When two German guest came to Indonesia and one of them has
never been to Indonesia before, her fellow foreigner (from US), who is actually
an expatriate working here and not just visiting, commented; “Oh how lucky are
you to come here for the first time and get the chance to see Berau. You are really seeing Indonesia!”
Berau is a district in East Kalimantan, where there’s lots
conservation/forestry/oil palm projects. The island in the district called
Derawan is also a popular diving spot for tourists. I was accompanying these
guests to go there and well…do stuff (you know, conservation stuff…not tourism
stuff)
| That's where Berau is en.m.wikipedia.org |
The comment from the US expatriate is embedded in my memory,
maybe because I can reflect on how true (or untrue) it is.
Indonesia, is very vast, very heterogenic and very plural,
that you cannot claim that you have seen Indonesia,
only by visiting, Jakarta or Bali, or Berau, or Aceh, or Papua alone. I, who
have been living here all my life, have never
seen Indonesia. I’ve lived in Jakarta, I’ve been to several cities in Java
and Bali, and Sumatra, I’ve visited (only) plantations or factories in
Kalimantan and Sumatra, but there are lots of other place (too many!) that I
have not seen.
| One of the images you will get if you google "Indonesia" www.hdwpapers.com |
However, referring to the expatriate’s comment, I myself,
even though not a foreigner (but I’m a Javanese born in Jakarta, so what do I
know about Indonesia other than Java!), have been lucky enough to see Berau,
Muara Wahau, Sampit, Lubuk Linggau, Kembang Janggut, Kerinci, Buatan, and other
remote places. Why lucky? Because most people rarely seen, rarely know, rarely
can imagine how these places looks like. Hell, most people may not have these
places in their minds at all. And when you have been to these places, the
concept and image of Indonesia that you have may be deconstructed, and you may
have to revisit them (unless you are a hardcore activist, with only NGOs report
as reference instead of tourism brochures). So yes, maybe one could say that if
you have visited Berau, then you would have a good counter image of Jakarta and
Bali.
 |
| Unfortunately, this is one of the view of Berau District :( Image courtesy of Fabian Schmidt |
So in way, the expat’s comment can be so true, even though
we can argue that Berau doesn’t represent Indonesia as a whole either. Well,
there’s nothing wrong by never really see
Indonesia, who have the time to do that anyway, but I personally feel that
seeing a “different” image of Indonesia made me have…a different perspective,
that’s all. A different perspective of my existence and being, in this country,
in the world, and in the universe eventually.
Have you had an experience being in a place that made you
reflect on yourself?
