Demonstrations are fun! (If you're not the one with demands)

Today I had to go to the Jkt Stock Exchange Building, after postponing for a week due to recurring demonstrations, hooliganisms etc. I didn't know there would be a demonstration today (wouldn't have gone had I known), but the building apparently hosts the offices of Nike (the shoe maker) and today the laborers were at it again.

Anyway, I knew something was up when the first taxi I hailed, as I got into the city at noon, asked where I was heading. He agreed to take me as close as possible to the JSE Building, through the back. We found the street heading off the the CBD cordoned off by the police. I crossed the police line and hailed an ojek, we got through close to the Building until we face another police line. The ojek driver casually said 'wartawan' ('the press') before I even open my mouth. The police opened a bit of space and off we go. When I questioned the driver he was like, "Oh I do this all the time". Come to think of it, he was more formally dressed than the usual ojek driver (and I, well, if you know me, the slightly dishevelled look I portray most of the time could pass as reporter chic).

The laborers had gathered and there was a wall of anti-riot police which I had to pass to get into the building. Once inside, took me about 15 minutes to do my business, and I was off again to my next destination. But by this time the demonstrators were gathered thick on the street and pavement. I decided to try to pass, slowly and with utmost politeness. Most of the demonstrators were women, obviously since they make up a large contingent of the labor force in the footwear and garment industry.

Inching my way forward towards the main thoroughfare (Jalan Sudirman), a few minutes later I felt someone hanging on to my arm from behind. I looked back and there's a slim lady in headscarf meeting my glance, and urging me to go on, "Ayo Mbak, hati-hati!" I look behind her and see a guy with backpack hanging off his front, another guy behind him with a document folder, another behind him.....and I realize, holy cow, I have the whole circus behind me!!

Off I go again, fully realizing I am a full head taller and much bigger than most of the sea of people around me, yet am wary that a wrong move (a toe crushed here, a slight bumping there) and a lynching may not be far behind. Well, I'm over reacting I know, but still....

The yelling is now rythmic and fun, and if it weren't for the gentle prodding on my arm I would've just stopped and enjoyed the show. But onwards! Especially since at one point a girl jokingly called out "Awas ada artis lewat!" and quickly a small path was cleared for me. (My look for the Jkt pavement, with shades on or on top of head to ward off the dust, also have its hint of the almost famous, hahaha).

Anyway, it was fun and reminds me of the time between 1998-1999 when I worked at another building very close to Semanggi where we had front row seat to the almost-daily demonstrations and mayhem. We regularly joined in the marches and checked out the scenes at Rumah Sakit Jakarta (otherwise known as molotov central).

I hope the Nike situation gets resolved to the benefits of the laborers though, it exasperates me how the factory owner is trying to extract herself from paying severance...

The definition of lazy

What, another post? She's on a roll! And procrastinating from something else but that's another matter. It's just that in the last post I mentioned the word 'lazy' which started me on another train of thought.

The concept of 'lazy' is one that often surfaces when ascribing backwardness, one that is often volleyed between ethnic groups in Indonesia. I don't ascribe much meaning to it though, since it's a very subjective term compared to, say, 'stupid', 'cruel' or, even, 'devious'. Lazy-ness is when others not meeting your expectations or sense of timing (too slow, too long, not tidy enough). There would be a lot of people to whom I am 'lazy' and as many others to whom I'm super ambitious-lightning-speed person. The key to being on par with others' concept of being lazy is to actually understand their criteria. And that's hard if you've only just met them, or if their habits are completely unknown to you. I imagine there is a good body of literature and research already done in this area..

People in the south of Europe, the Meditteranean bunch, have been called lazy by their northern brothers, since they take long lunches and siestas. Well, now that global warming is in place, these same northern brothers can now feel what it's like to work in 40 C heat; try it without AC and see if they wouldn't implement national siesta regulation :-)

On a lighter note, here is a person from an ethnic group often accused of being lazy, and just look at those well-defined muscles....

Central versus local, it is indeed diverse

I had a little run in with the people here, it's different perspectives I realize. I mean, their sense of crisis is a camera gona AWOL for a few hours (not even stolen), and attribute lower intelligence, laziness, etc etc to the people (partly) responsible for the incident. I find these name-calling bothersome, especially from otherwise obviously educated and travelled people. But that is a fact of life in Indonesia, where the diversity is rather extreme, and people judge others by their own standards instead of understanding the local social and cultural constructs. That is why we have a lot of problems out here, especially when fanatics impose their standards on others.

To be honest, I had (and still have) prejudice about other people but I'm getting a bit better at trying to understand and tolerate, and frame things according to its context. I think it's important when you're in a place of ultimate diversity. So, I will still be travelling to, and enjoying myself, in the land of coffee and the art of sipping it slowly, with one foot tucked up, at the shops, where time is what you make of it, and people are so laid back it is easy to mistake them for being lazy ;-)