It has only been a week, but I feel as though I have a
pretty good grasp on Jakarta. Granted,
my frame of observation is limited to the lens of an American tourist who knows
next to nothing in Bahasa. In fact, I
realized today that I really ought to know more of the language mostly out of
respect for the country I am visiting. I
was perfectly capable of taking a cab from the embassy to the hotel by showing
the driver an address and thanking him, but I had no way of asking if he had
change so I ended up ‘overpaying’ by less than a dollar which is actually a
significant amount in Indonesia. I wish
that I could properly thank the people who work at the hotel, who show me how
to mix the ingredients laid out for breakfast and ask if I would like more water
bottles. For now, though, “terima kasih”
will have to do and maybe if I say it enough they will understand how thankful
I am. The service here is great besides
for a couple of the cab drivers who it seemed purposely took us on the long
route, but without knowledge of the language and with minimal sense of the
city’s geography, who am I to complain?
And I know how to say, “what’s up?!”…(Apa kabar) because
there is a sign for a fast food joint and it says “Apa ka-burger.” Pretty punny
if you ask me. While my grasp on the
language is pitiful, I am starting to understand what democracy means and
Indonesia and how the interplay of religion and politics is unlike anything I
have ever studied. These are two
integral parts of my research.
Previously, when I thought of the Muslim religion, I pictured the Middle
East and North Africa, women covered from head to toe, no alcohol in sight,
with prayer breaking up the day. When I
thought of conservative Islam, what came to mind was sharia law, extremism, and
a hatred for western ‘values.’ In
Indonesia, it is none of these things.
After speaking with experts, even the hard-liners of Indonesia are more
interested in living a pious life then they are in punishing those who have
different beliefs. Islam in Indonesia
can be compared to Christianity in the United States. And while many politicians will run on a
Christian platform that advertises certain virtues, the religion affects
policy-making to a lesser degree. So
what you see in Indonesia is perhaps a candidate appealing to those with a
strong Muslim faith, though the policies they later implement may not be based
on this faith. This is just a very brief
comment on a very large topic.
Back to my observations.
If I had to describe Jakarta in one image, it would be of the woman I
saw today, wearing a hijab and riding a motorcycle while the afternoon prayer
played from loud speakers. I saw her
from my taxi window, ready to zoom by with the rest of the inconceivable amount
of motorcycles. Which leads me to my next
story. Two nights ago we attended a
panel at the @America headquarters in Jakarta.
@America is a program run by the state department to promote dialogue
between young people from around the world.
The panel focused on environmental sustainability and specifically the
program “World Forest Watch.” Simply
stated, the program uses satellites to give real time information to local
authorities with the location of where deforestation is occurring. There is also an on the ground element which
allows users to update information and verify satellite imagery. One of the speakers mentioned how by 2030,
with the Indonesian middle-class growing at the current rate, there will be
three times as many cars in Jakarta. The
current traffic situation allows you to travel approximately 12 km in an hour
(not during rush hour). I cannot even begin to image what the roads will be
like in 15 years if public transportation infrastructure remains minimal and nothing
is done to limit the automobile market.
I will not even begin to explain the smog. With the rampant deforestation, the congested
city streets, and non-existent limits on pollution, a Norwegian expert compared
Jakarta to Oslo thirty years ago. Oslo
was able to get its act together; Indonesia remains a big question mark.
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