Indonesia: Away from home in little known islands in the sun

The Indonesian archipelago extends in linear fashion from Sumatra near the Malacca Straits and Malay Peninsula in the West, to Irian Jaya that shares a large island with Papua New Guinea at the Eastern end. What is said to be the largest archipelago in the world is made up of around 17,000 islands (some uninhabited) that span eastwards for 5000 kilometres. The sheer extent of its geographical distribution can be gauged if a map of the archipelago is superimposed on that of United States. It will stretch from California to Bermuda. In glossy brochures promoting Indonesian tourism, the enormous chain has been described as “A Necklace of Equatorial Emeralds”.

Mainly due to the influence of traders from India, China, Arabia and Persia who arrived in the islands at different times, the country had assumed a multi-religious face. The foreign powers that were attracted by the abundant natural resources in the islands, chose to stay on and spread their own religions among the local populace. While some island rulers were converted to Hinduism, the Arabs and Persians converted other locals to Islam. The seventh century Srivijaya Kingdom that established trade ties with China had been instrumental in creating pockets of Buddhism (The Borobodur Temple complex located in Java is today considered to be one of the greatest monuments in the world).

In the years that followed, Islam had firmly taken root firstly in North Sumatra and then had spread to Java and elsewhere to become the majority religion in the country. A few centuries later, the Portuguese had arrived, soon to be followed by the English and the Dutch. After many disputes over dominance in the lucrative spice trade, the Dutch had finally emerged victorious. Dutch influence is evident even today, particularly in the lesser-known islands. Across its many islands, Indonesia now consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Indonesia's national motto, “Bhinekka tungal ika” ("Unity in Diversity"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country.

East Timor has been very much in the news in recent times due to political turmoil there. However, the western part of the island known as West Timor of the Indonesian state, is relatively unknown. For that matter, the entire province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) is made up of the lesser-known islands of Indonesia such as Flores, Sumba, Sumbawa, Lombok, Sawu, Roti, Alor, Komodo and West Timor itself. This group of islands commonly referred to as the lesser Sunda chain is located east of Bali, the well-known tourist destination.

The capital of West Timor is Kupang, a small city situated at the extreme western tip of the island not very far from the Australian city of Darwin. It was to be my home for a considerable period of time in the early eighties when I was posted there as a Short-Term Consultant by the World Health Organization (WHO) for four months in 1982 and three months the following year. Due to political upheavals in East Timor even at that time, entry of foreigners to peaceful West Timor was also restricted. I too had to spend a few extra days in Jakarta before the WHO was able to get my travel formalities cleared and finalised.

The few extra days that I spent in Jakarta enabled me to make new friends especially among the expatriate Sri Lankan community and to renew contact with old friends.

Dr. Palitha Abeykoon who was in my parallel batch in the Peradeniya Medical Faculty was already a permanent staff member in WHO and was stationed in Jakarta at that time. An expert in the field who has done much for modern medical education, Palitha later reached the highest echelons of the WHO South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) before his recent retirement.

Along with my Old Anandian schoolmate Hema Dassanayake who was the Administrative Officer in WHO Jakarta, Professor Rohan Jayasekara of the Colombo Medical Faculty and Dr. Kamini Alahakoon of the Family Health Bureau, both of whom were on short tours, we all had a most enjoyable time while staying at the Petra Guest House in Sabang. I also got to know International Labour Organization (ILO) staffer Sooriarachchi, Professor Upali Kuruppu of UNESCO and a former Ceramics Corporation official Pandithakorala who were all stationed in Jakarta.

I also had the pleasure of meeting my old teacher at Ananda College and former Civil Servant P.G. Punchihewa who was Director General of the Asia Pacific Coconut Authority based in Jakarta. After teaching at Ananda for a short while following his graduation from the Peradeniya University, Mr. Punchihewa entered the elite CCS and retired as Secretary to the Ministry of Coconut Industries.

Once I received clearance for travel to Kupang in NTT, I flew there with a brief stopover in beautiful Bali. In Kupang, I found myself in a completely different environment with an entirely different landscape and among people who looked physically different from the Javanese back in Jakarta. They were dark skinned and had fuzzy hair with a distinct Aboriginal look. Unlike in Java and Sumatra where most Indonesians were Muslims, the majority of these Eastern Indonesians were Christians.

Rainfall in NTT province is confined to just three months from December to February. Hardly a drop of rain falls during the rest of the year. As a result, water shortage is a perennial problem in the area. Most houses have a system to collect rainwater during the rainy season to be stored and used in the dry season. An intricate system of bamboo gutters drain the water falling on rooftops into large tanks built adjacent to the house. The problem of water scarcity became so acute at times compelling villagers to cut down banana trees to collect water seeping into a scooped out cavity at the cut end of the banana trunk.

Both men and women wore the same dark coloured garb for weeks without washing. Let alone washing linen, they had no water to wash even their own bodies or bathe! Skin ailments, bowel diseases and other health problems associated with poor sanitation were rampant. To solve the problem, the WHO had an ongoing Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for the area. Hydro geologists, sanitary engineers, economists etc., were functioning as consultants under a Project Director. I was assigned to the project as the Health Education Consultant to help local public health officials to prepare the community for expected changes in lifestyle, as they started receiving supplies of clean water on tap from drilled wells.

There were no star-class hotels at my duty station Kupang. But all WHO short-term staff found life comfortable in Hotel Susu that had a magnificent view of the Timor Sea from most of its air-conditioned rooms. An Indian sanitary engineer M.L. Gupta was the Project Director who lived with his family in a rented house not very far from the local Health Department where the WHO office was housed. A French national Ahmed Adjari (originally from Iran) was the economist and another Indian S.P. Mathur served as the hydro geologist. At Hotel Susu, the three of us enjoyed each other’s company, more so because there was no one else around who could speak English! We not only looked forward to our “not too infrequent” drink together on the upper floor balcony of our hotel, but also going out in the evenings to enjoy the great Indonesian food ranging from Nasi and Mee Goreng, to Padang and Soto Barbuth in nearby restaurants. Unlike in Jakarta, there were no English newspapers or TV and radio programmes in English. Thus, with even local officials not being able to converse in English, we were compelled to pick up the local language Bahasa Indonesia in no time.

Very frequently, we had to make field trips to the other neighbouring islands. The rather hazardous journey had to be done in small propeller driven planes. Our most frequent destination was Flores Island that was situated north of Kupang in the Timor Sea. Just a few years ago, a major earthquake hit the island of Flores. According to news reports, the entire island had been flattened and devastated with almost the entire population being wiped out. At least at the time of my own visits, we found Flores to be a beautiful place though much smaller than West Timor in extent. The mountainous island is (or was) famous for its exotic multi-coloured volcanic lakes, known as “Keli Mutu”. The three lakes that are situated close to each other contain brightly coloured water ranging from dark red to turquoise. Keli Mutu is featured on the 5,000 rupiah note (Indonesian currency) and thought of as a national treasure by the people of Indonesia.

Being located between two distinct bio-geographic regions - Asia and Australia, the flora and fauna of these islands is also almost unique. It has been recorded that both animal and plant species that are not found elsewhere on earth have flourished on some of these islands. Komodo Island has been so named after the famous Komodo dragon that is said to have lived there. Apart from being a birdwatcher’s paradise, Flores is also home to an abundance of rare flowers including exotic orchids, unusual insects, and indigenous spices such as cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon.

It was in Kupang that I experienced an earthquake for the first and only time in my life. We were at work in the office when the building started shaking and rattling. We felt the floor moving making us hold on to pieces of furniture. According to a set plan, instructions were issued to occupants to evacuate the building immediately. It was obviously a minor earthquake but just like the building, we too were rattled!

On a weekend when we were off duty, my WHO colleagues and I were invited to be the honoured guests at a “house-warming” ceremony in a Timorese village. The host served locally brewed liquor that we had no hesitation in “sampling”! The celebration was in full swing when steaming hot dishes of meat were being passed around as a “bite”. As if it was an act of god, I suddenly felt the urge to answer a call of nature. As it turned out, the timing could not have been better! The local brew that I consumed was probably having a diuretic effect. I excused myself and stepped out to use the outdoor toilet. It was then that I saw the severed head of a dog on a table among a heap of bloody bones and entrails near the rear door of the main house.

I hurried back inside to nudge and warn my friends who were smacking their lips and eagerly waiting for the plate of “bites” to reach them. In the nick of time, I managed to whisper in their ear what I saw in the backyard - the strange spectacle of the dog’s head. We later heard that dog meat was a delicacy in that part of Timor often reserved for ceremonial occasions. Just to play safe, we turned “vegetarian” at least for that noontime meal!

As the saying goes, all good things had to come to an end. But I was inwardly happy that I was finally able to go back home and to my family. If not for the company that I had with my WHO colleagues, life in Kupang could have been more difficult. I doubt very much that I will ever visit Timor again and see the smiling faces of those friendly people.

At the end of my assignment in Kupang as I left for the airport one evening to take a flight back to Jakarta, I left with mixed feelings after saying “Terima kasih banyak” (thank you very much) and “Salamat Malam” (good night) to the hotel staff.