Flooding - A Grand Day Out

Some curse the rain, the government or just about anyone else but themselves. Others raise funds, but don't have a clue who needs their help most they collect first, ask questions later. And some enjoy the "flood tour"!

One of the most amazing sights of the last month was recorded between the two overpasses in Kebon Baru, Tebet, South Jakarta, where heavy rains and inflow from Bogor had turned the low-lying land into a lake.

Hundreds of people gathered together, stepping around parked motorbikes to take handycam or camera-phone footage of the rare sight.

Rare? But doesn't it happen every five years?

"This bigger," said a man who was busy shooting and sending pictures via his brand new Nokia phone, momentarily forgetting that chest-deep muddy water filled his home in Bukit Duri, some 10 minutes drive away. Apparently without insurance he could not quite fathom out that he was a victim with little chance of getting any financial assistance to repair the damage.

Not only did they see the calamity as a photo opportunity but many appeared to be enjoying the cool weather and the spectacle.

A teenager parked at the overlook" tentatively snuck an arm around his girlfriend's waist. Parents encouraged their children to test the waters, probably rationalizing "it'll save us a trip to Ancol".

Once in a while, there was live-action entertainment as rescue workers battled to reach flood victims.

All that was missing was the popcorn.

Oh, wait, there's a gorengan (deep-fried snack) vendor, and there's another selling candy and cigarettes. The only thing keeping bakso (meatball soup) vendors from pushing their gerobak (carts) through the waters was a police patrol car blocking the way. Aaawh, too bad!

As sociologists often point out, Indonesians have the curious ability of being able to turn even the most grueling moments into enjoyable ones, especially those who have thus far survived the test of being dirt poor in the capital.

And, anyway, Jakartans are curious by nature. It doesn't take much for people to stop minding their own business. Crowds of onlookers are quick to form at crime scenes. Rubbernecking is a national pastime, “look a plane crash – get the barbecue out”, “wow, that volcano has just erupted, tell the rest of the village to come and see”, “ah shit, another flash flood, where’s the fucking surfboard when you need it”!

"It would be more stressful if we let ourselves cry. We might as well try to be grateful for what we still have," said a woman who was forced to sleep, eat and do her laundry in a public cemetery in Central Jakarta after her home flooded.

Many of the flood tourists on the Tebet overpass were also victims. Standing on the shores of the "man-made lake" was probably a better alternative than wading through the water in their homes.

Foreigners are often amazed by how resilient Indonesians are. Well, living in disaster-prone locations with people who couldn't give a toss about the environment means that they have to be.

But there is a very thin line between being resilient and being permissive".

The first means they bounce back after a fall, while the latter traps them in a vicious circle.
Temporarily enjoying the sight of the flood and then going back home and thinking they should do something so they don't have to see something like that again is being resilient.

Temporarily enjoying the sight of the flood and then returning to the same level of environmental ignorance while jokingly saying that "we are not Jakartans, if we are not flooded," is, not only being too permissive, but just being a pure fuckwit.

Anyway, don’t worry if you missed it this time, it will happen again because no fucker will do anything to resolve the problem. The cause cannot be eradicated, but the effect can be minimised, that is, if the greedy fat cat motherfuckers who can do something about it can be bothered!

Police question SMS Looters

In the aftermath of the floods, it has become evident that once again, Indonesians really know how to identify an opportunity, this time looting.

The Jakarta Police said that they had apprehended a man who is believed to have sent SMSs encouraging people to loot flooded buildings.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. General Sgt Major Unpronouncable said the man, who is yet to be named, was undergoing questioning. (Read getting the crap knocked out of him)

Many people have reported receiving text messages in the last few days about breaking into deserted homes. (Beats the shit out of “Where are you? “ and “What time will you be home?”)
"There have been no reports of looting in flooded areas but I confirm an SMS is being sent out that instructs people to go into flooded homes and take any valuables that were left behind by the owners," city police chief Insp. Gen. Major Corporal Brigadier Wherethe fukarwe said during a fag break outside the 6th Floor..

He also confirmed the man was being questioned (still getting the shit beaten out of him) but indicated there was more than one suspect in the case. (Possibly 12 million to be precise)

Out off Town

In Taipei, Taiwan today for business meetings. All wnt pretty well, but, I did get a chance to see the Taipei 101, the worlds tallest building for real.

Let me assure you, it is far more impressive than you can tell from photographs!

Looking for Work!

And they thought it could not happen here!

Young women from North Sumatra and East Java left their homes for the lure of good jobs and a better life, but instead ended up trapped in the hellish world of forced prostitution.

For three young women from Binjai, North Sumatra, the promise of work ended in a brothel in Pekanbaru, Riau, where they were forced to serve male clients in the Cirim Manis 2 red-light district. I've been in Pekanbaru may times, never ever heard of this area, but, I think it is best left unexplored!

Amei, Tina and Nunu said they were offered jobs as restaurant workers by a neighbor, who they identified as Rita, with a monthly salary of Rp 700,000 (about US$73). According to this neighbor, the jobs were in the North Sumatra regency of Pematang Siantar.

Tina, an elementary school dropout, said she jumped at the chance, and had no reason not to trust Rita. "Who would not be interested in a job with good pay?" she said. Tina said she, her younger sister Nunu and Amei, a distant relative, left home on Jan. 18.

After driving for a day in a Kijang van, however, the three girls found that instead of Pematang Siantar, they were in the Cirim Manis 2 red-light district.

Tina said the three were taken out of the van and handed over to a brothel owner, identified as Nana, who made the girls immediately begin serving clients.

Tina said that most days she had to sexually serve four men. "I served everyone from a becak driver to a police officer. For a short period each client was charged Rp 150,000, and Rp 300,000 for overnight service," she said in Medan, North Sumatra.

Nunu said the brothel owner made all 11 women working there take crystal methamphetamine so they could service more customers.

The ordeal of Tina, Nunu and Amei lasted for about two weeks. They were released from the brothel after their families paid the owner Rp 1.5 million.

A similar tale was told by dozens of women from Surabaya, East Java, who found themselves forced to work as prostitutes in Makassar, South Sulawesi, after also being lured from their homes by false promises of good jobs.

This particular trafficking ring was uncovered late last month after four of the women managed to escape the hotel where they had been forced to service clients. The women were eventually able to report the case to police in Makassar.

Sofi, one of the women, said she had made several earlier unsuccessful attempts to flee the hotel, which was always tightly guarded.

Then one night, about a month after being forced into prostitution, Sofi and 15 other women were able to escape through a backdoor in the hotel.

"We managed to get out and ran off in different directions. I managed to meet up with three of my friends ... the others I don't know," Sofi said.

She said at least 70 women had been forced to work as prostitutes at the hotel, a noted center for the sex trade in Makassar. The women, between the ages of 18 and 30, were recruited by a man in Surabaya identified as Jimmy.

When they arrived in Makassar, the young women were not aware they were to be employed as sex workers. They had been promised restaurant jobs with a monthly salary of Rp 900,000.
"I accepted the offer because I was only making Rp 400,000 a month working at a restaurant in Surabaya. So without thinking twice I signed a work contract with Jimmy," Sofi said.

On the ferry that took her to Makassar, Sofi was full of thoughts of making enough money in the restaurant to help support her family back in Surabaya.

But her journey of hope, like those of many other girls and young women, ended in the nightmare of sexual slavery.

Again, just another instance of Indonesians doing what at times they do best, taking advantage off their own!

The police forces turn a blind eye to this situation because, guess what, they have a vested interest in the locations where the brothels are located and without the rent and protection money they may have to work!

Great Balls of "um, err" concrete

A university team has declared that recent measures to halt the mudflow in East Java have had some success, while a political party has called for the area to be declared a national disaster.

The team, from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said Tuesday that the flow of hot mud coming from a botched gas exploration well in Sidoarjo, East Java, has slowed since the team began to insert large concrete balls into the well.

Bagus Fuckwit, head of the team, said that a smaller amount of mud had been recorded over the last week. "However, we're still evaluating the trends recorded, in line with our field observations," he said in Sidoarjo.

The ITB team has so far inserted 138 chains of balls. Eventually somewhere between 500 and 1,000 balls will be placed in the hole.


Rudi Fuckwit, a spokesman for the National Mudflow Mitigation Team in Sidoarjo, said he could not speculate about the results of the ITB team's work. "It still needs further evaluation, but we are optimistic and committed to continuing our work until we succeed," he said.

Chief Sgt. General Captain Major Fuckwit, a soldier stationed at the team's media center, was not so optimistic about the work. He said local soothsayers had said that the spirits who lived in the crater would be angry after being hit by the balls.

"The hot mud explosion happened because the spirits in the crater are angry. The insertion of the balls will only spark more anger. The soothsayers have already said there will be anew and much bigger burst. I believe this," he said.

The locals also noted that Lapindo Brantas "is believed to have triggered the gushing mud", and said that the company must not hand over its responsibilities to the government.

Good Thinking Batman, this means that fuck all will be done…..

It is estimated that the mudflow, which started around nine months ago, was costing the province Rp 500 billion (US$54 million) a day, with income from tourism dropping by around 10 percent.

In the nick, in Indonesia! Muchbetter than being free!

Barring an unforeseen delay, convicted terrorists will soon have a new home on Nusa Kambangan island off Cilacap in Central Java, where a new maximum security prison will open next month.

The idea is to isolate the convicts so that they cannot communicate with the outside world. No shit!

Being put behind bars, prisoners are expected to have restricted contact with people outside their cells or prisons. In general, they can only communicate with relatives and friends during visiting hours. They are not supposed to have access to communications devices like mobile phones and the Internet.

But what happens in many prisons here is quite unbelievable. Prisoners can easily bring in cell phones and even laptops, as in the case of Imam Samudra, who was sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. Even though he was imprisoned, Imam could still immerse himself in the world of terrorism using a laptop in Krobokan Correctional Institution in Denpasar. Iman had been calling for more terrorist attacks and been active in raising funds for terrorism several months before the second Bali bombings in 2005.

How could he obtain a notebook? It wasn't difficult. In July 2005, he ordered the computer from a friend and it was sent using the services of a courier firm to a prison guard, who later gave it to Iman, who also happened to have his own cell phone.

It is quite easy for prisoners, not only Imam, to obtain cell phones and other communications devices, and well as goods that are banned in jail. When the police raided Krobokan prison in December 2005, they found dozens of mobile phones, eight LPG stoves, three gambling boards, 0.5 grams of marijuana and 2,300 ecstasy pills, a brothel complete with female prostitutes, an illegal still, copies of Indonesian Playboy and a fuckwit in a Glasgow Celtic Shirt!

The smuggling of illicit items happens not only in Bali, but in many other prisons throughout Indonesia.

The finding of drugs in the Cipinang correctional institution and Salemba detention center, both in East Jakarta, is not uncommon. There have been many reports about the smuggling and distribution of drugs inside these institutions, which are severely overcrowded. As a matter of fact, some prisoners have run their own drug businesses from inside their cells. In many cases, prison guards or other employees are also involved.

The latest case came to light recently. The Jakarta Police said they arrested a woman late in February and confiscated 100 grams of heroin from her. She admitted that the business was controlled by two inmates in an East Jakarta prison. The police had earlier arrested two staff members from the Cipinang correctional institution and four other people for trafficking drugs, confiscating 415 ecstasy pills, 254.7 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 20 grams of heroin from them.

True, such abuses involving prisoners have been happening right under our noses for a long time. Besides the smuggling of various items, it is widely known that important inmates receive special treatment, even in Nusa Kambangan prison, although this has been repeatedly denied by Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin.

It is common knowledge that when Tommy Soeharto, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, was serving his jail term in Nusa Kambangan, he often flew to Jakarta for medical treatment. He also reportedly visited his supposedly ailing father at his home in Menteng, Central Jakarta, several times before he was released last year. It appears that he may also have attended the opening of the Indonesian A1 Grand Prix in January of 2006, flying in by helicopter while the President SBY, arrived on a motorbike!

The Central Jakarta District Court jailed Tommy for 15 years in 2002 for masterminding the murder of a Supreme Court justice, but the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to 10 years in 2005 on the grounds that he had not been proven to have illegally possessed arms and avoided arrest.

Because of "good behavior", the government was generous in awarding him a total of 32 months in remission so that he could walk out of jail after serving only about six years in jail.

Currently, Nusa Kambangan prison is home to inmates convicted of serious crimes, including premeditated murder and corruption. The idea of sending terrorists to the maximum security prison is actually not new. Funnily enough, it seems to work in other "developed" countries!

The new prison for convicted terrorists is being built next to the present prison complex. It will have the capacity to accommodate 400 inmates.

We shall see what turns up the first time they inspect the place!

Nyepi, the Day Bali gets shut-down!

The island of Bali is temporarily closed for 24 hours as of today at 6 a.m. through to the same time Tuesday to observe Nyepi (the Hindu Day of Silence).

The island's Ngurah Rai International Airport will welcome its last flight on Sunday at midnight and will halt operations until the morning of March 20.

The place is fucking well shut!

As the day approaches, everyone stocks up on essentials, no supermarkets are open, the bars are shut and even the lovely Balinese ladies will refrain from doing a turn!

During the ritual of Nyepi, 90 percent of the island's 3.5 million inhabitants will practice Yoga Semedi and Catur Berata Penyepian (meditation), Amati Geni (which forbids them from lighting fires and switching on lights), Amati Karya (working), Amati Lelanguan (enjoying leisure activities) and Amati Lelungan (leaving their houses). Shagging is also banned!

Bali will be completely darkened and silenced for a full day, allowing the island's Hindu population to meditate, contemplate and pray for a better future.

Nyepi is one of the most important religious rituals for Balinese Hindus to welcome the Saka New Year 1929.

No visitors are allowed to come to the island during the day of silence. All entry points, apart from the international airport, Gilimanuk Port in West Bali and Padang Bai Port in East Bali, will be closed.

Domestic and foreign visitors are encouraged to stay in their hotels and other places of accommodation during the holiday, as the island will be tightly guarded by traditional Balinese security guards, Pecalang, to ensure all people abide by the holiday regulations.

Schools, public and private offices, and banks will put a hold on operations on the day. Most local and foreign bank ATMs will only operate until 12 noon on Sunday and will be reopened on March 21.

Prior to the Nyepi holiday, Balinese Hindus carried out a series of rituals that began last Friday when thousands of Hindus paraded to the beach nearest them to hold the Melasti ritual -- the cleansing of utensils and more importantly, their souls.

The Melasti ceremony symbolizes the purification of the earth and the universe through the removal of all evil elements. Realistically I would require to be deported from the island if that were the case!

On Sunday, the Balinese held a Tawur Kesanga ceremony, a ritual to present a caru (sacrifice) to the Bhuta Kala (demons), which will be symbolized by giant Ogoh-ogoh dolls that act to ward off any devilish or negative forces.

Yesterday afternoon, thousands of people carried their Ogoh-ogoh and set them on fire at a Pengurupukan ritual. (Think the Indonesian equivalent of Guy Fawkes)

A Bali Police Spokesman Chief Inspector Major General Captain Fuckwit said he had already deployed hundreds of police officers to ensure the smooth running of the ceremony.

"Many streets are closed and rerouted to avoid traffic jams in many places in Bali. I suggest to visitors they stay away from the crowds for their own security," Pak Fuckwit said.

But for many of the island's visitors, these ceremonies provide a rare tourist attraction, with many traveling to Bali specifically to watch the holiday celebrations.

No live music, no lights to be switched on, no TV, no DVD, no beer?

Fuck that!