2011
Greetings from the Rice Fields
30 September 2011
Greetings from the rice fields! Am back amidst their green tranquility. The heads of grain are just beginning to form and it looks like it will be bumper crop here at Josh's in 6 weeks or so.
Anne, who has never been to Bali before - or indeed travelled anywhere for the last 16 years - is taking it all in with great enthusiasm!
Fortunately, for the benefit of her first positive impressions, the flight, the processing at the airport here and the taxi ride to Ubud, all went with miraculous smoothness and speed. We arrived in Ubud within two hours of touching down and were dragging our bags up Josh's little lane when he was coming out on his way to his regular 4 pm silat martial arts class. Anne and I had time to relax, unpack and cook dinner before he got back with Jasmin. I think she had been instructed by her dad to say hello BEFORE she checked if we had brought any presents, but somehow, got the order wrong. In fact, after the mammoth load of birthday presents and treats last time, this time I came virtually empty-handed, apart from two bottles of de-tangler hair treatment for children!! However Anne had brought all sorts of exciting parcels - the big hit was the kit of cooking apron, chef's hat and embroidered hand towel which she immediately donned and helped cook the pasta! And she also got a stunning dress covered in bright red poppies - i can't wait to get my newly-repaired camera back to take some photos. The third present was a little ceramic bear money box with a pattern to colour in plus the pens to colour it with- AND a selection of Australian coins to put in it so she could learn about our money before she comes to Australia on her first trip in December. All very well-chosen gifts. Anne also brought Josh something he has been wanting but cannot find up here - a stove-top stainless steel kettle - a fancy German one. As Josh says, it is the poshest kettle in the whole of Ubud. I had brought him my old electric jug last time I came but it fused the house every time he turned it on - 10 times before he gave up on it.
Sadly one of Josh's cat's, Snuffler is very ill - the vet has been twice- seems he has feline hepatitis. Josh is very upset and is looking after him very tenderly. Snuffler has been given antibiotic shots and it remains to be seen if they'll have any effect. Josh is not prepared to "play god" as he puts it, just yet. Snuffler is just sleeping all the time and does not appear to be distressed. Today Josh will take him to the vet's clinic and see if a drip helps or else he may have to be put down. Very sad.
I just typed the date on this email when I was saving the offline text version, and find I have woken up to 30 September. I have been here at this time on countless occasions and it makes me never forget what happened here in Indonesia in 1965, starting on this date - one of the worst human rights abuses in the 20th century that Indonesia pretty well got away with, without much international condemnation. Called the 30 September Movement (the Indo acronym is GESTAPU!) It started with the murder of 6 senior military officers by junior officers who happened to be communist (one of the legal political parties at the time) who were disillusioned with the military hierarchy. The short-lived coup was put down virtually overnight by Soeharto who happened to be in Jakarta with his regiment at the time. (Coincidence?) Whether or not it was in fact a communist coup, it was quickly labeled as such and any member of the communist party was relentlessly murdered, mostly by citizens stirred up by the military, in the following months. It is estimated that around a million were killed. Tens of thousands more were rounded up and sent to the remote island of Buru where they languished for 15 years without trial. The truth about what was behind these events has been skillfully hidden by the Soeharto regime right up to the present. I was studying Indonesian at Sydney University at the time. In those days there were few news cameras around to record these horrors and Soeharto had 33 years to cover his tracks and get way with mass murder. He should have been reviled like Pol Pot was, but instead world leaders, including our own Whitlam, Keating, Howard, etc., all sucked up to him. I for one do not want to let the world forget, hence this little reminder! Part of what we need to remember is that some of the most widespread slaughter took place here in beautiful Bali.
I am awake at 3am local time - went to bed way too early but the jet lag and early start had got to us, and Jasmin collapsed soon after a story too. Not even the cocks are crowing yet. A local temple loud speaker, or else a neighbour with an execrable PA system, was playing hideous religious chants way through the night. Apparently Hindu Bali has learned from their Islamic neighbours in the rest of Indonesia to broadcast their devoutness to the entire community by the use of muezzin-like broadcast equipment. God help us, is all this confirmed atheist can say!
Will be introducing Anne to Ubud today- we came in the back way, not through the town yesterday. Saw one quite tasteful "ANZ Ubud Writers Festival" banner down south yesterday, so have yet to see how this year's new sponsor has spread its presence in Ubud. You will remember last year's sponsor, Citibank was really in your face with thousands of bright blue banners. Citibank is now embroiled in a major financial scandal in Indonesia that involved a murder and hence has withdrawn from continuing to be the festival's sponsor - caused huge money worries for the festival a couple of months ago until ANZ came on board.
Fortunately, for the benefit of her first positive impressions, the flight, the processing at the airport here and the taxi ride to Ubud, all went with miraculous smoothness and speed. We arrived in Ubud within two hours of touching down and were dragging our bags up Josh's little lane when he was coming out on his way to his regular 4 pm silat martial arts class. Anne and I had time to relax, unpack and cook dinner before he got back with Jasmin. I think she had been instructed by her dad to say hello BEFORE she checked if we had brought any presents, but somehow, got the order wrong. In fact, after the mammoth load of birthday presents and treats last time, this time I came virtually empty-handed, apart from two bottles of de-tangler hair treatment for children!! However Anne had brought all sorts of exciting parcels - the big hit was the kit of cooking apron, chef's hat and embroidered hand towel which she immediately donned and helped cook the pasta! And she also got a stunning dress covered in bright red poppies - i can't wait to get my newly-repaired camera back to take some photos. The third present was a little ceramic bear money box with a pattern to colour in plus the pens to colour it with- AND a selection of Australian coins to put in it so she could learn about our money before she comes to Australia on her first trip in December. All very well-chosen gifts. Anne also brought Josh something he has been wanting but cannot find up here - a stove-top stainless steel kettle - a fancy German one. As Josh says, it is the poshest kettle in the whole of Ubud. I had brought him my old electric jug last time I came but it fused the house every time he turned it on - 10 times before he gave up on it.
Sadly one of Josh's cat's, Snuffler is very ill - the vet has been twice- seems he has feline hepatitis. Josh is very upset and is looking after him very tenderly. Snuffler has been given antibiotic shots and it remains to be seen if they'll have any effect. Josh is not prepared to "play god" as he puts it, just yet. Snuffler is just sleeping all the time and does not appear to be distressed. Today Josh will take him to the vet's clinic and see if a drip helps or else he may have to be put down. Very sad.
I just typed the date on this email when I was saving the offline text version, and find I have woken up to 30 September. I have been here at this time on countless occasions and it makes me never forget what happened here in Indonesia in 1965, starting on this date - one of the worst human rights abuses in the 20th century that Indonesia pretty well got away with, without much international condemnation. Called the 30 September Movement (the Indo acronym is GESTAPU!) It started with the murder of 6 senior military officers by junior officers who happened to be communist (one of the legal political parties at the time) who were disillusioned with the military hierarchy. The short-lived coup was put down virtually overnight by Soeharto who happened to be in Jakarta with his regiment at the time. (Coincidence?) Whether or not it was in fact a communist coup, it was quickly labeled as such and any member of the communist party was relentlessly murdered, mostly by citizens stirred up by the military, in the following months. It is estimated that around a million were killed. Tens of thousands more were rounded up and sent to the remote island of Buru where they languished for 15 years without trial. The truth about what was behind these events has been skillfully hidden by the Soeharto regime right up to the present. I was studying Indonesian at Sydney University at the time. In those days there were few news cameras around to record these horrors and Soeharto had 33 years to cover his tracks and get way with mass murder. He should have been reviled like Pol Pot was, but instead world leaders, including our own Whitlam, Keating, Howard, etc., all sucked up to him. I for one do not want to let the world forget, hence this little reminder! Part of what we need to remember is that some of the most widespread slaughter took place here in beautiful Bali.
I am awake at 3am local time - went to bed way too early but the jet lag and early start had got to us, and Jasmin collapsed soon after a story too. Not even the cocks are crowing yet. A local temple loud speaker, or else a neighbour with an execrable PA system, was playing hideous religious chants way through the night. Apparently Hindu Bali has learned from their Islamic neighbours in the rest of Indonesia to broadcast their devoutness to the entire community by the use of muezzin-like broadcast equipment. God help us, is all this confirmed atheist can say!
Will be introducing Anne to Ubud today- we came in the back way, not through the town yesterday. Saw one quite tasteful "ANZ Ubud Writers Festival" banner down south yesterday, so have yet to see how this year's new sponsor has spread its presence in Ubud. You will remember last year's sponsor, Citibank was really in your face with thousands of bright blue banners. Citibank is now embroiled in a major financial scandal in Indonesia that involved a murder and hence has withdrawn from continuing to be the festival's sponsor - caused huge money worries for the festival a couple of months ago until ANZ came on board.