Indonesia Reef, a nation-wide volunteer-based reef check program

When it was first announced early this year, Indonesia Reef shook the local diving community. And why not?! This event is going to be the first large scale, volunteer-based, effort to monitor the condition of Indonesia's coral reef, from the western-most ecosystem in Aceh, to systems in Cendrawasih Bay in Papua. Long awaited, activities will start June in Komodo.

This is an exciting project that has its origins in concerned citizens and individuals, and backed by various non-governmental organizations. Volunteers provide time and contribution to costs, the rest being covered by sponsors and perhaps a small amount of public funding. Volunteers will use monitoring methods developed by ReefCheck organization.

I hope that efforts like these will not only yield badly-needed ecological data, but also socio-economic benefits to local community as their reefs are brought to national attention through mass media and perhaps some international coverage. Only by exposing the (potential) economic benefits of reefs do we have any hope of conserving them.

On a lighter note: I applied for Halmahera, Ambon and Wakatobi. But there's, like, hundreds of people wanting to volunteer for these prime spots!! Wish me luck!

Leaving Iraq

I haven't been reading her blog for a while 'cause of work, so I just found out that Riverbend and her family is leaving--or has left--Iraq. I'll miss that voice out of Baghdad, but I hope wherever she is, God keep her safe, and that she knows she has friends all over the world who'll help her any way they can if she needs it. Let us know where and how you are.

Team Melinda!

American Idol season 6 is my most-watched of the series. I've followed it more or less ehm, dilligentry starting final 12 (and intermittently prior to that). I never do that in previous seasons. And let it be on record I DO NOT wath the horrible Indonesian Idol.

Anyway, it's been predictable so far, yes. My sister thinks it's the most boring American Idol ever. Yes well, she's in the US where fantastic tv programs are on 24/7. The alternatives on our tv are people parading in gowns and luxury flaunting their STUPIDITY on those horrible sinetrons.

Of course, I am all for Lakisha, Blake, Jordin and Melinda, yaay. Would actually prefer Blaka to go first than Lakisha, but do actually see how that would be boring. But now it's the final crunch, and I will pray off that creepy Blake, then Jordin, and finally, the truth will reveal itself, that I am ..... Team Melinda!!! Hoorray!!!

The dutiful daughter-in-law.

Right now I'm working on a study quantifying the economic costs of poor sanitation. Don't ask what it means, I don't know what I'm doing. A friend call it, 'studi WC'. That's actually an apt term for it. But honestly though, yesterday I found a piece of gem that makes everything, and I mean everything, make perfect sense. It is a quote found a dissertation about water management by farm households in Vietnam, submitted for PhD in Germany.

The Good Daughter-in-law
By Hsieh Chang-yi

"Early in the morning, the magpies cry,
The newly-wed daughter-in-law is carrying excreta on a pole
Liquid from the excreta stains her new trousers
The hot sweat soaks into her embroidered jacket
The commune members praise her and mother is pleased
All tell her she has got a good daughter-in-law."
(MCGARRY A. STAINFORTH 1978: 4)

Labor Day, May 1, 2007

The issue of labor welfare is one of the most depressing for me. I first learned of labor welfare issues when I researched for an undergrad paper, oh about 15 years ago (!) The late 80s through early 90s was a watershed in labor's enhanced awareness of rights in Indonesia. Labor contributed to the rise of Indonesian manufacturing sector, the growth earned us the honor of being one of the Asian tigers. Bah!

Labor's awareness of their rights and importance was awarded with crushing repression, the stomping boots of the Army, and the torture chambers of a dictatorial regime. Labor movement leaders regularly went missing. The situation worsened until the late 90's, when the labor movement contributed to the ousting of a dictator.

More than a decade later, labor reform is again meeting the stomping boots and crushing repression, but this time, it is of indifference. Laborers' plight is so hopeless, that I do not even have the heart to think about it. Theirs is a hard life--worsening terms of trade, increasing living costs, lack of assets and access to land and natural resources, the wall of bureacratic red tape and rent seeking, apathic parliamentary representative, opportunistic labor leaders, abandonment by academics, and competition from abroad.

I met Vietnamese colleagues a few months ago, and we compared minimum wage situations (yes, that's what we do in our spare time, for fun. geez). The Vietnamese minimum wage is a third of our average, reflecting to some extent their low living costs. We don't have a chance, not the way things are going.

Laborers of the world, I send you love. Be at peace. May God keep you safe.