can lead to misunderstandings and embarrassment. (07)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/
August 15th, 2007