GLOBALIST The Yale
Fall 2010 / Vol. 11, Issue 1
Selamat Datang ke
INDONESIA
Hiring Kosovars for America’s Wars 8 * The Price of Beauty in China 13 * A Jewish Education in Zimbabwe 32
An Undergraduate Magazine of International Affairs Fall 2010 / Vol. 11, Issue 1 www.tyglobalist.org
This magazine is published by students of Yale College. Yale University is not responsible for its contents.
DEAR
GLOBALIST The Yale
GLOBALIST
READERS,
I
n May I had the pleasure of traveling to Indonesia with 20 other Globalist editors, staffers, and contributors. Comprised of over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is one of the most richly cultured and diverse nations in the world. In a region of so many hot spots, though, Western travelers often
ignore the country in favor of more easily reachable destinations. But Indonesia rewards those who endure the long trek with breathtaking beauty and endless possibilities for cultural, religious, and
Send comments, questions, and letters to the editor to jeffrey.kaiser@yale.edu.
social exploration. Religion in Indonesia extends into the fabric of every community and every issue: Our writers tackle topics like the religious battle against cigarettes, the impact of Islamic law on tourism in the province of Aceh, and the clash of traditional and modern medicine in Bali. Other articles explore dif‐
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ferent facets of Indonesian life, from the movement to ready the country for its next natural disaster to post‐conflict political networks in Aceh and even to the vice and corruption of the black market bird trade. Globalist writers were all over the world during the summer reporting on an incredibly wide range of issues: everything from a Jewish school in Zimbabwe, to the history of peaceful Palestin‐
JOURNALISM ADVISORY BOARD Steven Brill, Yale Dept. of English Nayan Chanda, Director of Publications, MacMillan Center Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Foreign Affairs Jef McAllister, Time Magazine Nathaniel Rich, The Paris Review Fred Strebeigh, Yale Dept. of English
ian resistance movements in the West Bank, to the apparent resurgence of orthodox Christianity in Russia. Our trip to Indonesia would not have been possible without the generous support of Master Har‐ vey Goldblatt and Pierson College. In addition I would like to thank the residential college masters who awarded Richter Fellowships to trip participants. We are grateful also to the two institutional sponsors of this issue, the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies and the Council on Southeast Asia Studies. Like many magazines and media outlets, the Globalist continues to struggle with the task of fund‐ ing our publishing costs. Please consider purchasing a subscription to support our work. Sponsor‐
ACADEMIC ADVISORY BOARD Harvey Goldblatt, Professor of Medieval Slavic Literature, Master of Pierson College Donald Green, Director, Institution for Social and Policy Studies Charles Hill, Yale Diplomat‐in‐Residence Ian Shapiro, Director, MacMillan Center Ernesto Zedillo, Director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
ship and advertising opportunities are also available; contact our Executive Director, Courtney Fu‐ kuda, at courtney.fukuda@yale.edu for more information. I am incredibly excited to oversee the continued growth and development of the Globalist this year. We’ll be launching a new website, additional blogging projects, and further collaborations with other organizations, both on and off campus. It is a tremendous honor for me to present the first is‐ sue of the year. So, welcome to Indonesia: “Selamat Datang ke Indonesia.” My best,
Jeffrey Kaiser Editor‐in‐Chief, The Yale Globalist
Production & Design Editors Raisa Bruner & Eli Markham Managing Editor for Online Catherine Osborn
ON THE COVER:
A mosque under construction in the Indonesian province of Aceh, May 2010.
Assistant Production Editors Anjali Jotwani Online Associates Helena Malchione, Rasesh Mohan
(Kaiser/TYG) Pictures from CreativeCommons used under Attribution Noncommercial license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Editors Emeritus Jesse Marks, Rachel Wolf
Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Kaiser Managing Editors Rae Ellen Bichell, Raphaella Friedman, Uzra Khan, Jessica Shor Associate Editors Monica Landy, Sibjeet Mahapatra, Charlotte Parker, Adele Roussow, Diego Salvatierra Copy Editor Alexander Krey
Editors-at-Large Angela Ramirez, Emma Sokoloff-Rubin, Ali Weiner
Executive Director Courtney Fukuda Publisher Tonia Sun Directors of Development Joe Bolognese, Joanna Cornell Events Coordinator & Director of External Relations Erin Biel
Business Mentor George Bogden
CONTENTS Fall 201 0 / Vo l . 1 1 , I s s u e 1
FOCUS: Indonesia
POLICING
MORALITY
18
The struggle to reconcile Islamic law and tourism. By Raphaella Friedman and Jeffrey Kaiser
16 Ruffled Feathers
As black market traders shuttle birds out of Indonesia’s forests and into the homes of collectors, Indonesia’s rare wildlife gets pushed into the red. By Rae Ellen Bichell
22 Healers & Hospitals: Healthcare in Bali
On the island of Bali, traditional healers or balians, as well as hospitals and other Western health centers, exist in symbiosis, offering locals a mix of old and new healthcare. By Uzra Khan
24 Post‐Conflict Connections Five years after the end of armed hostilities between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Government, fighters have not given up their close network of excombatants and supporters, raising crucial questions for Aceh’s political future. By Angela Ramirez
Kaiser/TYG
26 Green Priorities
Indonesia begins to notice its impact on nature By Diego Salvatierra
Out the Next Big 28 Riding Wave In the wake of the December 2004 tsunami, is Indonesia ready to face another natural disaster? By Christina Lin
Holy War Against 30 ASmoking Attempts to use Islamic religious decrees or fatwas in Indonesia’s anti-smoking campaigns have been largely ineffective in curbing the nation’s collective bad habit. By Nathan Yohannes
Visit our website at www.tyglobalist.org for additional reporting, online exclusives, and blogs by Globalist writers.
POLITICS & ECONOMY 6 | The Resistance West Bank Palestinian activism in a post-Intifada conflict. By Max Budovitch
8 | Hiring for War U.S. military contractors in Ferizaj, Kosovo. By Mari Michener Oye
10 | The Oportunidades of Mexico 8
Beneficiaries of Mexico’s conditional-cash-transfer program hope for healthcare that works for all people. By José Carlos Gutierrez
PERSPECTIVES 12 | Everything is Goreng The double burden of malnutrition and obesity in Indonesia. By Rebecca Distler
13 | In the Eyelids of the Beholder 13
In China, money can buy beauty, but not happiness. By Joanna Cornell
CULTURE 31 | Of Sequins and Suppression Will new rules change the politics of the Eurovision Song Contest? By Joseph Bolognese
32 | A Jewish Education in Zimbabwe As millions of Zimbabweans flee the discriminatory policies of the Mugabe regime, one small school sets an example of multiculturalism and coexistence. By Anya van Wagtendonk
34 | !"##$%&#'()*)#+',%-'.'/0+12-23'410$#+$%5$+67 34
Despite soaring numbers of self-identified Orthodox believers, life in Russia’s main cities has remained surprisingly secular. By Tobias Kuehne
The Yale Globalist is a member of Global21, a network of student‐run international affairs magazines at premier universities around the world.
6 POLITICS & ECONOMY FALL 2010
THE RESISTANCE By Max Budovitch
T
he Freedom Theatre is nestled among the alleyways and con‐
sistance—it’s that I was protecting it the whole time,” Zubeidi said.
crete houses of the Jenin Refugee Camp in the north part of
A native of Jenin, historically one of the most unstable cities in the
the West Bank. The Theatre, a hub of artistic and community
West Bank, Zubeidi grew up in a volatile environment. After Arna
activity, was founded in 2006 by Juliano Mer Khamis, whose mother,
Mer’s theatre dissolved during the First Intifada and the disappoint‐
Arna Mer, first established a children’s theatre in Jenin in the late
ment over the peace talks of the 1990s settled in, he joined the al‐Aqsa
1980s. An area that only eight years ago witnessed some of the bloodi‐
Martyrs’ Brigades, the military wing of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah party.
est conflict between Palestinians and Israelis during the 2002 Battle
From 2001 to 2006, Zubeidi served as a commander of the Brigades,
of Jenin is now home to the Theatre, which gives residents of Jenin
which Israel and the United States consider a terrorist organization.
the opportunity to direct, act, and write plays and participate in other
But as the Second Intifada waned, Zubeidi decided that the time for
dramatic activities. Although the Palestinian‐Israeli conflict contin‐
violence had come to a close. The West Bank lay in shambles, and
ues to take its toll in human life, the Palestinian resistance in the
frequent attempts on Zubeidi’s life made the situation dire. He was
West Bank is increasingly drawing upon peaceful forms of activism.
offered amnesty by Israel and Fatah and soon become a major sup‐ porter of the Freedom Theatre, which has become a center for the
Time Lost
post‐Intifada cultural resistance.
An unbroken Palestinian tradition, the resistance has taken on
Palestinian revolution has failed. We don’t “Every have our freedom. However, we still exist.”
many different forms, both violent and peaceful. Although these ac‐ tivities began when Palestinian national sentiments came into con‐
flict with Zionism before the turn of the last century, the resistance
in the West Bank has grown considerably since Israel’s occupation
—Zakaria Zubeidi
of the territory began in 1967. Hani Masri, a Ramallah‐based inde‐
Zubeidi’s resistance activities did not end with the Intifada. “My
pendent columnist for al‐Ayyam newspaper, explained: “Resistance
responsibility was the protection of the Palestinian people and the
is the right of the Palestinian people in all its forms... and has been
protection of the Jenin Refugee Camp,” he said, speaking of his time
practiced by all generations.”
as a commander in the Brigades. He now argues that the cultural
The Palestinian resistance in the West Bank developed in earnest after Israel’s capture of the territory from Jordan in 1967. The resis‐
resistance is not only a mode of justified activism, but also a form of “promoting the voice of the Palestinian people to the world.”
tance boiled over into mass mobilization in two large‐scale uprisings,
At the Theatre, the voices of an improvised rap group echo across
known as the First and Second Intifada. The First Intifada lasted
the patio and a young boy runs from building to building with a video
from 1987 to 1993 and was famously characterized by protests and
camera capturing the assembly of a theater set in one room, the gath‐
stone throwing at Israeli military vehicles and personnel. The Second
ering of friends in another, and the interview with visiting musicians
Intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2006, saw the widespread use of
in a third. By providing the residents of the Jenin Refugee Camp a
suicide bombings and shootings against Israeli civilian and military
place to create art, the Theatre has created a space for learning about
targets.
Palestinian culture and vocalizing it to the world.
The dominant form of the resistance in the West Bank which has
Masri believes that the evolution of the resistance and the chang‐
recently taken hold, a popular, peaceful movement, is a reactionary
ing activities of figures like Zubeidi are symptoms of circumstance.
departure from the past. Hassan Khreisheh, the independent deputy
“Any form of resistance which is employed—the popular form, [the
speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Committee, has called for “a
peaceful form], or the armed form—this is determined by the sur‐
popular Intifada, in which all levels of the Palestinian people would
rounding circumstances... as well as Arab and national support,”
be involved... They would all take part in resisting the Occupation in
he said. Khreisheh explained that contemporary violent resistance
peaceful ways.” The Freedom Theatre stands as a prime example of
“does not deliver a lot to the Palestinian people.” Circumstances and
a peaceful resistance movement that has flourished since the end of
support for the violent resistance seem to have ended.
the Second Intifada.
Pushing for Peace
Continuing Discord Despite the blossoming of a peaceful wave of resistance activities,
Zakaria Zubeidi, once a child in Arna Mer’s children’s theatre in
there is a lack of consensus between partisan politicians and the inde‐
the 1980s, cannot identify the moment when he made a conscious
pendent public over how resistance should be applied at this crucial
decision to join the resistance. “It’s not that I decided to join the re‐
point in the Palestinian bid for statehood. The recent collaboration
between elements of Mahmoud Abbas’ Pales‐ tinian National Authority and the Israeli gov‐ ernment in attempts to stabilize Palestinian urban areas has sparked debate. Many inde‐ pendents in the government as well as parts of the general population believe that the collaboration has weakened the resistance, while Fatah politicians generally view it as a positive step in resisting Israeli control of security in the West Bank and realizing na‐ tional autonomy. The debate centers around a defining question: is to collaborate to cease to resist? Ghassan Khatib, the director of the Gov‐ ernment Media Center under the Palestin‐ ian National Authority in Ramallah, believes that building a viable Palestinian state re‐ quires strong infrastructure, which would entail working with Israel to develop the Pal‐ estinian economy. “Building the institutions of the state is... useful in terms of convincing the international community that we are not only deserv[ing] of... statehood, but also that we can govern ourselves,” he said. The prime example remains the cooperation between the Palestinian National Authority and the Israeli government in creating and support‐ ing the Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank to ensure physical and economic
Recently posted martyr announcements were once a common sight on the streets of major Palestinian cities. This poster, dating from the end of the Second Intifada, has faded and begun to fray at the edges. (Budovitch/TYG)
peace. Tareq Jarrar, a native of Jenin and an
partnership and cooperation [between the
As the population of the West Bank con‐
activist at the Freedom Theatre, agrees with
Palestinian and Israeli governments] how
tinues to recover from the destruction of the
Khatib that there is a need for infrastruc‐
can you resist? It is either cooperation... or it
Second Intifada and witnesses the begin‐
ture, even if he remains uncertain about the
is the resistance... The resistance opens a dif‐
nings of a popular and peaceful form of the
extent of collaboration. “It’s hard to consider
ferent path, different from the current path.”
resistance, there are deep conflicts over the
politics without economy,” he said. Strong
According to Khreisheh, “the economic
future evolution of the resistance and the
state institutions and a strong economy are
peace program is a program that resembles
institutions and strategy of Abbas’ Palestin‐
necessary for a peaceful resistance—one
that of Netanyahu. In other words, beautify‐
ian Authority. “A lot of people are thinking
based on culture and popular support—to be
ing the face of the Occupation.”
[about] whether the Intifada achieved its
a viable option.
“
goals or not,” said Jarrar. Zubeidi acknowl‐
Any form of resistance which is employed—the popular form, [the peaceful form], or the armed form—this is determined by the surrounding circumstances.” Yet there are still those who view cooper‐
Retrospection
—Zakaria Zubeidi
edged that the status quo—the continued support of peaceful forms of protest like the Theatre—may not be permanent: “If the Is‐ raelis don’t give the Palestinians their rights, there will be a problem.” A decade has been lost to activism that proved both destructive and ineffective. Another lost decade charac‐
ation as counter‐productive. Khreisheh and
The tradition of resistance is the tradi‐
terized by continued violence or a govern‐
Masri both oppose collaboration. “[Palestin‐
tion of identity itself, in its varying forms
ment operating under occupation may not be
ians] must serve the operations to end the
and evolving varieties. After seeing family,
tolerated.
Occupation instead of building organizations
friends, and Israeli civilians and soldiers die
as an alternative to these operations,” said
during the Second Intifada, Zubeidi con‐
Masri. He adheres to the “normalcy of abnor‐
ceded that “every Palestinian revolution has
malcy” logic, arguing that, “when there is a...
failed. We don’t have our freedom. However, we still exist.”
Max Budovitch is a sophomore History major in Calhoun College. Contact him at max.budovitch@yale.edu.
Hiring for War U.S. military contractors in Ferizaj, Kosovo By Mari Michener Oye
B
esfort Selimi, from Ferizaj, Kosovo, squinted in the hot sun.
“The Bondsteel base has helped a lot in the development of this
“Afghanistan?” he said. “I want to go.” A few weeks earlier,
city, especially right after the war, when it brought in millions. We are
the 19‐year‐old had filled out an application for a mechanic’s
very grateful for this,” said Mustafë Grainca, director of Economy,
job with the American military contracting company Fluor. Many pri‐
Finance and Budget for the municipality of Ferizaj.
vate military contractors hire personnel from the Balkans, but their
But the number of troops at Bondsteel, and hence the number of
concentration in Selimi’s town of Ferizaj is unusual; about one in
local employees, is shrinking. Now meant to provide a “deterrent
three families has at least one relative sending remittances from Iraq
presence” in the region, the base looks out sleepily over the sur‐
or Afghanistan. Residents fly American flags along with the blue,
rounding villages. National Guardsmen rotate in and out, watching
white and gold of the self‐proclaimed Republic of Kosovo and the red
action DVDs and lifting weights to kill time. With a smaller number
and black eagle symbol of ethnic Albanians.
at the U.S. military base Camp Bondsteel, in the hills above Ferizaj.
Military contractors are comfortable hiring employees from the Balkans, where they have contacts from past engagement and where they can pay lower salaries than most American hires demand.
The army contracts support services at Bondsteel out to KBR, which
of soldiers to feed, Camp Bondsteel’s “Northtown D‐Fac,” or dining
then subcontracts these tasks to Ecolog AG, a company based in
facility, is closing down. Many food service workers there have put in
Germany. Ecolog’s Macedonian division hires the staff spooning out
requests to be transferred to Iraq and Afghanistan.
To most people in the town of Ferizaj, there is nothing strange about packing up for the frontlines of another country’s wars. Se‐ limi’s cousin worked 13‐hour days in Afghanistan, earning enough money to open his own sandwich shop back home. Selimi’s father fixes machinery with the contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root, or KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton. He works in Kosovo itself,
canned peas and mashed potatoes at Camp Bondsteel.
Military contractors are comfortable hiring employees from the
Bondsteel was built in 1999, following NATO intervention in the
Balkans, where they have contacts from past engagements and where
conflict between the Kosovo Liberation Army and Serbian forces
they can pay lower salaries than most American hires demand. The
under Slobodan Milosevic. At its largest, the base housed approxi‐
companies know that “they can trust us,” said one worker at Camp
mately 5,000 American and international troops. Following the war,
Bondsteel. “You’re privileged if you’re working for the Americans,”
job seekers lined up at Bondsteel’s main gate and thousands of them
he added. “First people join for the money, but there’s a little bit of
found work in food service, cleaning, perimeter security, translation,
Hollywood in it.”
and other support roles.
Edona Hassani, also from Ferizaj, joined KBR in Afghanistan in 2006 when she was 23 years old. She began work while salaries were
Above: A soldier walks through a central plaza in the central city of Ferizaj in Kosovo. (Oye/TYG)
comparatively high, earning $5,000 per month. By contrast, a typical
POLITICS & ECONOMY 9 THE YALE GLOBALIST
the beginning, for four, five, or six years,” said Albulena Sadiku, the director of the Ini‐ tiative for Progress, a civil society watchdog group in Kosovo. “The joke is you don’t have to know English to go, you just have to know Albanian, because everyone there is Alba‐ nian.” Sadiku worries that income from the con‐ tracting jobs is not being spent wisely. The returning workers buy cars and build or ex‐ pand their houses—a stimulus to Ferizaj’s economy, but “not things that create a lot of new jobs or are helpful to the city in the fu‐ ture.” Construction is everywhere in Ferizaj, and the mayor has big plans for a new park downtown and increased trade with Mace‐ donia. As elsewhere in Kosovo, however, the government faces budget shortfalls and seri‐ ous corruption problems. “Even the bears in
A street vendor in Pristina with American, Albanian and Kosovo flags. (Oye/TYG) public sector employee within Kosovo makes
18 months in Khost Province in eastern Af‐
only $300 per month. Hassani will soon return
ghanistan, an unstable area the contractors
to Afghanistan, this time to work for the con‐
nicknamed “rocket city.”
were shooting all the time. “They A rocket hit the kitchen--it was
tractor Fluor. “Kosovo is paradise compared
“They were shooting all the time,” he
to Kandahar,” she said, but claimed she was
said. “A rocket hit the kitchen—it was 40
still eager to go back. Hassani put down her
meters away.” Convoy rides of 45 minutes
cigarette and took a sip of macchiato, the
felt like 45 hours, Selimi said. He never told
afternoon drink of choice in Kosovo. “I love
his family about the attacks. “They worried
working with Americans,” she laughed. “I
about me, but I told them ‘Oh, I am in Kabul,’
know every single thing about Americans!”
and showed them some photos. They didn’t
Others in Ferizaj echoed Hassani’s senti‐
know where I really was,” Selimi said. He
ment, suggesting that Kosovo, which unilat‐
still sometimes has nightmares about Af‐
erally declared independence from Serbia
ghanistan. “I didn’t want to open my eyes, I
in 2008, should become the 51st star in the
didn’t know if I was in Afghanistan or Koso‐
American flag. In the capital, Pristina, post‐
vo. I didn’t want to open my eyes in case I
ers advertise an upcoming Snoop Dogg con‐
was back over there,” he said.
working with Americans, “II love know every single thing about
cert. An 18‐foot model of the Statue of Liberty adorns the Hotel Victory on Avenue Bill Klin‐ ton. A nearby hair salon is called Hillary.
“Everyone knows the Americans saved us [in the war with Serbia],” Mentor Selimi,
Americans!”
Besfort’s cousin, said. This pro‐American
-Edona Hassani, former KBR employee
stance contributes to contract employees’
Typically, KBR employees work three and
eagerness to work for U.S. military forces,
a half months at a stretch, returning home
but the incentive is primarily economic need.
for two‐week breaks. To date, no contractors
Ferizaj residents send home remittances
from Kosovo have died in Iraq or Afghani‐
from Germany and elsewhere in Europe,
stan, though a few have suffered injuries.
but the salaries are higher with American
Employees pay life insurance out of their sal‐
military contractors in conflict zones. “One
aries, about U.S. $150‐$300 per month. They
year of work there [in Afghanistan] is worth
often send the rest of the money home to
15 years of work here,” said Selimi. Still, his
their families, and buy cell phones and other
view of contracting work differs starkly from
presents for family during breaks in Dubai.
Hassani’s. “I hated it,” he said. Selimi spent
the mountains know about the corruption,”
“We’ve had people working there since
40 meters away.”
-Mentor Selimi, former KBR employee
joked Shpejtim Sherifi, owner of the Kosova Souvenir shop. Tax collection is seldom en‐ forced. 40 percent of the population is unem‐ ployed, and many young people have never held a job. If the United States carries out a drawdown of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, many in Ferizaj will be out of work. The salaries for contracting jobs are low‐ er now, and draw a different, needier work‐ force than the first hires. Fluor and Dyncorps pay a starting wage of $1,000 a month. Con‐ sidering the 13‐hour days and long separa‐ tion from family, “they give nothing,” said Sherifi. “I think now they are playing with people.” Still, the salaries go a long way in Kosovo, and many of Sherifi’s friends have left to work for the Americans in Iraq or in Afghanistan. Besfort Selimi is still waiting on a call from Fluor. “I want to experience another place, and I just want to work,” he said. Mari Michener Oye is a senior Political Science and International Studies major in Timothy Dwight College. Her research for this article was supported by the Les Aspin ‘60 Fellowship and aided by Fjolla Dumani, Garentina Kraja, and Nebi Qena. Contact her at mari.oye@yale.edu.
10 POLITICS & ECONOMY FALL 2010
The Oportunidades of Mexico Beneficiaries of Mexico’s conditional‐cash‐transfer program hope for healthcare that works for all people. By José Carlos Gutiérrez
F
people lack money and are “ The in need of government aid, but
our years have passed since Diego
The monetary support is designed to encour‐
Sántiz’s children last attended class at
age a more diverse family diet and cover the
their community school in Oniltic, an
opportunity cost of a child staying in school
indigenous Tzeltal community in the high‐ lands of Chiapas, Mexico. The Sántizes and nine other families were expelled from their community for their activities with an orga‐ nization of traditional doctors and midwives in resistance to a government‐funded health clinic. Many members of their organization landed in jail and some were severely beaten by the community police. An 84‐year‐old tra‐ ditional doctor was tied to a post in the blaz‐ ing sun for 18 hours. These incidents had nothing to do with the drug trafficking, religious conflicts, or territorial disputes that underlie violence in rural Chiapas. Instead, their roots lie in patterns of patronage and abuse within the
instead of working in the fields.
***** Although on paper Oportunidades seems like a cure for poverty, its implementation has been far from smooth. Doctors have abused their privileges in some clinics. The government clinic in Oniltic claimed that pregnant women would lose their Oportuni‐ dades benefit money if they did not submit to extra blood testing. Sántiz explained, “They refused to tell us why they wanted the blood samples; they never even returned results to the women who did comply. Of course we were going to object.”
not going to eradicate “You’re poverty by preventing poor
it’s a way [of] dividing us and winning us over. To me that isn’t ‘aid.’”
-Diego Sántiz
and better care for parents in old age. “You’re not going to eradicate poverty by preventing poor people from having babies,” concluded Maza. Family planning programs, though, are useful in rural communities where gender inequality often restricts a woman’s right to choose how many children to have. Access to contraception is vital. But there is doubt that a push for gender equality really drives
Oportunidades Human Development Pro‐
the program’s focus on family planning: The
gram.
program essentially takes control away from
Oportunidades is Mexico’s flagship social
program. Targeting the country’s poorest, it distributes cash stipends to families based
people from having babies...”
-Dr. Miguel Maza
on their attendance at doctors’ appointments
supplements to mothers, babies, and under‐ nourished children. Since the program’s founding in 1997, academics have praised it and foreign gov‐ ernments have imitated it. According to Laura Rawlings of the World Bank’s Human Development Department, Oportunidades is so innovative because it addresses “both future poverty by fostering human capital accumulation among the young... and cur‐ rent poverty by providing income support for smoothing consumption in the short run.”
will not trade the blood “ We of the fallen for government programs and projects.”
-Diego Sántiz
en. Traditional medicine in Mexico has been haunted by state persecution, not to men‐ tion disdain from modern physicians. But
and health lectures and children’s school at‐ tendance. The program provides nutritional
husbands only to give it to doctors, not wom‐
A cultural divide exists between doctors and their indigenous patients. Sántiz’s orga‐ nization opposed both the clinic’s use of pap‐ smears by male doctors and its emphasis on family planning. Dr. Miguel Maza, who ad‐ ministered a rural clinic in Guanajuato and then left Oportunidades for an NGO, said the program is overbearing in its encourage‐ ment of birth control or sterilization right after or even during birth. “They would say things like ‘you see, do you really want an‐ other one?’… or ‘Oh! It didn’t hurt while you were doing it now, did it?’” “Starting with your education as a doc‐ tor,” Maza continued, “you are taught that poor people lead better lives if they have less
the conflict in Oniltic alludes not only to the clash between two medical paradigms, but also between two civilizations: one modern, urban and western, and the other rural and indigenous. Throughout history, the Mexican state has attempted to “integrate” the coun‐ try’s various indigenous groups into modern Mexican society, which has often meant the loss of indigenous languages, traditions and ultimately culture. For indigenous beneficia‐ ries like Diego Sántiz, Oportunidades can be a double‐edged sword, tearing the social fabric that underpins the community’s way of life.
*****
children.” But in an agrarian society like ru‐
Doctors also complain that the Oportuni‐
ral Chiapas, having more kids means more
dades clinics are poorly staffed and main‐
hands to work the fields, additional income,
tained. Maza said that “in practice, [the doc‐
POLITICS & ECONOMY 11 THE YALE GLOBALIST
tors] are residency students, youth who go
ments and endowing nurses and doctors
into a community for a year and don’t want
who record attendance with considerable
any problems. They don’t try hard and the
power within communities. Oportunidades
workload is heavy. They don’t even give the
beneficiaries are not always well‐informed
health lectures.” Maza’s own year with Opor‐
on which medical procedures are obligatory
tunidades fulfilled his post‐medical school
and which are not, and if they are, the simple
requirement for social service.
threat of losing Oportunidades benefits can
Many facilities have dirt floors and gen‐
often persuade them to comply with any
erally poor infrastructure, says Dr. Aurora
extra‐official demands made by clinic per‐
Hernández:
***** Oportunidades has helped many of Mex‐ ico’s poorest, and its focus on women and girls is intended to help close the gender gap in Mexico: Stipends are higher for girls and are usually channeled through women to help overcome roadblocks to female educa‐ tion. But when a program affects social be‐ havior so strongly, it
“You
is important to ques‐
should see where I
tion whose rights are
see patients.” Doña
being respected—and
Eufemia of the Mar‐
whose are not—in the
qués de Comilla mu‐
process.
nicipality in Chiapas
Perhaps
is one of many Opor‐ tunidades beneficia‐
fers a solution to the
ries who has to walk
conflicts involved in
hours to reach a clin‐
the
ic. She cannot afford hours
cording to Esqueda,
in
the
the waiting room be‐
tion, which requires
return home empty‐ handed when the in‐ house pharmacy does
affecting
indigenous
popula‐
and operated jointly
Almost all health‐
with [the indigenous
care programs would
communities].” This
addi‐
the most surprising
programs
tions to “be designed
not have medication.
tional resources. But
cur‐
Two of the Constitu‐
Nor can she afford to
from
program
rently violates Article
fore an appointment.
benefit
implementation
of Oportunidades. Ac‐
to miss a day of work spending
surpris‐
ingly, Mexican law of‐
coordination is cer‐
The Zapatista governing body of Oventik strives to improve health autonomously. (Gutierrez/TYG)
criticism of Oportuni‐ dades is that its programs are designed more
sonnel. The conflict in Oniltic provides an ex‐
for international acclaim than for poverty
ample of this scenario. According to Sántiz,
reduction. According to Hernández, the pro‐
“There are people who say, ‘the government
gram’s focus on pregnant women is due to
is our father. We have to obey…’ It’s a way of
the current global emphasis on reducing ma‐
dividing us and winning us over. To me, that
ternal mortality. She continued, “There are
isn’t aid.’”
people who Oportunidades really does help,
In April, the government recalled all gov‐
but I see it more as a political strategy… it
ernment doctors—essentially terminating
helps make the numbers look better.” She
Oportunidades benefits—from the Montes
paused and smiled nervously: “But we’re not
Azules Reserve, a stronghold of the indig‐
supposed to say that now, are we?”
enous political movement Zapatismo. “They
Dr. Gerardo Juarez, who also works with
left without ever saying why,” remarked José
Oportunidades, commented that “the objec‐
Alfredo Esqueda. “The only explanation I
tive isn’t health,” but rather keeping house‐
can see is that they’re being punished for be‐
holds dependent on the government. Opor‐
ing Zapatistas,” arguing that the government
tunidades can comprise more than half of a
may be using denial of care as a weapon
family’s income, creating an enormous incen‐
against political dissidents.
tive to comply with the program’s require‐
tainly not practiced with Oportunidades,
and the failure is no exception to the rule: In Mexico, the letter of the law hardly deter‐ mines the practice. With Oportunidades, at least, the root of the problem points to a potential solution: respecting indigenous culture and autono‐ my. This is surely easier said than done, but only within a framework of equality can ru‐ ral healthcase improve and a truly pluralistic society become possible. “If the law was fol‐ lowed,” explained Esqueda, “and indigenous people had a real say in how the program was applied in their communities, perhaps Oportunidades could work.” *Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources.
José Carlos Gutiérrez is a senior History major in Silliman College. Contact him at jose.gutierrez@yale.edu.
12 PERSPECTIVES FALL 2010
“EVERYTHING IS By Rebecca Distler
GORENG”
T
hat’s what Melna Saraswati, a communications of‐
tional value of such foods, they are indulging in unprec‐
ficer at UNICEF, tells me. I’m sitting in her Banda
edented numbers.
Aceh office, listening to her describe Indonesian food:
But this isn’t a tirade against fast food: It’s one about
“Fried banana, fried sweet potato, fried everything.” Lit‐
health policy, or lack thereof in Indonesia’s case. Dr. Ah‐
erally, goreng means “fried” in Bahasa Indonesia, but for
mad Syafiq, head of the Department of Public Health
the nearly 18 percent of Indonesians who are obese or
Nutrition at the University of Indonesia, explained that
overweight, it is a word symbolic of a rapidly changing
“obesity is a newcomer in the area of nutrition problems,”
diet and widening waistbands.
adding that politicians rally supporters by promising to
Often, people are confused upon hearing that I trav‐
combat malnutrition in their political platforms, while
eled to Indonesia to study obesity. For many, images of
ignoring obesity. “It’s dangerous,” he said. “Politicians
gaunt, malnourished children still drift through their
don’t know the full issue.” The Indonesian Ministry of
minds when they think of developing nations; they often
Health has focused on malnutrition for so long that obe‐
ask, “Does obesity even exist in that part of the world?”
sity is barely on their radar. According to the Indonesian
But this isn’t a see fast food restaurants lining the streets, some laughing tirade against aloud at the sheer number of them. We watched children mad dashes for doughnut carts after school and fast food: It’s make found a Dunkin’ Donuts virtually everywhere we went. The increase of obesity in developing countries is a one about phenomenon of particular importance on the horizon of health policy, or global health: as obesity rates soar in countries tradition‐ lack thereof in ally afflicted by undernutrition, related illnesses—hyper‐ tension, diabetes and heart disease—rise as well. Many of Indonesia’s case. these countries lack the necessary health infrastructure
Consumers Organization (YLKI), there is no national
As our group explored Jakarta, many were surprised to
standard for nutritional labeling, preventing consumers from making healthy choices. Furthermore, no official data on obesity exists in Indonesia. Statistics vary, rang‐ ing from 13 to 39 percent of the general population, but most of the data is outdated or error‐ridden. The Ministry of Health has no programs specific to obesity. According to Dr. Titi Sekar Indah, a nutritionist at the Central Per‐ tamina Hospital in Jakarta, insurance companies will not pay for people to seek treatment for obesity because they believe it is “an aesthetic problem,” not a medical issue.
to deal adequately with the dual burden of nutrition is‐
There have been improvements: In 1996 the Food
sues and are likely to see increased pressure on already
Act was instated to regulate food labeling and advertis‐
thin health resources.
ing, though it lacked adequate nutrition guidelines for
In Indonesia, nutritional issues begin at birth. Accord‐
determining what is healthy. Nutritionists have begun
ing to UNICEF, 36.8 percent of Indonesians suffer from
using lower BMI cut‐offs to define obesity, to encour‐
stunting, undernourishment during youth and young
age people to lead healthier lifestyles. But as Syafiq and
adulthood that prevents them from reaching age‐appro‐
his colleagues are finding, with the increase of fast food
priate heights. Studies have shown that stunted children
consumption, decrease in physical activity, and the glo‐
who consume high fat diets are more susceptible to be‐
balization of processed foods, these steps are not nearly
coming overweight than non‐stunted children who con‐
enough.
sume comparable diets.
As I wait outside of Indah’s office at the hospital, her
Obesity is cropping up in several different Indonesian
door opens, and a young boy with a round belly walks out
populations. KFC is a popular spot amongst higher‐in‐
with his mother. As Indah ushers me in, she tells me that
come groups. Pizza Huts have valet parking. At the other
the mother is very concerned about her boy’s weight, and
end of the spectrum, street vendors mimic fast food deli‐
worries that food advertisements are contributing to his
cacies, providing fattening treats for merely a few coins;
weight gain. Indah sees more than 300 obesity cases per
some vendors offer “Acehnese Fried Chicken,” Banda
year, and while she offers nutrition advice and gives out
Aceh’s street‐food response to KFC. Traditional, home‐
diet plans, she understands that she will continue to see
cooked Indonesian cuisine has also become highly fatten‐
this trend grow until wide‐scale policy changes are imple‐
ing because of increased access to cheap palm oil. People
mented.
of all socio‐economic backgrounds have been introduced to unhealthy food, and without education on the nutri‐
Rebecca Distler is a junior Political Science major in Davenport College. Contact her at rebecca.distler@yale.edu.
PERSPECTIVES 13 THE YALE GLOBALIST
In the Eyelids of the Beholder In China, money can buy beauty, but not happiness. By Joanna Cornell
M
y cousin Bao Bao was always the pretty one of the family. Tall, skinny, and with fair white‐skin that all Asian girls covet, she never had problems finding a boyfriend. But according to her and the rest of the family, she had one egregious flaw: her single eye‐ lids. Bao Bao’s single eyelids weren’t merely a minor imperfection on a beautiful face: They were a blemish, an embarrassing de‐ fect that bothered her for years, until she fi‐ nally opted for double eyelid surgery on her 18th birthday.
Unbeknownst to most Westerners, Asians envy the beautiful creases that grace West‐ ern eyelids, the delicate folds that enlarge the eyes and give people more “spirit.” This obsession has led to the rise in popularity of double eyelid surgery, a procedure that reshapes the skin around the eye to create a perfect crease. The surgery costs a mere 2300 RMB (about 340 U.S. dollars), well with‐ in reach of China’s burgeoning middle class. Recent technological advances have simpli‐ fied the procedure to the point where the sur‐ geon only needs to use a needle and medical thread to reshape their patient’s eyes—and self‐image. Mainstream Chinese society objects to breast implants and other “drastic” forms of beauty surgery, but eyelid surgery has established a reputation as a minor cos‐ metic procedure—almost like getting your ears pierced. Fei Liu, a university student, commented, “It seems like every other girl I know has gotten the surgery; it’s not a big deal.” Other patients offer a medical justifi‐ cation for the surgery. Another young man
who asked to remain anonymous was 15 when he got double eyelid surgery: “My eyes were always too small and my eyelashes too long, and they would irritate my eyes. Get‐ ting double eyelids made sense,” he said. While the actual number of surgeries per‐ formed annually is unknown, one Hangzhou doctor estimates the number is as high as 1.2 million in China alone. The practice is also common in Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries. Now, it’s my turn. I was aware from a young age that my eyelids were not perfect. Sometimes they were double, sometimes they were single, and sometimes one eyelid was double while the other was single. The slight asymmetry in my face never concerned me, but it both‐ ered my mother, who naturally had beautiful double eyelids. Although she was vehement‐ ly against hair dye, nail polish, and all other “unnatural chemicals”, she never failed to comment on my less‐than‐perfect eyelids. My past visits to China were always too short to spend a day getting surgery, but this time I had no excuse.
seems like every other girl I “Itknow has gotten the surgery; it’s not a big deal.”
-Fei Lu, university student
Stepping through the mahogany doors and into the marble entryway of one of Hang‐ zhou’s many beauty hospitals, I was met by a beaming receptionist in a pink qipao‐like dress. When I told her I’d like to get double‐ eyelid surgery, she pulled out a sleek, silver notebook and asked for my name, age, and phone number. Sensing my hesitation, the girl smiled and assured me that the notebook was completely private. Slowly, I signed my name. The girl escorted me to a waiting area, and pointed toward room two. Carefully decorated ceramic bowls and traditional Chi‐ nese paintings decorated the hallway. A few posters of attractive European models hung
from the walls, advertising skincare prod‐ ucts and contact lenses. In just a matter of minutes, the doctor called me in. Dressed in the same pink dress as the other girl, she quickly examined my face, pulled the skin around my eyes in a few different directions, explained the basic procedure, and asked if I had any questions. What are the risks involved? There are none. What if I don’t like my new eyelids? Highly unlikely, but if necessary, the surgeon will redo them. What happens when I get older
and my skin starts to sag? Just get the sur‐ gery again. You ask too many questions, just trust us. Like the millions of Chinese before me, I had a decision to make. Should I conform to the Asian standards of beauty and get double eyelids? In a country where the rise of mate‐ rialism has gone hand‐in‐hand with growth in GDP, women face increasing pressure from media and society to fit a pop‐culture mold. I finally made up my mind. Keeping the doctor’s business card in my hand, I smiled, picked up my purse, and thanked her for her time. Just before walking out the door, I tossed the card aside: Double eyelid surgery may be right for someone like Bao Bao, but I won’t be coming back.
Joanna Cornell is a junior Economics and East Asian Studies double major in Saybrook College. Contact her at joanna.cornell@yale.edu.
ACEH
JAKARTA
BAL
1949
1966
1998
Indonesia wins indepenAmid civil unrest, Protests and rioting dence from the Dutch President Sukarno hands force Suharto to resign, after four years of gueover power to General ending his 32 year reign. rilla warfare; Sukarno Suharto, who becomes Vice president BJ Habibie becomes president. president the next year. becomes president.
2002
2004
A bomb attack by the Islamist group Jemaah Islamiah on the Kuta Beach nightclub district on Bali kills 202 people, most of them tourists.
In Indonesia’s firstever direct presidential elections, former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wins in the second round of voting.
FOCUS: Indonesia 15 THE YALE GLOBALIST
Selamat Datang ke
INDONESIA
LI
Photos by Bruner, Kaiser, Osborn, Wolf for TYG
2004
2005
2006
More than 220,000 peo- In the wake of the tsuElections are held in ple are dead or missing nami, the government Aceh as stipulated in after the massive Boxing and GAM separatists sign the peace agreement. Day tsunami triggered a peace deal in Aceh, Former GAM combatant by an earthquake off the ending three decades of Irwandi Yusuf is elected coast of Sumatra. conflict and martial law. governor.
2009
2010
Two suicide bombers Indonesia cracks down attack luxury hotels in on Islamist militants, Jakarta, murdering nine raiding training camps in people. Aceh and killing Dulmatin, suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings.
16 FOCUS: Indonesia FALL 2010
Ruffled Feathers As black market traders shuttle birds out of Indonesia’s forests and into the homes of collectors, Indonesia’s rare wildlife gets pushed into the red. By Rae Ellen Bichell
T
he Pramuka Bird Market in Surabaya is big and bustling, its open‐air stalls packed with birdcages from floor to ceiling. Freckled lovebirds, baby owls tethered to stick perches, and
iridescent blue kingfishers with curved beaks, among other exotic wildlife, stock the shelves of this avian superstore. Nearby, men load an official‐looking jeep with fabric‐covered cages, while across the parking lot uniformed policemen smoke cigarettes and enjoy their lunch. The bird trade has gone on for 5,000 years in Indonesia, and open wildlife markets dot every major city. Today, the trade has taken on a darker tone. Bubut, big black birds with red eyes, are believed to be valuable antidotes to broken bones when boiled into a drinkable medicine. Crows serve as lucky charms for gamblers, though an exceptionally glossy black chicken will also do. Songbirds especially are of tremen‐ dous importance in Indonesia, as songbird competitions have evolved into a national pastime. “Bird keeping is part of the Javanese cultural identity,” said Paul Jepson, a senior researcher at Oxford who did studies with BirdLife International in Indonesia for years. It was Jep‐ son who did the first and largest survey of bird keeping in Indonesia in 2005; he found that 22 percent of urban households keep a total of 2.6 million birds across Indonesia’s five biggest cities. Once they hit the international black market, the animals can end up anywhere from European cages to ground up into powder in traditional Chinese medicines. The demand for rare birds rose sharply in 1998, when the fall of Suharto caused mass decentralization across Indonesia’s 17,000 is‐ lands. Wildlife traders took advantage of the power vacuum, employ‐ ing the same export pathways as illegal loggers: out of the forest, past non‐vigilant or corrupt customs officials, and into black markets in Singapore and Malaysia. Now, as logs roll down forest slopes and into barges bound for processing plants, middlemen shuttle birds from hunters’ nets into wildlife markets, traders’ warehouses, and even smugglers’ underwear, as in the case of a man this April who attempt‐ ed to transport 14 songbirds taped inside his pants from Vietnam to Los Angeles. Traders continue to circumvent the Indonesian legal system with impunity, raising questions about corruption within the military and hinting at the trade’s links to other crime syndicates. A 2009 report by the animal protection agency ProFauna indicated that individual sellers and crime syndicates traded a combined 183 protected species in 70 bird markets across the country. Demand has
Highly prized for its healing properties, the Bubut is among a slew of birds sold illegally to traditional medicine customers across Asia. (Bichell/TYG) outstripped supply, posing great danger to many protected species as they continue to disappear from their natural habitats. “I’ve seen that over the last 13 years, birds are vanishing,” said Neville Kemp, an ornithologist who discovered the imperial pigeon while hiking in the Foja mountains in May. Once, he ran into a group of military personnel who had just shot a kasuari, an Indonesian ostrich, for food. “They have the guns. So what are you going to do about it?” said Kemp. It was not the first time he observed poachers while bird‐watching. The Indonesian bird trade is money‐driven , both within Indone‐ sia and internationally. Winners of songbird competitions, for exam‐ ple, can receive up to U.S. $3,500, a fortune for the average Indone‐ sian. These competitions are “a combination between a horse race and a dog show,” according to Jepson. “There are people shouting at the referee saying ‘You’re an idiot, you didn’t look at my bird long enough, what are you doing?’” Songbird contests account for $105 million each year within In‐ donesia. Worldwide, the monetary value of the illegal wildlife trade ranks second only to the drug trade. “It’s another way to get cash, just like art, gems, you name it,” said Chris Draper, a senior scientific researcher with the Born Free Foundation. Like art and gems, howev‐ er, there’s another side to the wildlife trade: elusive crime syndicates and their vast webs of corruption. Bird hunting starts as a casual hobby. “You can trade a parrot for three pieces of clothing. It’s a side job,” said Butet Sitohang of Pro‐ Fauna, referring to the poor farmers in Sumatra and Kalimantan who
FOCUS: Indonesia 17 THE YALE GLOBALIST
hunt them for a little extra cash during the
As a result, “NGOs cannot publish informa‐
The Convention on International Trade
dry season. The transactions further down
tion that the government doesn’t like.” In
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
the line, however, are much more complex.
2008, TRAFFIC, another NGO, was nearly
Flora, the standard for international wildlife
Prices increase dramatically the farther the
expelled from the country for publishing a
trade laws, is riddled with loopholes and eas‐
bird gets from the Indonesian forests, multi‐
report calling on the Indonesian government
ily evaded by governments and smugglers
plying by tenfold once it reaches Malaysia or
to step up law enforcement involving Suma‐
alike. “It’s very misunderstood. It doesn’t ban
Singapore and 200‐fold by the time it reaches
tran tiger hunting. “Sometimes the army will
trade, it does nothing of the sort. It rests on
Europe. Leaving Indonesia’s borders also
be on one side, and the police will be on the
individual signatories’ state governments,”
means disease and death during transport—
other. People are getting paid off in different
said Draper. Additionally, though Jepson’s
according to ProFauna, more than 20 percent
directions. And the corruption…” said Cait‐
study found 29 species of birds in Indonesian
of animals die in transit—and almost com‐
lin Clarke of the World Resources Institute.
homes, only three are protected and only
plete un‐traceability. Though ProFauna re‐
It is common knowledge that the large navy
two appear on the IUCN’s Red List, despite
search shows the highest demand for exotic
ships floating in the coastal city’s port often
the threat to conservation that they all pose.
birds comes from the Middle East, there is
embark packed with contraband, including
Worldwide, the monetary value of the illegal trade in wildlife ranks second only to the drug trade. “It’s another way to get cash, just like art, gems, you name it.”
-Chris Draper, scientific researcher
“You can trade a parrot for three
furniture exported with tranquilized birds packed in drawers and shelves.
Most groups concerned with wildlife con‐ servation say that the way to crack down on
pieces of clothing. It’s a side job.”
-Butet Sitohan, ProFauna
the black market bird trade is to increase punishment and regulations. But in a place
The government claims it is making im‐
where even automobile traffic laws are fre‐
provements, and indeed, with former Fi‐
quently brushed off—brown‐uniformed traf‐
nance Minister Sri Mulyani’s anti‐corruption
fic police can be frequently spotted sipping
policies, the country has shown marked
coffee together at posh hotels, even during
improvement. “Now we are going to be
rush hour—it’s hard to imagine enforcement
much better. Most people care, and they
having any success. The wildlife trade is
really want to help because otherwise we
almost no way of knowing where, or in what
“culturally embedded,” said Jepson: “All the
fine them,” said Raffles Panjaitan, head of
form, the birds end up.
police keep birds, so it’s hard for them to en‐
Ex‐Situ Conservation at the Ministry of For‐
force.”
estry. “We try to catch some people who sell
Well‐organized
smuggling
operations
are busted every few months, though many
the protected animals and people who have
go undiscovered. They are highly planned,
the animals in their home.” But, Sitohang
and, according to ProFauna, linked to arms,
pointed out, “They’re working only for what
drugs, and human trafficking as well. “The
we call ‘sexy animals,’ like tigers and orang‐
wildlife traders are usually human traffick‐
utans,” leaving other species in the dust. “It’s
ers and weapons dealers also. It all goes
all superficial,” she said.
back to the same syndicates,” said Sitohang.
A screening operation this spring by IN‐
On top of that, smugglers are intimately fa‐
TERPOL caught millions of dollars of wild‐
miliar with the inner workings of airports,
life products on their way into European
seaports, and customs screening strategies,
countries. 18 countries participated in the
making it even more difficult for authorities
campaign. Indonesia was not among them,
to stop the trade.
despite experiencing “rolling” extinction of
“All sorts of illegal things are going on
songbirds like the long‐tailed shrike, the or‐
under the radar. I’ve been at the airport and
ange‐headed thrush, and the white‐rumped
watched officials with crates of birds,” said
shama.
John Morrison, deputy director of Conser‐
The Bali starling is now extinct, and the
vation Science at the World Wildlife Fund.
straw‐headed bulbuls are following in their
“Smuggling is done by the army—the actual
wake. But, as Sitohang put it, with “with the
army and navy. They smuggle birds just like
judicial system here, money always talks.”
they smuggle timber, because they have ac‐ cess to the transportation, and because no one is going to try to stop them,” he said. “The wildlife mafias are always backed up by high‐ranking military,” confirmed Sitohang.
At the Pramuka Bird Market in Surabaya, two young vendors stand proudly in front of a baby owl, which could provide their income for the week. (Bichell/TYG)
Rae Ellen Bichell is a junior Anthropology major in Davenport College. Her work on this article was graciously funded by the Eli Spungen Bildner and Robert Bildner Summer Journalism Fellowship. Contact her at raeellen.bichell@yale.
Policing
Morality The struggle to reconcile Islamic law and tourism in Aceh. By Raphaella Friedman and Jeffrey Kaiser
C
ars and motorbikes streak through the colonnade of uniformed men, hoping to evade being stopped. An officer blows his whis‐ tle, points at a young woman on a motor scooter, and directs her to the side of the road. This is no ordinary roadside check‐ point: It is an operation of the Sharia police of Banda Aceh. He tells her that her leggings are unacceptable and reveal too much of her aurat, a word from the Qur’an which refers generally to sex appeal. Vis‐ ibly annoyed, the woman is forced to sign her name in a book, acknowl‐ edging that she has been stopped and reminded of the appropriate dress and conduct under Sharia law. After a senior officer lectures her about her appearance she is free to go. The province of Aceh has earned a reputation as a conflict‐ridden terrorist base, cursed by
its location on the volatile tectonic plates that caused the infamous 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Now, even after a cautious peace and rebuilding effort, the autonomous northernmost tip of the island of Sumatra is under the limelight again, both within Indonesia and internationally, for its formal adoption of Islamic Sharia law. This turn of events in Indonesia’s most divergent province, known for its piety, did not surprise or alarm most city‐dwellers in Jakarta. Despite Indonesia’s Muslim majority, there is a sense that this formal application of Islam is quarantined in Aceh, and will remain that way, unwanted by the consumer culture that has come to dominate the country’s major cities. The club of countries that have officially implemented Sharia law, at least partially, is ex‐ clusive and includes Iran and Saudi Arabia. Indonesia, however, is a secular democracy and has little in common with these extremist states. The presence of the Sharia police in Aceh has become the public face of the recent implementation of Islamic law. Known locally as the
M. Kasim Idris, sekretariat of Banda Aceh’s Sharia police, drills his force before an operation. (Kaiser/TYG)
Wilayatul Hisbah, or, more affectionately, WeHa, they are a vice and virtue patrol supplement‐ ing the traditional police. Representations of the police force in international media have rein‐
FOCUS: Indonesia 19 THE YALE GLOBALIST
forced Western stereotypes of Islam as an inherently radical religion.
force lacks the power to arrest. They provide no alternative criminal
A scandal earlier this year in which three Sharia police officers were
justice—a Sharia court is responsible for sentencing. Punishments
accused of raping a student also contributed to a tainted image. This
are never more severe than caning, which are harsh but relatively
negative public image has hurt a province struggling to promote a
minor in a system that has traditionally allowed for death by stoning.
fledgling tourism industry, part of a broader economic recovery and
Under‐funded and understaffed, the force patrolled only three times
growth strategy. It also belies the complexity of the democratic pro‐
during the month of May. At a two‐hour checkpoint on May 26, the
cess that allowed Sharia into 21st century Aceh in the first place.
force stopped 118 citizens. Most were chided for dressing inappropri‐
*****
ately—for men, shorts and for women, pants considered too reveal‐ ing, sleeveless tops, or uncovered hair—and then sent on their way.
the Sharia police, deal with humanity, the “We, security of the people, religious security.”
On the northernmost tip of Sumatra, waves break against the newly constructed rocky shoreline. This site, once the small port of Ulee Lheu, is tsunami ground zero. Women clad in hijabs laugh and chatter alongside men, some of whom peacefully fish, catching the
last orange and pink rays of the setting sun. The smell of roasted corn rises temptingly from street vendors as a few remaining motorcycles zoom along the quiet, dusty streets back toward the center of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. Sleepy and innocuous, it hardly seems like the kind of place tourists should fear. Islam arrived in Aceh on 9th century trading ships, making the province the inaugural home of Islam in Southeast Asia and earn‐ ing it the nickname Veranda of Mecca. By the 17th century, Aceh had established itself as a major regional power and a leader in Islamic scholarship. In 2001, after decades of civil war and strife, Jakarta expanded Aceh’s special autonomy status, giving the historically de‐ vout province the right to implement Sharia law. Ahmad Syafiimufid, a researcher at the Ministry of Religion, traced the push for Sharia back to Aceh’s idyllic era of welfare and justice in the 14th century under the rule of Sultan Iskandar Muda. “Many Achenese will back to this period,” he said, labeling the theory kembali ke gampong, or, “going back to the village.” Most profiles of Aceh’s religiosity, whether in the BBC or the Lonely Planet guidebook, tend to misrepresent both the scope of Sharia law and the power of the Sharia police. Designed to provide guidance to those who have violated Muslim codes of morality, the
—M. Kasim Idris
Near the end of the operation two women were stopped, one wear‐ ing a sleeveless shirt, the other without head covering. The most se‐ rious offenders of the day, they were held for nearly 20 minutes and hassled by a number of officers. One threatened to take them back to the station in order to “fix them.” The two were forced in front of local TV cameras covering the operation. A handful of the officers snapped pictures on their camera phones. Public humiliation is one of the goals and is effective in preventing repeat offenses, according to a number of senior officers present. Away from the crowd, one of the two women quietly admitted that she was scared but that this treatment is fair. “I know I am not dressed appropriately,” she said. Evi Zain, director of the Aceh Human Rights NGOs Coalition, is one of few Muslim women in Banda Aceh who chooses to sit in a coffee shop without a head covering. Still, she has a bright green scarf on standby, casually draped around her neck, ready for a surprise visit from the Sharia police. As she deplored human rights violations, Zain expressed the greatest disappointment with the squandered po‐ tential of Sharia to help society. “Sharia law is an important part of culture. We want it to help women, help children, promote welfare— but it doesn’t do that,” she said.
An officer at the checkpoint tries to stop a young woman on a motorcycle whose clothes are considered too revealing. (Kaiser/TYG)
20 FOCUS: Indonesia FALL 2010
For Zain, government debates focused on
Sharia police bring gamblers, adulterers and
the more surface‐level mandates of Sharia
drinkers before Islamic courts and facilitate
are detracting from progress in other areas.
their punishment: public lashings in front of
“They’re thinking about implementing Shar‐
a mosque.
ia law and not about other things. There is
“The lashings do not hurt so badly,” as‐
no tourism, no mall, no movie theatre. There
sured Idris. “The lashing is meant to cause
dollar is not everything. We “The need that dollar for economic
is no space for free expression,” said Zain, visibly exasperated.
A college student who wished to remain anonymous because his father is a mem‐
ber of Parliament complained of the lack of freedom. “I dislike them [the Sharia police] because they disturb us,” he said, recount‐ ing an instance when he and his girlfriend were hassled near a beach because she was
recovery… but we also need to maintain our culture and our religion.”
—Rahmadahni “Danny” Bus
wearing jeans. “Teenagers, we want to be free men, but the old people like my father,
shame, so that one can learn. Mentally, if
they think with another brain.” While Sharia
three lashes happen in front of your wife,
law may have been acceptable ten years ago,
your children and the community, it is very
he argued, today’s globalized world does not
painful. You will not do it again.”
allow for many of the traditions of a bygone social order.
Yarmen Dinamika, managing editor at Se‐ rambi, Aceh’s premier newspaper, conceded
*****
that public humiliation was sometimes ef‐ fective: “Before the Sharia law, vigilantes al‐
“We, the Sharia police, deal with human‐
ways took matters into their own hands. But
ity, the security of the people, religious secu‐
after, the number of vigilantes declined and
rity,” said M. Kasim Idris, the sekretariat of
also, adultery declined. Gambling went down
the Sharia police in Banda Aceh. Idris cuts
80 percent after the cambuk [canings]. It is
an endearing figure at five feet tall, standing
effective,” he said. He did not cite the source
proudly in his stately and highly decorated
of these figures.
uniform. He is an older man, and the thought
Idris noted that tourists and Indonesians
of his role in protecting the young generation
of other faiths are exempt from punishment.
of Acehnese Muslims from moral corruption
“If you want to drink or have sex, go to the
brings tears to his eyes.
hotel room,” he said dismissively. However,
But Idris does not hesitate to relate the
he added that the actions of visitors should
other, less cushy side of his mandate. The
not impede the ability of residents to follow
A “tsunami tourism” destination, a fishing boat still rests atop the remains of a house, its resting place when the water receded. (Kaiser/TYG)
Sharia. If a foreigner ignores an initial warn‐ ing, after drinking or gambling in a public place, the police will either ask him to leave or take him before a religious court of his own faith for judgment. As he closed the door behind him at the police headquarters, Idris asked, “Do you still believe we are violating human rights?” His eyes pleaded.
***** Behind his smiling exterior, Rahmadani “Danny” Bus is well aware of the daily chal‐ lenge he faces as the Director of Tourism Promotion for Aceh. Day after day he sells his mantra—“Aceh is safe, Aceh is attractive, Aceh is convenient”—to potential tourists who see nothing more than the headlines about such public canings, earthquakes and terrorist bases on the BBC and in the pages of the Jakarta Post. Tourism has become in‐ creasingly important to Aceh as part of the post‐tsunami, post‐conflict economic recon‐ struction, as the province is weaned off of foreign aid and looks to develop a sustain‐ able local economy. Bus has attempted to counter the com‐ mon perceptions of Aceh through a unique marketing strategy. In his mind, Sharia law is not incompatible with tourism: “Some people may think that Sharia is a problem,” he said. “But it will not go away, so we try to
FOCUS: Indonesia 21 THE YALE GLOBALIST
istry believes the ideal solution is a tourist industry based on culture and religion as opposed to sex and alcohol. “The dollar is not everything,” explained Danny. “We need that dollar for economic recovery… but we also need to maintain our culture and our religion.” For now, Bus is content to limit his market to domestic and regional tour‐ ists. Western and international tourism is a long‐term goal. “We don’t want to distort our values by creating a gambling spot,” he said. Preserving morality in society is a priority to many in Aceh especially in keeping away fu‐ ture evil. “We believe that tragedy attacked us because we did wrong, and this is a wide‐ spread belief,” said Bus, referring to the 2004 tsunami. “We believe that we have another life after this, and the Sharia police help us as moral guides.”
Above: Two young women are forced in front of local television cameras after being stopped by the Sharia police for violating Islamic law. Because their offenses are more serious—one wore a sleeveless top, the other hadn’t covered her head—they are subject to such public humiliation. (Kaiser/TYG) Below: M. Kasim Idris, the sekretariat of the Sharia police in Banda Aceh. (Kaiser/TYG)
***** Decentralization within Aceh has allowed district leaders to implement laws even more strict than those passed by the provincial parliament. In Meulaboh in West Aceh, the
think that Sharia will be a part of the tour‐
hospitality,” he said. Tsunami tourism, he
district head recently banned women from
ism we develop in Aceh,” suggesting that
believes, has particular appeal. In the city of
wearing pants. Yet for most Achenese these
Sharia itself may be an attraction for some
Banda Aceh alone there are numer‐
restrictions, like the actions of the Sharia
visitors. Bus does recognize the role that
ous monuments and a museum de‐
police, are mere annoyances; day‐to‐day life
the Sharia police play in deterring visitors,
voted to the 2004 disaster. A fishing
remains unchanged. In this nearly homog‐
particularly those from abroad. “Tourism
boat still perched atop the remains
enous Muslim society, most citizens adhere
of a home where it came to rest
to the moral code prescribed by Sharia out
when the water receded is a
of personal choice, not for fear of retribu‐
powerful reminder of the
tion. Those who seek relief from the moral
must be convenient,” he said. The Lonely Planet guidebook for Indonesia has a special box in the chapter on Aceh warning
devastation
tourists about the presence of
this place.
that
swept
mandate escape to Medan on the weekends where gambling and drinking is common‐
To some, though, par‐
place, siphoning much‐needed capital away
list of laws, many of which are ex‐
ticularly in Aceh’s private
from Aceh. This does not bode well for the
aggerated or simply false, Bus’s
sector, the idea of build‐
growth of Aceh’s own tourism industry.
normally cheerful face turned
ing such a tourism indus‐
For some, Sharia law may be the best set
dark. “This is slander,” he said.
try is a mere pipe dream.
of guidelines for living a moral life, but its
Even more so than factual mis‐
Mendel Pols, a Dutch ex‐
forced implementation over an entire com‐
the Sharia police. Reading the
patriate and jungle tour
munity is at best a challenge and at worst a
operator in Aceh, does not
calamity marred by bad press and flagrant
ince as a potentially hostile environ‐
buy into Bus’s vision. “As long
human rights violations. Faced with a choice
ment to tourists.
as you still outlaw the sale of
between Sharia tourism or the beaches and
Bus knows he won’t be attracting
alcoholic beverages you will
bikinis of Bali, many tourists opt for the lat‐
the Bali crowd anytime soon, but he
not be able to sell the place
ter.
takes, he was disturbed by the representation of his beloved prov‐
believes he is targeting a different sort
to westerners,” he said. Pols’s
of market that is also profitable. “The
company struggles to rake in
kind of tourist who comes, they are
revenue, often guiding only
never thinking of sex tourism, or gam‐
one tour group a month.
ble tourism—they’ll come for culture,
Still, Aceh’s tourism min‐
Raphaella Friedman is a Junior Political Science major in Trumbull College. Jeffrey Kaiser is a Ju‐ nior Political Science major in Saybrook College. Contact them at raphaella.friedman@yale.edu and jeffrey.kaiser@yale.edu.
22 FOCUS: Indonesia FALL 2010
Healers and Hospitals: A Story of Healthcare in Bali On the island of Bali, traditional healers or balians, as well as hospitals and other Western health centers, exist in symbiosis, offering locals a mix of old and new healthcare. By Uzra Khan
A
t several places along the narrow, winding roads of Ubud,
donesia, making smaller outlets, pharmacies, and clinics accessible
on the island of Bali, alongside stores selling intricate wood‐
to local people. The Red Cross signs on the streets are symbolic of
carvings, silverware, butterfly kites, and plates of steaming
this reform.
fried rice, small white boards bearing the Red Cross symbol catch the
These smaller clinics emerged as a middle ground between intimi‐
eye of passersby, beacons of the presence of modern, western health‐
dating, large hospitals and traditional medicine men. But to those ac‐
care on the island.
customed to western medicine it may seem incongruous for someone
These niches of sterilized medical equipment, engineered drugs, and hospital beds are a contrast to what lies in alleyways nearby. Amidst small residential communities, hundreds of balians—medi‐ cine men and women—make use of natural ingredients and their knowledge of traditional methods of healing to cure locals.
with medical insurance like Urip to continue visiting a traditional medicine man.
***** Balians are said to possess sakti, or spiritual power, and are deep‐
The dichotomous systems of healthcare exist in symbiosis, cater‐
ly revered by the people of Bali. Using a blend of herbs and natural
ing to a large and sometimes overlapping clientele; many Balinese
ingredients like cinnamon, cloves, ylang ylang leaves, guava, and
make use of both facilities, depending on circumstances and the par‐
natural oils and essences the balians tend to almost any illness or
ticular illness.
personal problem. Rituals and mantras from Balinese Hinduism are
Despite improvements in modern healthcare in the past decade, the people of Bali remain deeply rooted in their customs and beliefs, especially regarding healthcare. Religion is an important part of all aspects of life on the island: Each residential community has its own temple, which serves as the center of public life. The island boasts some 20,000 temples, each elaborately carved and decorated. Out‐ side the door of every home and shop a small box of flowers and fruit called a charpang serves as an offering to the gods.
tourists believe in science. I go to balian “ Only with all my problems.”
—Puto Aroh
The Balinese brand of Hinduism is a mix of ancient local customs and Hinduism from South Asia, incorporating not just the mythology and philosophy of traditional Hinduism, but also black magic, ani‐ mism, and witchcraft. This cocktail of beliefs is central to the lives of the Balinese people and shapes cultural attitudes toward many as‐ pects of life, including healthcare. Nyoman Urip, a local driver, com‐ mented on the Red Cross symbols: “Oh I hadn’t seen those before. They must be clinics. But I go to my balian, he is very good. If you are sick, I can take you to the hospital. I just got insurance.” Bali’s eight administrative regions did not have the authority to establish efficient local medical services until the decentralization of political authority in 2001, when healthcare reform spread across In‐
FOCUS: Indonesia 23 THE YALE GLOBALIST
a powerful supplement to the herbal tools. Balians specialize in vari‐
bay. These medicinal works of art also prevent “family sickness”—
ous practices: some have studied ancient palm leaf manuscripts of
discord among family members, and marital problems.
medicine, or usadas, while others acquire knowledge through divine
*****
inspiration. Some mend broken bones, some are midwives, and some even take on the role of the priest in their community, conducting ceremonies like baby namings, marriages, and cremations. Balians are so widely renowned and respected that for many Ba‐
In explaining his use of both traditional and modern medicine, Urip said, “I like going to balian because they try to find out what the problem is, not just cure it like the hospitals do. But if you need fast
linese the decision between modern and traditional medicine is sim‐
care, you go to hospital. If my son were ill, I’d go to hospital, because
ple. Putu Aroh, a Balinese hotel employee, claimed that hospital beds
balian take time to heal. That’s why I got insurance.” Urip’s healer of
in Bali are filled mostly by tourists. “Only tourists believe in science.
choice is a medicine woman, Wayan, who was also featured in Eliza‐
I go to balian with all my problems. If he tells me to go the hospital,
beth Gilbert’s book. “She charges a lot more after the book, though,”
I’ll go. But he only says that when I have fever, or to get an injection.” Ketut Liyer, a medicine man in Ubud made famous by Elizabeth
he said. In an economy that has been severely affected by multiple natural
Gilbert’s book “Eat, Pray, Love,” is a ninth generation balian usada
disasters as well as the global financial crisis, the price of allopathic
who also has a longstanding distrust for modern medicine. Instead,
healthcare is on the rise. The flexibility of payment for traditional
he practices the ancient palm leaf medicine manuscripts of his an‐
means of healing is a major attraction for many Balinese, especially
cestors. “I was sick when I was young once,” he said. “My hand was
the poor. The fee for seeing a balian is quite variable: Patients of‐
burned, and the hospital’s medicine didn’t help me. They were too
ten pay as much as they deem appropriate, or as much as they can.
smart for me! That night, my ancestors came to me in my dream and
Conversely, very few Indonesians can afford medical insurance for
told me what to put on my arm, and I have been curing people since
I only send patients to hospital if I cannot cure “them myself.”
then. I only send patients to hospital if I cannot cure them myself.”
Liyer’s arsenal includes different oils for patients to smell if they have insomnia, headaches, or high blood pressure. “I could tell what their illness is by looking into their eyes. But now I am old,” he said, reveal‐ ing a toothy smile. A self‐proclaimed artist, Liyer paints magic paint‐
-Ketut Liyer
ings that Balinese families display in their homes to keep sickness at
modern healthcare, and only the poorest of the poor are eligible for
Ketut Liyer, a traditional medicine man, shares insight into his medical practices at his home in Ubud, Bali. (Wolf/TYG)
Medicare health cards from the government. “Hospitals are becom‐ ing more and more expensive and impersonal, which makes local people suspicious of western medicine,” said Dr. Bayu Widhiartha, who works at a local hospital. “Eat, Pray, Love” was a huge success, recently released as a movie starring Julia Roberts and drawing much attention to the ways of medicine and healing in Bali. The spotlight has drastically changed the lives of Liyer and Wayan, as well as other balians. Liyer, who is old and effectively unable to practice, spends his days entertaining ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ fans who flock from all over the world to have their palms read and take pictures with him. Publicity for Wayan, however, has brought changes to her methods of healing. In her house in Ubud, a shelf full of professionally packaged medicines sits adjacent to an array of planted herbs. She carries with her a typed flyer advertising the services she offers, ranging from pricy four‐hour treatments tar‐ geting tourists to cheap healing massages and consultations for Bali‐ nese. “Some other balian in Ubud are also trying to be like Wayan, to have proper packaging and Western explanations,” said Urip. International publicity and an influx of tourists have certainly brought change to the ancient ways of medicine in Bali. While wide‐ spread cultural resistance to Western medicine has hindered its adoption, cooperation between the modern and traditional systems have been mostly unsustainable as well. A solution to Bali’s health‐ care dilemma seems far off. In the meantime, the system remains in flux. Uzra Khan is a junior Psychology and International Studies major in Trumbull College. Contact her at uzra.khan@yale.edu.
24 FOCUS: Indonesia FALL 2010
Post‐Conflict Connections
didn’t stop there. Without being asked, he also passed on the names
Five years after the end of armed hostilities between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Government, fighters have not given up their close network of ex‐ combatants and supporters, raising crucial questions for Aceh’s political future.
covered over the next few days of reporting, so was the entire GAM
and contact information of fellow ex‐GAM combatants, among them the group’s former second‐in‐command and several members of Aceh’s parliament who had previously fought for Acehnese indepen‐ dence. Nazar, it seemed, was a very well connected man. But as I dis‐ movement. As Nazar mentioned, ex‐combatants still “do as their leader will say to them. We listen to him… he gives advice.” These men may have stopped fighting a half decade ago, but there was no question that they were still very much in touch with one another. The real question was: Why?
Insurgency in Flux Aceh has a long history of resistance. After a 12‐year struggle for independence from the Dutch, Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, declared Aceh an autonomous province in 1957. 20 years later, this regional autonomy had disappeared along with a large percentage
By Angela Ramirez
of annual profits from natural resources. Acehnese pride soared in
S
the face of unjust central government policies. In response, di Tiro
from its tumultuous past. “Now we use our mind because now we
sia. “Throughout the war, people were sort of able to rotate in and
ix years ago, Banda Aceh, the capital of the Indonesian prov‐ ince of Aceh, was embroiled in a fierce, 30‐year conflict that claimed the lives of some 15,000 people. Arriving there this
summer, however, I found myself in a world that seemed far removed understand the gun is not the way. Now we try to make peace,” T.M. Nazar, the director of the Aceh Reintegration Board and a former combatant for the Free Aceh Movement—colloquially known as GAM—said during our first interview in the territory. In its prime, the GAM was no ragtag band of thugs: Known for
founded GAM. Until 2001, fighting for GAM soldiers was a “part‐time job,” ac‐ cording to Craig Thorburn, senior lecturer at Monash University in Australia and frequent contributor to World Bank studies in Indone‐ out of GAM.” Combatants “could melt into the jungle” when the clock struck four, leaving their civilian clothes behind in exchange for mili‐ tary uniforms. Acehnese social structure remained centered around the immediate family and friends.
holding guns for 20 years… and [then] we “We’re find ourselves in government… what can we do?”
their fierce determination and superior knowledge of the Acehen‐ ese jungle, upwards of 5,000 of these men had received training in
Libya as guests of Muammar al‐Gaddafi. That makes it all the more remarkable that, six years after the signing of a formal cessation of
hostilities, GAM has not returned to arms and, by most accounts, has left its warring beginnings behind. At the heart of the demobilization of this group are organizations like Nazar’s, situated in an unremark‐ able three‐story building in the heart of Banda Aceh, which aids ex‐
complained one ex-combatant. “People in the jungle don’t know what the meaning of freedom is.”
-Anonymous ex-combatant
GAM soldiers with re‐assimilation into civilian life.
The Network I traveled to Aceh intending to report on the work of Nazar’s orga‐ nization and to assess the effectiveness of efforts to reintegrate GAM fighters into civilian life, but midway through the interview with Na‐ zar, our conversation took an unexpected turn. He seemed to ques‐ tion reintegration and even the durability of peace itself. While discussing his organization’s work, Nazar mentioned Hasan di Tiro, a Swedish citizen of Acehnese descent and the former head of GAM. “Can I speak to him?” I asked, expecting that he would not be at a level warranting the attention of somebody as important in the movement as di Tiro. Instead, he promised to put us directly in touch—he had di Tiro’s number saved on his cell phone—as long as the leader’s health cooperated (as it turned out, di Tiro, who died in June of this year, was already too sick to meet with me). And Nazar
When in 2001 the Indonesian government increased its force in Aceh to 30,000 soldiers, GAM fighters became full time residents of the Acehnese jungle. Fighting intensified, and peace talks mediated by the Finnish government in 2003 were in vain. Facing the dangers of the jungle and conflict together, bands of fighters developed close bonds. For them, the core of society shifted to their comrades and commanders in the jungle. Peace came to Aceh at great cost. When the 2004 tsunami struck Aceh, killing over 160,000 people, GAM and the central government agreed to a ceasefire to allow aid to flow into the region. As the scale of devastation in Aceh became clear, the ceasefire gave way to a for‐ mal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2005. The central gov‐ ernment ceded to Aceh the autonomy it had demanded in exchange for immediate peace, the disarmament of 3,000 combatants, and the release of imprisoned GAM members.
FOCUS: Indonesia 25 THE YALE GLOBALIST
Head of the Aceh Reintegration Board TM Nazar (right) and parliamentary representative Darmuda (above), both former Free Aceh Movement combatants, express their hopes for a future of economic, social, and political improvement in the province of Aceh. (Ramirez/TYG)
New Beginnings, Old Connections From the rubble left behind by the devastating tsunami and pro‐ longed fighting rose a cacophony of political enthusiasts, many of them ex‐GAM military commanders who had been in power during the war. Lauded as war heroes, former fighters created their own GAM political party, Aceh Party, and ran almost unopposed in many lo‐ cal elections. “You basically couldn’t run if you [weren’t] a former combatant,” said Thorburn. The Aceh Party filled about half of all parliamentary seats in the first election, essentially controlling the provincial government. Di Tiro returned to Aceh after thirty years of exile in Sweden and built a reputation as the top ‘adviser’ to reinte‐ gration. “Most Acehnese like to see him and ask him questions,” said Tengku Jamaica, a former spokesman for GAM. Aceh Party politi‐ cians sought support and advice from members of their supposedly disbanded movement. But military expertise has not translated to successful policies. “We’re holding guns for 20 years…And [then] we find ourselves in government…What can we do?” complained one ex‐combatant. “Peo‐ ple in the jungle don’t know what the meaning of freedom is.” In short, GAM politicians have had trouble delivering, particu‐ larly on reintegration. Although most ex‐combatants, prisoners, and victims found jobs immediately after 2005, nearly 80 percent of these were temporary, part of the post‐tsunami reconstruction of Banda Aceh. Outside the capital even fewer jobs, temporary or permanent, are available to ex‐fighters. By the end of 2012, many ex‐combatants and victims alike will find themselves unemployed as foreign aid trickles to a halt. The only men who “will be just fine,” predicted Muslahuddin Daud, post‐conflict consultant for the World Bank in Banda Aceh, will be high‐earning politicians. The Indonesian government, he said, has failed to do its part to assist reintegration.
A Tinderbox? Post‐conflict, post‐tsunami, and post‐foreign‐aid Aceh “must be turned around,” said Daud. With the economy in decline, a growing discontentment with the central government, and a tight network of ex‐GAM combatants and supporters still in place, this challenge has
taken on a new urgency. Aceh may be closer to conflict than many think. One cause for concern is that thousands of arms are still unaccounted for. While the MOU states that “GAM undertakes the decommissioning of all arms [and] commits to hand over 840 arms,” estimates of the size of the GAM force top 13,000. Fortunately, recent events suggest Aceh would not tolerate future bloodshed. In March of this year, authorities discovered and arrested a group of Islamic militants belonging to the Jemaah Islamiyah, a ter‐ rorist organization, in the Acehnese jungle. They had attempted to establish the first terrorist training camp in Southeast Asia by har‐ nessing Aceh’s anti‐government sentiment, separatist ideology, and Islamic identity, but as Conrad Clos from the International Organi‐ zation of Migration recalled, “communities were reporting them to the police.” The terrorists severely underestimated the province’s commitment to peace. “There is no space for them to work… Aceh [doesn’t] like jihadist groups,” assured Daud. Ex‐combatants and ci‐ vilians alike made clear that the Acehnese are tired of fighting.
A Tool or a Threat? With this widespread aversion to violence in mind, GAM’s endur‐ ing network looks less like a threat than its past may suggest. And with the impending exodus of foreign aid from Aceh, this network, which connects ex‐combatant politicians with their fellow fighters and with a public that generally supported the GAM, may in fact be a hidden blessing. It is perhaps the glue of Acehnese society at a time when widespread unemployment and discontent would otherwise foster even more frustration with the government. Effective future use of this network is key to Aceh’s stability and strength. If it continues as a tool for Aceh Party candidates to ascend to power regardless of competency, political and social benefits may not last long. If it can be used to inspire the Acehnese to rebuild their society from the ground up, then the future for Aceh may be very bright indeed. Angela Ramirez is a junior Political Science and International Studies major in Davenport College. Contact her at angela.ramirez@yale.edu.
26 FOCUS: Indonesia FALL 2010
Green Priorities? A nation begins to notice its impact on nature. By Diego Salvatierra
A
stroll around a Jakarta market is
of peat, the thick soil cover that stores huge
the environmental problems facing their
enough to reveal the vibrancy of
amounts of carbon dioxide from long‐dead
country, such issues rarely take center stage.
the nation´s press. Dozens of pub‐
vegetation; upon the soil’s destruction, the
According to journalism student Boris Ang‐
lications, ranging from serious newspapers,
stored greenhouse gas emanates into the at‐
goro, Indonesians “are really concerned
to tabloids, to magazines catering to every
mosphere. Indonesia has also been plagued
about natural issues, but generally, common
niche of society, plaster street kiosks. Since
with severe urban pollution and the deple‐
Indonesians are more concerned about poli‐
the fall of President Suharto in 1998, the In‐
tion of marine resources. But a flip through
tics, or even gossip.” It is hard to say whether
donesian free press has flourished, contrib‐
an issue of Kompas, the most widely read
lack of interest causes sparse coverage or
uting to the country’s political diversity and
Indonesian‐language newspaper, revealed
vice versa, but two particular obstacles to
burgeoning cosmopolitan culture. In this
only one article on the environment out of
awareness stand out: Indonesia’s vast size
fast‐growing tropical nation, however, the
over 50 articles, columns, and letters. These
and diversity, and its need for development.
media has failed to tackle one crucial subject:
issues are well covered in English‐language
As the country grows, so do its environmen‐
and foreign press, but they are “not the big‐
tal problems.
gest priority in Indonesian language media,”
Indonesia is a massive nation, comprised
Roadblocks to awareness
Due to widespread destruction of vast for‐
according to Brian Hanley of Search for Com‐
of over 17,000 islands and home to dozens of
ests, Indonesia has become the third largest
mon Ground (SFCG), a conflict transforma‐
languages. As a result, the issues that matter
carbon emitter in the world. Most deforesta‐
tion NGO. If media is the voice of the people,
to people vary greatly across regions. The
tion is linked to the explosive growth of palm‐
this lack of coverage does not bode well for
island of Java, home to the capital Jakarta
oil plantations. The felling of rainforests for
the environment.
and to over 130 million people, has long been
these plantations results in the mass erosion
While many Indonesians are aware of
mostly deforested because of the intensive agriculture needed to feed its dense popula‐ tion. Consequentially, the Javanese are less likely to feel affected by current deforesta‐ tion. According to Eran Fraenkel, an expert on Indonesian media and civil society, in most regions “issues of local interest are sometimes covered, but national issues are seen as less relevant.” The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), located on the outskirts of Jakarta, estimates that only 10 percent of Indonesians have actually been to a rainfor‐ est. Kalimantan and Papua, the most forested islands, are sparsely populated and hard to access. Few Indonesians will actually expe‐ rience the effects of deforestation firsthand: “We don’t know what happens in other parts of the country; I live in Jakarta, but I don’t really know what happens to our fellows in Papua,” admitted Anggoro. This regionalism is exacerbated by the fact that Bahasa Indonesia, the national lan‐ guage, is a recent construct, a quasi‐artificial language developed through government ef‐ fort in the 20th century. It is only spoken na‐ tively by about eight percent of Indonesians.
Teaching environmental awareness through comics, a new initiative. (Courtesy of Search for Common Ground)
Most grew up speaking a local language, and
FOCUS: Indonesia 27 THE YALE GLOBALIST
as a result, local language media holds con‐ siderable influence.
Local and international solutions
eastern Java, termed a “mud volcano,” has
Big business, local interests, and national
received considerable media coverage, per‐
Popular misinformation has also proven
development goals all hinder environmental
haps pointing to increasing awareness. The
to be a setback. According to Hanley, “most
concerns from becoming priorities. But new
disaster, which began in 2006, has lasted for
people don’t see anything wrong in palm oil
solutions, targeted at the source of these
years, devastating thousands of homes and
plantations, in deforestation,” with environ‐
obstacles, could help. CIFOR, for example,
acres of farmland. It was in all likelihood
mentalist agendas sometimes perceived as
offers policy suggestions that are both
caused by Lapindo, a mining company owned
hindrances to the defeat of poverty. More‐
“pro‐poor” and “pro‐forest.” By combining
by the wealthy Bakrie family, influential in
over, many view the massive expansion of
sustainability and development, the Center
media and government. Bakrie‐owned media
the palm‐oil industry as a national triumph
hopes to change Indonesians’ perceptions of
did not mention the company when covering
brought about by local entrepreneurs. They
environmental protection as an obstacle to
the disaster, instead alleging a far‐off earth‐
wonder why Indonesia should be forbid‐
development.
quake as the cause. But Indonesians knew
den to do what the West did centuries ago.
“Forests are a resource that should be
better: mudflow‐displaced families raised
Indeed, even in mostly‐deforested Java,
used,” explained James Clarke, CIFOR’s Me‐
complaints and hundreds rallied in Jakarta
economic growth and conservation seem to
dia Liaison. Many Indonesians, like Anggoro,
and East Java.
clash. Undeveloped land is hard to spot on
agree: “We cannot forbid [those who live
Although compensation is still meager,
the two‐hour‐long train ride from Jakarta
near forests] to exploit nature; the rainfor‐
public pressure forced Aburizal Bakrie,
to Bogor, a west‐Javanese city replete with
est has been a huge element of their lives.”
traffic congestion and modern malls. More
Recognizing this, CIFOR supports initiatives
tellingly, this sprawling city is only minutes
such as reduced impact logging and the Re‐
away from CIFOR’s leafy headquarters, on
ducing Carbon Emissions from Deforesta‐
one of Java’s last isolated patches of rainfor‐
tion and Forest Degradation (REDD) plan,
est. Its location is symbolic of the contrasts
which use market forces in favor of forest
brought about by Indonesia’s industrializa‐
preservation. The idea is to monetarily com‐
tion.
cannot forbid [those who “We live near forests] to exploit
nature; the rainforest has been a huge element of their lives.”
pensate developing nations for preventing
-Boris Anggoro
Continuing pressure on the media from
carbon emissions from deforestation, giving
Minister of Welfare and former chair of his
industry, despite a seemingly free press, also
countries an incentive for conservation. The
family’s business, to acknowledge Lapindo’s
presents an obstacle to national recognition
government has already paid some heed to
role. The company’s involvement is now so
of environmental issues. Harry Surjadi, an
CIFOR´s ideas. President Susilo Bambang
widely accepted that the very mention of the
[Indonesians] are really concerned about natural issues, but generally, common Indonesians are more concerned about politics, or even gossip.”
Yudhoyono, who has vowed to address envi‐
word “Bakrie” sparked vociferous discussion
ronmental problems, recently announced a
of the mudslide among a roomful of under‐
$1 billion REDD deal with Norway.
graduates at the University of Indonesia. It
“
Hanley’s SFCG is overcoming the pres‐
is possible, though, that the disaster gained
sures against environmental consciousness
notoriety only because it struck a densely
in a different way. Aware that an overly criti‐
populated and central area. Deforestation
cal stance will only isolate the organization,
unfortunately does not have that advantage.
SFCG has found a less confrontational man‐
Public awareness of what happens on
ner of raising awareness. It publishes comic
the ground is crucial for developing coun‐
books featuring the adventures of “Gebora,”
tries like Indonesia to find the right bal‐
-Boris Anggoro, journalism student
a fictional soccer team with children rep‐
ance between development and sustainabil‐
Indonesian environmental journalist, re‐
resenting different Indonesian ethnicities.
ity. Whether through modest initiatives like
called the story of a colleague who tried to
Some of the most well received issues, such
SFCG’s comics, vast international plans like
write about palm‐oil company Sinar Mas,
as “Desas Desus” (“Rumors”) and “Harapan
CIFOR’s REDD, or the audacious reporting of
which has received criticism from Green‐
Menghapus Duka” (“Hope to Erase Grief”),
journalists like Surjadi, many are working to
peace. His own editors forbade him from re‐
inform readers about the harmful effects of
build the sense of urgency that Indonesia´s
porting. The “media tries not to blame palm
deforestation while teaching values such as
fragile environment sorely needs. Slowly, it
oil plantations” for environmental degrada‐
teamwork or tolerance. Such non‐confronta‐
seems they are succeeding.
tion, said Surjadi. It is not uncommon for
tional media allow SFCG to change people’s
companies to sue incriminating journalists
attitudes beginning at a young age.
through the nation’s “criminal defamation law.” Many journalists refrain from using company names, if they report on environ‐ mental problems at all.
A country awakens? In addition to these efforts, there are other signs of hope. A massive mudslide in
Diego Salvatierra is a Sophomore in Pierson Col‐ lege. Contact him at diego.salvatierra@yale.edu.
Riding Out the Next Big Wave In the wake of the December 2004 tsunami, is Indonesia ready to face another natural disaster? By Christina Lin
E
here were wiped out by the tsunami; a short
tions of hardware, software, and technologi‐
The week before the tsunami,
distance away sits the mass grave memorial.
cal expertise from Germany, China, Japan,
Teuku Alvisyahrin returned home
For Alvisyahrin, the research facility is a
France, and the United States have made
to Banda Aceh, the capital city of the Indo‐
boon to Indonesia as well as an investment
nesian province of Aceh, for his youngest
for the global community. “We are currently
BMKG houses the Tsunami Warning Cen‐
sister’s wedding. After the 2004 Boxing Day
in our capacity‐building phase—our work is
ter in Jakarta. Huge flat screen computers
tsunami, Banda Aceh was devastated and his
unprecedented and an important service to
are clustered on five semicircular desks in
sister was a newly married widow. Today,
humanity,” he said.
the sleek control room. These stations over‐
veryone has a tsunami story.
InaTEWS possible.
Alvisyahrin is the head of the Professional
Before the tsunami, seismic data was
see the seismometer stations and GPS, tide
Services Division of the Tsunami and Disas‐
collected on an “ad hoc basis,” according
gauge, and sea buoy monitoring networks.
ter Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC).
to Dr. Fauzi, director of BMKG, the Indone‐
Eight trained staff members man the control
Formed by Syriah Kuala University of Banda
sian Agency of Meteorology, Climatology,
center around the clock in 12‐hour shifts.
Aceh, the TDMRC’s many goals include tsu‐
and Geophysics. “We had a small number of
Above the computers, two rows of televisions
nami prediction, research and development,
earthquake monitoring systems, with data
display all national channels to check that
evacuation planning, and raising community
transmitted by broadband but not in real
they broadcast warning signals. One wall is
awareness.
time. It would take hours, days to get the
devoted to a dynamic map of Indonesia’s real
data. We would have to go [to the monitoring
time seismic activity.
The TDMRC is part tsunami prediction center, part research facility, and part refuge.
station] or have to ask someone to send it.”
“I can see if there’s an earthquake from
Located at Tsunami Ground Zero, it towers
Now with the Indonesia Tsunami Early
my office,” said Rahmat Triyono, head of
over the flat peninsula on the northern tip
Warning System, or InaTEWS, data is trans‐
Earthquake Information at BMKG, sitting
of the island of Sumatra. All other buildings
mitted in real time via satellite. Contribu‐
across the hallway from the control room.
Above: Scientists track real time seismic activity all over Indonesia in the earthquake control center of BMKG, the Indonesian Agency of Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics. (Lin/TYG)
For all earthquakes of magnitude greater than or equal to 7.0 on the Richter scale
FOCUS: Indonesia 29 THE YALE GLOBALIST
and less than 70 kilometers deep, a tsunami
2004 would still wipe away the strongest re‐
ple that quickly. Evacuation plans take time
warning is issued. Fauzi, who like many In‐
built homes funded by the limited aid budget,
to develop and you need a quick response
donesians uses just one name, asserted that
ensuring the necessity of vertical evacuation
from the local government and the people.
BMKG’s goal is to predict and issue a warn‐
building plans. Success of these systems in
You need education and infrastructure.”
ing in five minutes. First, the computers map
the face of another disaster will mean more
the epicenter and on‐duty officers run the
lives spared. Buildings can be rebuilt.
tsunami modeling program, which predicts wave height and speed. Since tsunamis ar‐
“
Lessons Learned
Meanwhile,
Rafliana
mentioned
that
there had been a recent decrease in govern‐ ment funding for LIPI’s disaster education initiatives. She was determined, though, to
rive 20 to 30 minutes after an earthquake,
With the 2004 tsunami and other disas‐
continue her outreach work, which she be‐
people need as much time as possible to flee
ters on their minds, the Acehnese evacuate
lieves has real impact. While teaching an
to higher ground.
to higher ground after any tremor. But in 200
emergency workshop in Banda Aceh after
More than 1000 miles northwest of Jakar‐
or even 20 years will institutional memory
the tsunami, she recalled, “A man raised his
ta, the TDMRC can also detect earthquakes
remain as powerful? On Simulue Island, off
hand and asked, ‘Why didn’t you come here
and tsunamis, but must wait for approval
the coast of Aceh Province, the majority of
and teach us before? Then my wife may still
from either BMKG or the mayor of Banda
residents survived the tsunami due to a les‐
be alive today.’ We cannot stop our outreach;
Aceh to issue a warning. Once a warning is
son preserved in oral history. In 1807, a tsu‐
we must integrate it into the daily lives of the
issued, it is broadcast on TV and radio, text
nami devastated the island, and the word
people.”
messages are sent to everyone in the area,
smong was coined in the local dialect: When
A man raised his hand and asked, ‘Why didn’t you come here and teach us before? Then my wife may still be alive today.’”
Looking Back and Moving Forward A delicate woven basket hovering above the buildings of Banda Aceh, the Aceh Tsu‐
—Irina Rafliana, Public Education Coordinator of COMPRESS
nami Memorial Museum exists to preserve
and tsunami sirens wail. People run to high‐
the ground shakes and water recedes, the
graceful but more powerful is a hodgepodge
er ground or climb up designated vertical
people know to flee to higher ground to es‐
of photos printed out on paper, tacked up
evacuation buildings.
cape the giant wave of water to come. In De‐
to billboards leaning against three walls of
cember 2004, the people heeded the warning
a small, one‐room structure. This tsunami
of smong; only seven people were killed.
memorial sits next to the 2,600‐ton power
False alarms, siren malfunctions, and communication delays pose problems, but
the 2004 tsunami beyond living memory. Less
Fauzi is convinced of the system’s value.
Irina Rafliana, public education coordina‐
generator ship, the PLTD Apung 1, which
“Once the system is fully functioning by next
tor of LIPI’s Community Preparedness Pro‐
was carried two kilometers inland by the
year, it will be as accurate as possible. We
gram (COMPRESS), recounted this story.
wave. These graphic images—of people torn
are confident we will have fewer false warn‐
Her job is to translate geological science and
apart in the wreckage, of a child’s sightless
ings.” The facts bear him out: In 2007, two out
government policy into language that local
eyes—are the most shocking reminder pos‐
of 14 predicted events were actual tsunamis.
villagers can understand and utilize during
sible. But they cannot be found on Google,
From 2008 to 2010, five out of 11 predicted
natural disasters. Superstition and short‐
and the impermanence of the paper, already
events were verified tsunamis.
sightedness continue to be major obstacles.
crinkled and faded, is a warning of how even
“Some people still believe that earth‐
Building Back Better
quakes are caused by a giant turtle under‐
memories of great tragedies are worn down with time.
In a post‐tsunami press conference, Indo‐
neath the earth, or that the tsunami is caused
Indonesia’s long‐term challenge is to
nesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyo‐
by the South Sea queen who sends her troops
ensure vigilance and to maintain the earth‐
no declared, “We will rebuild Aceh and Nias
into the rivers to take the land back into the
quake and tsunami warning systems, viable
and we will rebuild it better.” As important
sea,” Rafliana said.
evacuation plans, and public education ef‐
as they are, improved earthquake detection
She stressed the need for teaching all of
forts beyond the immediate flurry of action
and tsunami prediction systems still cannot
Indonesia’s more than 300 ethnic groups the
and interest after the 2004 tsunami. As a de‐
prevent disasters. In Banda Aceh and sur‐
importance of emergency planning, taking
veloping country situated in geological hot
rounding areas about 400,000 new homes
into account each individual culture.
water, Indonesia has started and must con‐
were built in the four years following the di‐
“Science predicts a large earthquake in
saster, but at times building quality was sac‐
the next 10 years. The people hear this and
rificed in the name of speed in order to pro‐
think there is an earthquake tomorrow,”
vide homes for displaced families, according
Fauzi said. “‘Oh, I’ll take one or two days off
to Eddy Purwanto, the chief operation officer
to stay home.’ ‘I’ll sleep outside to save the
of the Board of Rehabilitation and Recon‐
life of my family.’ ‘I’ll send an SMS [text mes‐
struction (BRR).
sage] to my relatives.’” He thought for a mo‐
Another large tsunami like the one in
ment, then continued, “You can’t change peo‐
tinue to take the necessary steps to protect its most precious resource: its people.
Christina Lin is a senior Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics major in Pierson College. Contact her at christina.lin@yale.edu.
30 FOCUS: Indonesia FALL 2010
A Holy War Against Smoking Attempts to use Islamic religious decrees or fatwas in Indonesia’s anti‐smoking campaigns have been largely ineffective in curbing the nation’s collective bad habit. By Nathan Yohannes
O
n the streets of Jakarta, the perplexing
keeping good health and not consuming in‐
enact change. However, all agree that change
medley of ultra‐modern malls and office
toxicants or emitting offensive odors. Orga‐
is needed.
buildings coupled with street vendors and
nizations like Muhammadiyah and its peer
The cultural indoctrination of smoking
ragged beggars is the second thing that riles
Nahdlatul Ulama—which has labeled smok‐
feeds the monster that is the Indonesian cig‐
the senses. The first is the thick haze of ciga‐
ing only as makruh, or frowned upon—is‐
arette industry. Nearly one million workers
rette smoke inescapable in the offices, stores,
sue fatwas, which they urge all members to
find employment in the sector, and tobacco
restaurants, and sidewalks of the most popu‐
follow, to clarify issues and debates that are
tycoons top the lists of wealthiest Indone‐
lous city in Southeast Asia. According to the
not directly addressed in the Qur’an. Fatwas
sians. According to the WHO, the average
World Health Organization (WHO), 60 mil‐
on the subject of tobacco have sparked some
household spends more on tobacco than on
lion of Indonesia’s 225 million inhabitants
outrage, as many moderate Muslims view
health care or education and almost as much
and 70 percent of the country’s male popu‐
them as an invasion of privacy. But there
as on rice. According to Dr. Widyastuti Wi‐
lation are smokers. Smoking has become so
is evidence to suggest that fatwas against
bisana, a researcher at the WHO’s Tobacco‐
woven into the fabric of Indonesian life that
smoking may not be inspired by religious
Free Initiative in Indonesia, “many Indo‐
in the town of Padang Panjang on the island
duty only.
nesians do not know that cigarettes hurt.”
of Sumatra, traditional marriage propos‐
The cultural indoctrination of smoking feeds the monster that is the Indonesian cigarette industry.
Naivety is understandable considering the
als are incomplete until a gift of tobacco is made to the bride’s family. Just recently, a two‐year‐old Indonesian named Ardi Rizal made international headlines for his habit of smoking 40 cigarettes a day. Controversial
bacco addiction.
ganda—promulgated by tobacco companies about their products. In the past, smoking was considered patriotic; tobacco companies were locally owned and cigarette sales boost‐ ed the national economy. In recent years,
religious decrees have lately become a prime weapon in the fight to check the national to‐
misleading information—effectively propa‐
Adlin Sila, a researcher at the Ministry of
major foreign juggernauts, most notably the
Religion who has studied this debate exten‐
U.S.‐based Phillip Morris, have bought up
In March of this year, Muhammadiyah,
sively, said that overseas anti‐tobacco NGOs
these small enterprises and redirected the
the 40‐million‐member‐strong Indonesian
may be funding Muhammadiyah to continue
profits out of the country.
Muslim organization, issued a fatwa—an
their controversial campaign against tobac‐
This realignment of the profit path has
Islamic
declaration—condemning
co. Piet Khaidir, the director of the Centre
not checked Indonesia’s tobacco addiction.
cigarette usage as haram, or forbidden. Al‐
for Dialogue and Cooperation among Ci‐
The nation, which loses between 200,000 and
though the completion of the Qur’an certain‐
vilisations, a subsidiary of Muhammadiyah,
400,000 people each year to tobacco‐related
ly predates the invention of cigarettes, Mu‐
identified an ulterior motive: politicking.
diseases, has only recently passed its first
hammadiyah scholars cite various Islamic
The fatwa was apparently the brainchild of
smoking‐related health law. Tax increases,
teachings to justify their decision, including
a Muhammadiyah leader with aspirations
which both create revenue and discourage
70 percent of Indonesia’s male population are smokers, according to a WHO statistic. Here, a boy smokes on a boat. (Kaiser/TYG)
to be chairman of the organization. Rumors
Indonesia’s large lower and middle‐class
swirl about the true motivation for this fat‐
populations from purchasing traditionally
wa, but Khadir revealed that even within
cheap cigarettes, have been most effective in
the Muhammadiyah headquarters, there has
curbing smoking habits.
legal
been no decrease in smoking. “The joke,”
It is doubtful that the Indonesian people
Khaidir said, “is that there are two groups
will ever embrace this crusade against their
in Muhammadiyah. The majority is smoker
cherished cigarettes, whether by health‐
while the minority is nonsmoker.” This trend
conscious or dogmatic appeals in the form
is no exception; the fatwa is notoriously ig‐
of questionable fatwas and unproven public
nored and often lambasted by other Muslim
health policies.
organizations and even other anti‐smoking organizations, which do not believe that re‐ ligious doctrine is the most effective way to
Nathan Yohannes is a sophomore in Pierson College. Contact him at nathan.yohannes@yale.edu.
CULTURE 31
THE YALE GLOBALIST
Of Sequins and Suppression Will new rules change the politics of the Eurovision Song Contest? By Joe Bolognese
E
urovision fans remember 2008 for the anti‐gay riots that almost
groups were at the center of Serbian events, Russia’s homophobia
cost Belgrade the honor of hosting the contest. They remember
was completely institutionalized, with Mayor Yuri Luzhkov openly
2009 for police brutality. “I had my arms severely twisted up my back
proud of his city’s lack of pride. “Our society has healthy morals and
and my wrist crunched to pinch the nerves,” recalled London‐based
rejects all these queers,” claimed Luzhkov. Police Chief Vladimir
LGBT activist Peter Tatchell. In contrast, 2010 was memorable main‐
Pronin added that any pride participants would be “torn to shreds.”
ly for Germany’s first win as a unified country. It was the first time
Nicolas Alexeyev, a Moscow gay rights activist, was undeterred in
the event took place in a country that concurrently recognized same‐
organizing the first Slavic Pride Parade. Eurovision gave him the cov‐
sex marriage. The face of Eurovision is changing.
erage and support needed to bring attention to the plight of the LGBT
While practically unknown in the United States, the Eurovision
community in Eastern Europe. Luzhkov’s plan to suppress gay rights
Song Contest, first held in 1956, is the most televised non‐sporting
ultimately backfired, as coverage of gay rights flooded the media for
event in the world, with some 125 million viewers worldwide. Each
weeks after the contest left Moscow, raising awareness in this largely
participating country performs a song and votes on the other coun‐
homophobic part of the world.
tries’ entries. The nation with the most points, and thereby the most popular song, wins and hosts the following year.
A change in contest rules, though, could mean the end of Eurovi‐ sion as a spotlight on gay rights. In 2009, a voting system was intro‐
Despite its founding idea of unity, the Eurovision Song Contest
duced calling for points to be based not only on televotes, but also
has become a fountain of political tension. With the breakups of Yu‐
on the adjudication of a “professional jury” made up of industry in‐
goslavia and the Soviet Union doubling the number of competing na‐
siders. These rules inspired the West to rethink the contest, as the
tions, bloc voting and point exchanging out of friendliness, not entry
new jury system would check bloc voting. Eurovision 2010 came to
quality, left many claiming the contest had been hijacked. Western
Norway, a leader in gay rights. The forecast for next year looks simi‐
countries began to lose interest, leaving a fan base with the gay com‐
lar—Germany is among the most progressive nations of the world.
munity at its core. The string of eastern hosts meant throngs of gay
Performances rich in sequins, pyrotechnics, and bare‐chested men
fans invading cities much less tolerant of homosexuality, places like
will not be disturbed by the anti‐gay riots or arrests of years past.
Riga, Istanbul, Kiev, Belgrade, and Moscow. Where no gay communi‐
While Eurovision has raised awareness of gay rights issues in
ty existed, Eurovision simply brought one with it, highlighting homo‐
its host nations, it has often brought the downside of making what
phobic trends in these areas and sparking discussion on a previously
should have been leisurely vacations absolutely terrifying for the
taboo topic.
many traveling gay fans. With Eurovision alive again in Western Eu‐
Until this year, the events surrounding Eurovision seemingly gar‐
rope, fans and critics alike can now focus on the contest itself rather
nered as much attention as the actual song contest. Obraz, a Serbian
than personal safety and petty politicking. The chart success of this
fascist group, promised a violent welcome to the many gay fans de‐
year’s winner, Lena, across Europe suggests the contest is reemerg‐
scending into Belgrade for Eurovision Week 2008. After the President
ing in mainstream consciousness. Perhaps, finally, the Eurovision
of Serbia promised to protect the visitors, especially sexual minori‐
Song Contest can fulfill its vision of being a contest of song and not a
ties, Belgrade kept its right to host. Serbia’s record on gay rights be‐
battle of ideology.
gan to improve; homophobic rioters were arrested, and a few months after the contest, the Ministry of Culture even helped fund a web por‐ tal on LGBT issues in Serbia. The worst contest on record was Moscow in 2009. While terrorist
Joe Bolognese is a junior Economics and Mathematics major in Pierson College. Contact him at joseph.bolognese@yale.edu.
Above and below: With 125 million viewers annually, Eurovision is the world’s biggest non-sporting television event. Screenshots from the 2007 contest in Helsinki pictured here. (Courtesy Flickr Creative Commons/Rafael Nogueira)
32 CULTURE FALL 2010
A Jewish Education in Zimbabwe As millions of Zimbabweans flee the discriminatory policies of the Mugabe regime, one small school sets an example of multiculturalism and coexistence. By Anya van Wagtendonk
C
lement Mpofu looks out at the camera,
committed itself to promoting a diverse stu‐
live in the Savyon Lodge, Bulawayo’s Jewish
smiling broadly. He waits patiently
dent body of all religious backgrounds.
retirement home. In 2003, the hundred‐year‐
as his interviewers decide where to
Today, thirty years later, there are
old Bulawayo Hebrew Congregation burned
begin, his shirtsleeves rolled up against the
hardly any Jewish students left among the
down; while its walls once sheltered 3000
heat of a Zimbabwe spring. Atop his head
200‐person student body. Gabrielle Elkaim,
people, fewer than 120 members now gather
rests a blue kipah, the skullcap that reminds
who graduated from Carmel in 1995 and is
for services at Savyon Lodge.
Jews of their humility beneath the Divine.
the daughter of Carmel’s very first student,
But Mpofu is not Jewish. Moments before the
reported that there is only one Jewish stu‐
camera was switched on, he paused, fumbled
dent left. “And by December this year,” said
Leaving Zimbabwe But Zimbabwe is losing not only Jewish
around in his desk, and
residents. A recent BBC
came up with the blue
survey suggests that,
garment. It is impor‐
since 1990, millions of
tant that he wear a kip‐
Zimbabweans have cho‐
ah when speaking to the
sen to start new lives in
public. He is, after all,
the United States, the
the headmaster of the
United Kingdom, Aus‐
Carmel School, one of
tralia, and surrounding
the last Jewish schools
African countries. Rab‐
in Zimbabwe.
bi
Moshe
Silberhaft,
spiritual leader of the
A School is Born
African
Jewish
Con‐
ago,
gress, an organization
members of the Jew‐
that sees to the needs
ish community in Bu‐
of sub‐Saharan Jewish
lawayo,
communities,
Fifty
years
Zimbabwe’s
second‐largest
petitioned to form a school for their chil‐
insisted
that “it is not a Jew‐
city,
A class photograph of students at the Carmel School. (Courtesy Gabrielle Elkaim, Carmel ‘95)
ish issue.” Rather, he pointed to the “starv‐ ing masses and fat cat
dren. In 1958, eight stu‐ dents came together in a one‐room school‐
Elkaim, “she will graduate, and there won’t
politicians” that have preoccupied news sto‐
house as the first class of the Carmel School.
be any Jews there.”
ries about Zimbabwe since Robert Mugabe declared himself the first executive head of
Within two years, 160 young Zimbabwean
The absence of Jewish students at the
Jews were studying Hebrew and the Old
school reflects the struggles of the greater
Testament alongside math, biology, and the
Zimbabwean Jewish community, which is but
Mugabe entered office in 1980 as a champi‐
state—effectively, dictator for life—in 1987.
a shadow of what it once was. By the 1970s,
on of the people, an anti‐imperialist who had
At the time, Zimbabwe was still Rhodesia,
the Jews in Zimbabwe numbered 7,500, most
fought against British rule in the Zimbabwe
and a white minority government forcibly
of them descendents of the first traders who
liberation struggle. But over time, his rule
ruled over the black majority. After a 14 year
arrived in the 1890s or of European refugees
became increasingly authoritarian. Today,
civil war, which the white minority lost, the
searching for new homes in the years dur‐
reports of human rights violations stream
first truly democratic elections were held.
ing and after World War II. Today, the com‐
across the border accompanied by stories of
Robert Mugabe, who remains the leader of
munity counts fewer than 300 to their ranks.
censorship, corruption, and oppression, of
Zimbabwe, was elected in 1979 and sworn
Most live in either Harare or Bulawayo, cit‐
government‐ordered assassinations and tor‐
into office as President in 1980. At this time,
ies of a million and a half people. One‐eighth
ture. Ethnic tensions have also increased un‐
indigenous language, Ndebele.
Carmel became integrated and the school
der his reign: Mugabe has referred to white
CULTURE 33
THE YALE GLOBALIST Zimbabweans as “British settlers… citizens
children are all getting along together,” Mpo‐
been shaped within the confines of a school
by colonization,” and, in 2000, ordered a land‐
fu observed. “Many parents prefer to bring
dedicated to tolerance, harmony, and re‐
grab operation wherein 4,000 white farmers
their children in that type of environment
spect, will be the ones to restore this broken
watched their land get forcibly taken from
which is more or less a setup of how we want
country. As renewed hope promises to turn
them. Mugabe is also largely blamed for the
Zimbabwe to be,” Michelle, a non‐Jewish stu‐
Zimbabwe around, “we will need them to
economic turmoil of recent years, wherein
dent from the mid‐1990s who asked that her
come back to the country, or even stay here,
hyperinflation rendered the Zimbabwe dol‐
last name not be used, has put her own chil‐
to actually run the economy in the future.
lar nearly valueless.
dren in an international school “to gain the
They are the ones who are going to be re‐
is a real reflection of the Bulawayo community,” [Elkaim] “This asserted, “and as far as I’m concerned, is the most overlooked part of our community which should be an example of true coexistence to the rest of the world.” - Gabrielle Elkaim, Carmel School alum
sponsible,” he explained. The school symbol is the eight‐armed me‐ norah lit during Hanukah, the Jewish holiday of light. This candelabra was lit, so the story goes, after Judah Maccabee and his make‐ shift army led a successful revolt against the Greek Emperor who wanted the Jews—and all other ethnic minorities in the region—to become Hellenized. The Carmel School uses this symbol to represent its commitments to
“A lot of people have left the country be‐
same experiences that I was lucky enough
“the characteristics of determination, cour‐
cause of the situation where you know that
to experience” at Carmel. Elkaim remarked
age and tenacity associated with the heroic
you cannot, you cannot get any basic food
that she has never come across another Jew‐
figure of Judah the Maccabee.” With these
on the shelves… And that’s not fair,” Mpofu
ish school as diverse as Carmel, with stu‐
characteristics Carmel hopes its students
explained. The purpose of the video becomes
dents from such varied religious, racial, and
will shape the future of their country.
clear: It is a farewell of sorts, filmed weeks
ethnic backgrounds.
As he gazes out into the camera, it is clear
before his decision to resign and leave the
“This is a real reflection of the Bulawayo
Mpofu doesn’t know when that future will be
country in 2007. “It’s a very traumatic situa‐
community,” she asserted, “and as far as I’m
realized. Until it is, he will not return to Zim‐
tion for me because I never wanted to go. But
concerned, is the most overlooked part of our
babwe. If conditions do improve, though, he
because of what is happening in the coun‐
community which should be an example of
knows what he wants to do. “If I’m going to
try…” He trails off. “I’m just praying that
true coexistence to the rest of the world.”
come back,” he grins, “I want to come back
something is going to happen soon.”
“An Example of True Coexistence”
Looking Forward In his departure interview, Mpofu ex‐
But something is happening, inside the
pressed many hopes for the future of the
walls of the very school that Mpofu left.
Carmel School. Some, like the continued ex‐
Even in the absence of a sizeable Jewish stu‐
istence of the school’s Hebrew program, did
dent body, the Carmel School has remained
not come to fruition: although students still
staunchly Jewish. All students celebrate the
learn Hebrew blessings and prayers, the lan‐
Jewish Sabbath, observe Jewish holidays,
guage is no longer taught. But the emphasis
study the Old Testament, and perform plays
on multiculturalism is still very much pres‐
from its stories. Among the required school
ent, as evidenced in the school charter which
supplies listed in the student handbook is a
holds hateful or discriminatory language or
kipah for the boys. Pork products are banned
behavior as its highest offense. Mpofu’s big‐
from school grounds in accordance with the
gest concern—that, as the Jewish population
Jewish dietary laws. And although most stu‐
continued to dwindle, the school would lose
dents come from Christian, Muslim, Hindu,
its distinct Jewish character—does not ap‐
or other backgrounds, all students partici‐
pear to be an issue. The same school charter
pate fully in this Jewish experience. David
states its objective to retain “the Jewish tra‐
W. Rix, who replaced Mpofu and presides
ditions and character of the school.” When
over the school today, said the non‐Jewish
asked about the current state of Jewish af‐
parent body remains “adamant” that the
fairs at Carmel, Elkaim echoed Rix’s claim
school retain its Jewish ethos.
that “the non‐Jewish parents have insisted
Consequently, the school serves as a mod‐ el of multiculturalism. “It’s amazing that the
that Carmel stay a Jewish school in nature.” Ultimately, Mpofu believes that these stu‐ dents, those whose minds and values have
and teach at Carmel.” Anya van Wagtendonk is a junior English major in Timothy Dwight College. Contact her at anya.vanwagtendonk@yale.edu.
The Carmel School uses [the menorah] to represent its commitments to “the characteristics of determination, courage and tenacity associated with the heroic figure of Judah the Maccabee.” With these characteristics Carmel hopes its students will shape the future of their country. (Courtesy Dr. Rix, Headmaster of Carmel)
34 CULTURE FALL 2010
Russia’s Newest Fad — Orthodox Christianity? Despite soaring numbers of self‐ identified Orthodox believers, life in Russia’s main cities has remained surprisingly secular. By Tobias Kuehne
S
omber, sonorous voices, tinged with devout anticipation of re‐ demption, permeate the church’s vast, tubular vaults. A sea of
wax candles bathes the walls in golden light and makes the halos of the larger‐than‐life icons glare as though inspired by a spark of the Holy Spirit. The icons on the walls solemnly turn their eyes upward, where the countenance of the Savior watches from the ceiling. In churches like this one, a religious revival seems to be building across Russia. The number of Russian Orthodox believers has more than doubled since the beginning of perestroika and the end of the state’s preaching communism as an ersatz religion in 1986. Yet the Church of St. Panteleimon the Healer on Kirochnaya Street in St. Pe‐ tersburg is far from packed. A woman not far away tinkers with her sleeve absentmindedly, two others are not wearing the mandatory kerchief, and, in general, few men frequent the church. Is the appar‐ ent resurgence of Russian Orthodoxy substantial, or is it merely a widespread but shallow trend?
“ My friends gave me this cross as a talisman so I
don’t get hit. But I think one of those little trees that spread a good smell would work just as well.”
-Sergei, St. Petersburg taxi driver
“None of my friends goes to church on a regular basis,” said Al‐ exander Luzhin, a 24‐year‐old programmer from St. Petersburg. “I wouldn’t call any of my friends religious, even though I can see them say they are Orthodox when asked by a pollster.” Luzhin’s claims are supported by the fact that less than five percent of those who identify as Orthodox Christians regularly attend church services. While the majority of Russians identify themselves as Orthodox believers, very few observe important religious rites and festivals, such as Pascha, or Orthodox Easter Sunday. The minority that does attend church and perform religious rites consists almost exclusively of women. “I think men don’t want to show weakness by going to church,” said Nelli Bashir, a recent grad‐ uate from the Russian Academy of Justice and self‐proclaimed be‐ liever. “They want to solve their problems on their own, while women count on help from above more often.” “I think it is mainly superstition,” Sergei, a St. Petersburg taxi
Novodevichy Convent, Kremlin, Moscow. (Kuehne/TYG) driver, said. “My friends gave me this cross as a talisman so I don’t get hit. But I think one of those little trees that spread a good smell would work just as well.” Sergei’s disbelief may suggest that the re‐ cent revival is a passing fad. Bashir, however, took a different stance, arguing that God is a provider of moral guidance in everyday life. “Even though I don’t often go to church, God directs my actions be‐ cause a part of God is in me, and in everybody,” she said. Independent of the rising numbers of self‐identified believers, the Orthodox Church as an institution has become significantly more powerful since 1990. The political elite recognized the Church’s po‐ tential to foster pro‐Russian sentiments. State media cover joint pub‐ lic appearances of Church and government officials demonstrating closed ranks. According to John Garrard, professor of Russian Stud‐ ies at the University of Arizona, “the Orthodox Church acquired in 1997 a very special status.” Since then, the Church has received much of the land and property that the Soviet government had confiscated from them. The Church also received state approval to raise revenues by “selling such things as icons and ‘holy water’,” Luzhin said. Talk of a religious revival in Russia may be exaggerated and ulti‐ mately misguided. Only some Russians have adopted a more spiritu‐ al lifestyle in recent years, and it is easy to mistake the strengthened Orthodox Church for an indicator of widespread spiritualization. More likely, Russians have experienced an ideological vacuum since the fall of communism and have turned to Orthodoxy, with its uni‐ versal values of love, altruism, and forgiveness, for a new set of ideo‐ logical principles. As Russia transitions into a democratic, pluralis‐ tic society, Orthodox Christianity may become one of several viable value sets. “A few months ago,” said Dr. Alexei Lidov, research direc‐ tor of the Institute of World Culture at Moscow State University, “the Christian Orthodox Church pushed for the introduction of religious instruction in state middle schools.” The Russian Constitution man‐ dates the separation of State and Church, so that families had to be given a choice between classes in Orthodox Christianity, World Reli‐ gions, and lay ethics. “Over 80 percent of the parents chose lay eth‐ ics,” Lidov said. “This is a clear vote.” Tobias Kuehne is a junior Mathematics & Philosophy and Literature double major in Branford College. Contact him at tobias.kuehne@yale.edu.
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