Maybe it’s because we have moved out to Bogor, but I don’t recall ever having seen so much rain in my 20 years in Indo. Not the full weeks’ non-stop rain and drizzle, like you get in Sydney and down the south coast of OZ. The rain still comes mainly in strong bursts that last for an hour or two and then subside , allowing all the bikies to get to their destination a little less drenched.

The afternoon drive home has been great. You can see mountains on all sides of Jakarta at the moment. There’s some really big ones out Bogor way, and I’ve never seen them so clearly.

I’ll see if I can get some photos up.

The clear skies got me wondering. Could it really be that the downpours alone and winds are washing away all the pollution from cars and buses, giving us such spectacular views ?
I’ve always cursed the buses as the main culprits to Jakarta’s foul air, but now I’m beginning to wonder if there is another factor….

Living in Bogor among the farmers and bike thieves, you tend to become climatized  to all the burning off that occurs daily. there is no rubbish collection where I live. People simply burn it. Plastic bags, paper, freshly cut grass, leaves. Anything that will catch fire by itself or assisted with a splash of kerosene from the stove.

Boy how they love to burn off. I think i mentioned this in an earlier blog, but it wasn’t until this incessant rain that I realized the real impact of the burning off. With constant rain. People simply can’t burn off. Due to humidity some are finding they can get a great compost heap going and plants and veggies are literally jumping out of the ground . But once things start to dry out, the pyromania sets in. When you have 20 odd million farmers burning stuff everyday, the result is a smoke screen big enough to shroud an entire city.

Breathing disorders , especially in young children are rife in Jakarta.

I can’t get my head around it.

Clean air, wonderful sunsets, mountain views

or

Misty stifling smog.

Why do people choose to damage their environment and themselves, when the alternative choice is just as easy ? – make some nice compost ! Grow some food more effectively !

It always comes back to Education. Fire restrictions would probably help. And council depos with plastic rubish collection bins and community composters.

I just worry that with 200 million people over here, and little environmental education assistance in sight, this part of the world is going to get a whole lot more smokier.

I can see clearly for now.

Many indonesian women find it extrodinary. ‘How could he choose a black girl, over a white princess like me ?’ Being dark skinned it seems has connotations with working outside ; dirty, lower class, un-educated – ‘Kuno’ (from the village) as they like to sum it up over here. So for many of the girls who are born on the browner side of the spectrum – and it’s a whole lot of many – there is a great desire to change their colour and thus distance themselves from the ‘poor person’s’ stereo-type.

For some this means never going outside when it’s sunny, certainly covering up to go to the beach and never going swimming in a public pool. And for many it means spending a fortune on creams and lotions that will give you a ‘beautiful clean white’ complection , just like the perfect rich people, in a matter of weeks. Except you have to keep using the product, otherwise you might turn back into an ugly person again.

There is another popular phrase often related to advertising ; ‘Korban Iklan’ – victim of adverstising – that i like to use whenever Yayang reaches for the Dove whitening cream. Live and learn to love what the good Lord gave you, don’t fall prey to these nasty companies who sell nothing but vanity and self doubt.

It angers me how these big companies blatantly exploit cultural stigmas and adolecence to such an extent that it becomes ‘the norm’. Nobody questions the morals or ethics behind such a campaign. These products contribute to social and cultural divide but even more sinsterly can even be bad for your health, as was exposed in today’s Jakarta Post. Other companies that produce womens sanitary items try to convince young women that they should be wearing their product day and night regardless of whether they are menstruating or not, because it’s what the intellectual Western folk do and you wouldn’t want to be caught ‘malu’ (ashamed) by any incidental accidental wet marks !

My doctor friend says this behaviour can lead to the harmful spread of bacteria. Next time you are in the bathroom of a female relative over here, look for the bottle of Femina Wash – a leading hygene website says this kills all bacteria in ‘that area’ including ‘good’ bacteria neccessary for maintaining a delicate healthy balance. Girls in Indonesia are encouraged to use the stuff like soap to keep away ‘bad smells’

Should these companies be allowed to dupe the whole of society inflicting potential outbreaks of poisoning and bacterial sickness, for the sake of making a profit ?

Indonesian women choose Western style products in an effort to be more progressive, more sophisticated. There is nothing wrong with such ambitions or drive , but there is something terribly wrong with the companies that exploit that drive and offer disguised poisons and harmful products in place of commodities or knowledge to assist these women.

Yayang is pretty happy with her colour and natural beauty for now. Me, I’m a horrible pasty whitey. I can’t even get a decent suntan in this tropical country, but I’ve learnt to accept my pinkish glow. I’m certainly not going to start rubbing browning lotion on my body.

We’ve just made a new human, who is neither black or white and probably the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen.

Black or White

Well the Bali beach sports games is under way with 30 odd countries participating. No doubt the government will have had a big campaign and drive to clean the beaches to ward off international criticism. At least the beaches will be clean for a while.
The main problem for nearly all of Indonesia’s beaches is that most peoples sewage goes straight into the river, untreated, and then straight out to sea. My surfing mate Ben often jokes about ‘dodging the brown sharks’ ( eeyyww) when reporting on surf trips in Java’s Pelabuhan Ratu.
The second worst polluter to human waste is plastic bottles and cups.
Danone Aqua is the main producer of drinking water in Indonesia. There bottles are literally everywhere. And I don’t just mean in the market shelves. Empty bottles and aqua cups possibly comprise 20% of most rubbish tips and litter that is frequently thrown straight onto the street in this country.
What is Danone Aqua doing about this ? Their water used to come in glass bottles, but these days Pep-bottles are the go – drink and throw. Ironically Aqua has a new TV commercial that preaches of a brighter , cleaner future for Indonesia’s children. Why can’t they put some of their marketing budget into an anti-litter campaign to educate people not to throw bottles in the river or onto the side of the road ? Why doesn’t the government or the people hold Aqua responsible for the garbage they generate ?
Here is a link to Danone’s website ;

DANONE decided to go one step further by taking action at the source of the problem; reducing by 10% the overall weight of product packaging over 10 years.

Gee ! A whole 1% reduction every year ! let’s celebrate with a bottle of Aqua !

What other steps are Danone prepared to take to reduce the damage they have inflicted on our river systems and oceans ? The step from glass to Pep was a giant leap backwards if you ask me. But when you are selling water to the world there’s apparently no time for environmental compromise.