Persecution in Jakarta

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Today was a pretty exhausting day, emotionally. A group of us from our church (Jakarta International Christian Fellowship) and our school went to visit the female students from the Setia Seminary, an evangelical seminary in East Jakarta. These girls are currently camping in large military tents (with 40 to a tent) and basically waiting and praying to be allowed back onto their campus.

The Setia Campus is located in Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta, where tensions have risen as a muslim group in the area have forced (to put it mildly) the students out of their campus. Things escalated on July 25 when a student was accused by local residents of stealing from them. Large groups of people surrounded the school throwing rocks and causing trouble. Tensions remained high for three days until some village residents actually broke into the girls dormitories and physically assaulted female students. The police decided the students must be evacuated. At their worst, crowds surrounding the school were said to be around 10,000.

As the evacuation occurred, several students were seriously injured when people in the crowds threw acid on them. 17 students had to be hospitalized. Although having police escort, police did little to stop thse assaults. Apparently prior to these events, members of Islamic group canvassed the neighbourhood demanded residents sign a petition to get rid of the school. Apparently they forced some, even Christian famililies, to sign the petition.

Since the evacuation, government actions do not seem to be supporting the seminary. The mayor of East Jakarta has even said that since the seminary is the minority, the government cannot do anything (so much for freedom of religion in Indonesia.) The school is afraid the government will stall action long enough students will tire of waiting and will return to their home areas. The school is also afraid if this happens, it could set a precedent for other Christian institutions in other neighbourhoods. They hope Christians will not forget them, and will help get their story out internationally to put pressure on the Indonesian government to take more effective action.

Of the 1500 Setia students, 400 have returned to their home areas, 500 girls are at a scout camp, and 600 boys are at a transit house. Police have said no one is alloed back on the property, so students basically left with only the clothes on their back.

Meeting the female students was remarkable. We came on the second day of a three-day fast, which broke at 4pm everyday. We arrived during a prayer and worship time. I sat and watched and was overwhelmed seeing this group of 500 girls praying so earnestly for something so emotional and personal. At one point one of the leaders had them pray for food, as on Monday they would be totally relying on God to provide their meals. This blew me away.

After the prayer time, we met with a group of girls who were really excited to meet us. It turns out they haven’t had a lot of visitors, and there really isn’t much to do at the site. They told us about their personal experiences with the evacuation. We talked about their needs, which included socks, shoes, and blankets, and even counseling for those seriously traumatized by the events. The girls seemed to radiate joy despite their difficult and serious circumstances. We chatted about our families, what we did, and their studies. We enjoyed a game of Uno, which would provide a bit of relief from future boredom. A couple of our team members gave their English Bibles to a couple of students, to which the students were grateful to the point of tears.

All students had to wear bright yellow cards around their necks with the word “Evakuasi.” We asked Pak Jusuf (a professor of Setia) about this and said it was so outsiders could not infiltrate the group. Aside from issues of theft or taking a meal, a major concern was that their persecutors might try to spy.

At the end of our visit we met one young man who had a t-shirt draped on his head, and a bandage on his arm. He was one of the people injured by acid, and the t-shirt was covering recovering wounds on his head.

For our group this visit stirred many emotions: anger, sadness, and even joy at seeing God’s provision. Meeting these people who were enduring blatant persecution humbled me and made me take stock of my own life. I worry about so many stupid things. God could take everything away, and he would still be good. He would provide for my needs. I also take my faith and ability to practice it for granted, as well as prayer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an urgent, immediate need, and a people so fervent in prayer. It makes my own commitment to praying seem trite and flimsy at best.

I hope to return in a couple of weeks, but I do hope and pray they will have returned to their campus.

Parallel Universe

I have very mixed feelings about returning to Indo. I really miss all of my friends, the community, and the school, but I do feel a bit of angst about being back there.

Before this holiday in Canada I spent 4 days in LK getting my apartment somewhat organized and visiting a few friends. I had forgotten how different things were there compared to a 'developed' country.

It almost feels like a parallel universe. The rest of the world operates one way, and Indo goes completely the opposite direction. Other places seem to have some order to them, Indo seems to have no order. I've often said something as simple as going to the mall can be an adventure, and usually takes time and patience. Finding 'small money' for a motorcycle taxi or a bus, finding said taxi or a bus, indicating where you want to go, retaining nerves of steel while driver negotiates heavy and chaotic traffic, the language, the culture, the pollution, the density... all of this before you even get to the shopping mall (which is a story in itself).

I know my views are completely ethnocentric. The majority of countries are developing (as Indo is) and probably have similar problems with corruption, pollution, and economy. I know that Indo is probably even miles ahead of many developing countries. Do I really have anything to complain about?

I miss the comforts of Canada and Australia. Driving long distances with the radio on, walking to the market to pick up a few simple items, clean air, straightforward services in a familiar language. Campfires. Night skies with stars. Clean water.

I think my goal in these next few years will be to make Indo more of a home for myself, to find and personalize the comforts it has. I want to learn the language. I want to master Indo driving. I want to get more massages.

I am in Ontario...

...all over Ontario, to be exact.

But first, let me tell you how I got here. I flew from Alice Springs to Darwin, spent the afternoon and night there. Then flew to Denpasar, Bali (where I took this picture) on my way to Jakarta. I spent 4 days in Jakarta and then flew to Singapore, and spent the night at the airport. Early the next morning I flew to Tokyo, then to Minneapolis, then to Toronto. That's 7 flights! I think that's gotta be some kind of record.

Anyhow, so now I'm in Ontario. I spent the first weekend with friends R & D in Milton. Went to the Farmer's Market and the strawberry festival there... good low-key fun. Took the GO train from Oakville to Oshawa on the Sunday where I was picked up by Ma and Pa. It was good to finally be back home after a week in transit. The first week back was pretty low-key. I went shopping for clothes and shoes, but just kind of kicked back. On the Friday I went to Toronto to hang out with some friends from Indo... one from Simcoe and one from Chicago. We saw Casa Loma, the CN tower, and watched the Atlanta braves warm up from the Hard Rock Cafe. We then walked over to the Eaton Centre.

This week I've been at camp at Fair Havens, and I worked for 3 days in maintenance. Yesterday I managed to get some septic time... I helped dig out the lid for the septic tank, as it was filling up. Thankfully it was pumped out soon after. I then helped sort out recyclables for 2 hours. Other than those jobs, I've been doing a bit of grass cutting, helping move and lift stuff, and raking dirt and wood chips. It was good physical work, and best of all, it was MINDLESS! I followed 2 teen staff around and they told me what to do. I had very little responsibility. It was heaven.

This weekend I head to Presqu'ile for camping, and next week I believe I'll be hanging around the house in Lindsay, getting ready to fly back to Indonesia (I fly out July 13). Thankfully I only have 4 flights back to Jakarta. I fly Toronto-Detroit-Tokyo-Singapore (2 nights)-Jakarta. I look forward to not flying for a while. Airports and airplanes have this way of sucking your soul out of your rear-end, leaving you feeling like little more than a drone. Maybe they put Nyquil in the food or melt a portion of your brain when you pass through the metal detectors.

Seyma the dog (and sidekick Skinny)

I have a small camp dog, whom you may have noticed in the pics below. She started hanging around 2 months ago, and then disappeared out of the blue. She has just returned from (I believe) a month long holiday in Alice Springs. Follow the link to pictures of a revitalised Seyma (and her new friend, Skinny).

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111834&l=d820d&id=688555192

Seyma has a small bed outside my front door, and I just noticed she has become a collector. She has become a bit territorial, and has started keeping her treasures on her mat. These include: 3 small bones, an old sock, her water dish, a plastic cookie tray, and a kangaroo vertebrate.

Donkeys

We have 3 wild donkeys here in Ampilatwatja. They are a royal nuisance, getting into garbage, pooping on your doorstep, and waking you up with their asthmatic wheezing. They're pretty smart too... they frequently come into my yard, turn on my garden tap and stick their heads under it for a drink. This has flooded my front yard, causing grass to grow, which the donkeys like to then come and eat. One thing leads to another and thank you gifts are left behind.

Here I am chasing one out of the schoolyard.

Around Ampilatwatja

My humble abode. I believe the architectural style is 'portable vernacular'.

Just outside of Ampilatwatja... Honeymoon bore. A romantic spot indeed.

The sign... don't miss the turn.

Winter Pics - Part 2

January 2, 9am. Today started off at a chilly -17 C. Brr.


Here are some Mallard ducks on the Scugog. They should really consider travelling to Florida for the winter. Maybe we should all.


Here is a snowplow, ready for action.


My wonderful brother looked forward to my return as he would have someone to share his shovelling responsibilities. Here I am doing my duty, widening the driveway entrance.


Here is my creation, the shovelled path to the front door! I believe the queen is the only one allowed to use this door. The rest of us use the side door. We're ready when you are Lizzy...