For university student Marchella Pradipta, dressing up as Hermione Granger, who the whole world knows is one of Harry Potter’s best friends, is just the thing when going off to see “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” the latest film in the series.

Marchella, 22, joined some 500 Harry Potter fans for a screening of the latest film on Sunday at Blitzmegaplex in the Grand Indonesia shopping mall. She has been a devotee since her elementary school days.

“I am a huge fan of Harry Potter. I am not at all embarrassed to come to the screening dressed as Hermione,” she said.

Marchella owns a number of Potteresque costumes — school uniforms and dormitory cloaks included — and she also collects matching accessories online.

The crowd on Sunday was liberally sprinkled with costumed Hermiones, Harrys and Ron Weasleys, proving that Jakarta is not as far away as one would think from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the English countryside.

The screening was organized by Indo Harry Potter (IHP), an online fan community. It initially planned for 400 participants, then increased the number to meet demand.

“This is the fifth time that IHP has organized a Harry Potter screening in Jakarta and this is the most crowded one we have had,” said Shafiq, who organized the event.

“We had actually targeted 400 people because we didn’t want Harry Potter fans sitting in the front row and not being able to fully enjoy the film,” he added.

IHP began making preparations for the screening two months ago, charging Rp 85,000 ($9.50) and Rp 65,000 per person for tickets and goody bags.

Anne Lumos, from IHP’s merchandise division, said participants got magic wands, shirts, chocolate frogs, pins and a Harry Potter poster.

The only downside was that not more fans opted for cosplay.

“Three days before the screening, we actually informed the participants that it was a Harry Potter Cosplay but only about 40 participated,” Lumos said.

Airyn Wirawan 22, is a major Harry Potter fan but cosplay is not her thing.

“I don’t really want to dress up as it is a bit of a hassle for me,” she said. “I am more interested in the crowds and getting to know new friends from the screening .”

Indo Harry Potter was established as a mailing list by Eduardi Prahara and Erwin Gunawan in 2001. There are also now dozens of other local sites devoted to the Potter craze.

“It was back in the era when the Internet was not as popular as now. Erwin and I just made Indo Harry Potter because we are fans of Harry Potter,” Eduardi said.

“The first year, we only had 10 members but now there are more than 10,000,” he said, adding that his real life keeps him busy these days while numerous volunteers are around to maintain the IHP forum.

Herayu Nurkusuma Putri, 15, came dressed in a Gryffindor cloak and said she wanted IHP to live on. “I hope IHP will continue to have events that bring us back to the time when the Harry Potter series was still on,” she said

Indonesia’s Borobudur Rising From the Ashes

The Jakarta Globe

Indonesia’s Borobudur Rising From the Ashes

Farouk Arnaz & Elisabeth Oktofani

Jakarta. The major eruption of Mount Merapi on Nov. 5, which blanketed surrounding areas in volcanic ash, poses a serious and ongoing threat to ancient temple complexes such as Borobudur.

Officials are concerned the acidic soot will hasten the wearing of the temples, Borobudur in particular, which is covered in up to 3 centimeters of ash.

The site was closed to the public after the eruptions began on Oct. 26, while the government has sent workers in to clean up the temple complex.

“Since Nov. 11, we’ve taken emergency action to keep Borobudur clear of ash by cleaning up 72 stupas and the main stupa, and wrapping them in plastic,” Junus Satrio Atmojo, the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s head of historical and archeological sites, said Saturday.

The government has allocated a total of Rp 600 million ($67,200) to clean up the Buddhist temples of Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut, as well as the Hindu temple complex of Prambanan, he said.

That includes Rp 248 million for Borobudur.

“Cleaning up Borobudur and the three other temples requires that we be extra careful and work step by step to prevent the ash lodging in the pores of the rock surface,” Junus said.

“It’s not a question of hiring more people to help clean up, but of the equipment that we need to buy.”

He added that because the disaster had occurred toward the end of the fiscal year, the government was short of funds to procure the necessary equipment.

“Our experience from the Aceh tsunami in 2004 tells us that cultural heritage and historical buildings are always the last to be budgeted for in the disaster recovery fund, and that’s why we need outside donors,” he said.

“Donors don’t necessarily have to give us cash. We’d be grateful for items such as plastic sheets, hoses, baking soda and anything else we can use to clean the monuments.”

Junus added that Unesco, which lists Borobudur as a world heritage site, had only been able to offer sending an expert to gauge the damage, as it had no experience dealing with volcanic clean-ups.

“We politely declined, as we have plenty of Indonesian experts,” he said.

He added that authorities were in a race against time to clean up the temple and reopen it, given the high number of foreign tourists expected to visit Borobudur, with many booking trips months in advance.

Borobudur is the country’s most popular tourist attraction.

Temple officials have reopened the Borobudur yard and the first of the temple’s nine levels to the public, but the rest of the site remains closed for cleaning.

“That’s because we haven’t been able to remove all the volcanic ash covering the temple,” Iskandar M Siregar, head of technical services for Borobudur management, said on Saturday.

“At this time, we’re only allowing visitors to visit the temple yard and the first level of rock. Visitors are forbidden from climbing on any part of the temple.”

He said it could take up to four weeks to clear away all the ash coating the structure.

“We’re using brooms and dust pans to clean it up, so we can’t go any faster,” he said. “So far, we’ve collected 20 cubic meters of ash.” Iskandar said this represented less than a tenth of the total volcanic ash at the site.

He also rebuffed calls to wait for the rains to wash away the ash, pointing out that this would only complicate matters.

“That’s because the ash would wash into the temple’s drainage system and damage it,” he said.

Clean-up crews are trying as much as possible not to use mechanical equipment, which could damage the rock surface of the temple, he said.

Iskandar also said workers had not yet wrapped up the entire monument in plastic, and were prioritizing the top three levels, where the stupas are located.

“We have to hurry because the ash has a corrosive character, that accelerates the weathering of the stupas and stones,” Iskandar said.

Indonesia’s Geography Holding Back Immunizations: Doctors

The Jakarta Globe

Indonesia’s Geography Holding Back Immunizations: Doctors

Jakarta. The Health Ministry’s mandatory immunization program for children has been successfully introduced in the majority of provinces, but has yet to take hold in the underdeveloped east of the country, doctors say.

Under the program, all Indonesians must have received 13 different vaccinations before the age of 18, eight of which are available for free at community health centers and general hospitals.

However, health officials meeting in Jakarta at the 2nd National Symposium on Immunization say the program is not reaching enough people in the provinces of Papua, West Papua and West Sulawesi.

“Immunization is very important because it’s an investment in future health,” Dr. Prima Yosephine, an immunization official at the Health Ministry, said during the symposium on Friday.

“Unfortunately, though, we face geographic challenges in implementing the immunization program for all of Indonesia.

“The central government has actually already provided all the vaccines to all 33 provinces across the country, with the provincial administrations expected to manage the distribution down to the district and municipal level,” she said.

“So while we expect the vaccines will be distributed properly, we understand that there are several challenges such as the tough mountainous terrain in West Papua.”

Another obstacle to the success of the program concerns religious belief.

In 2002 and 2005, the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the country’s highest authority on Islamic affairs, declared that the IPV and OPV polio vaccines were haram , or forbidden under Islam, because they were developed using strains of the virus.

While the MUI’s edicts are not legally binding, they carry substantial weight among the country’s majority Muslim population.

“But even if there are a couple of vaccinations that we’ve declared forbidden, that doesn’t mean we’ve closed our eyes to the importance of human health,” said Saleh Daulay, from the MUI.

“Islam allows its followers to use forbidden substances in emergency situations.”

He added that as long as there were no alternatives to the IPV and OPV vaccines in their current form, then it was allowed for Muslims to be immunized with the existing vaccines.

Of Indonesia’s 237 million people, 30 percent, or 71 million, are under the age of 18 and eligible for immunizations under the Health Ministry’s program.

As of this month, the country has immunized 90 percent of minors against measles.

However, the country is still in the top 10 worldwide for the fewest number of children below the age of 5 who have never been vaccinated for any disease.

“According to the WHO, approximately 1.4 million children under 5 years old die in Indonesia every year from diseases that could have been prevented by immunization, such as measles or tetanus,” said Dr. Toto Wisnu Hendarto, the chairman of the symposium.

“In addition, Unicef also recorded that 30,000 to 340,000 Indonesian children die every year from measles.”

The 13 mandatory vaccinations include DPT (for diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus); HIB (for haemophilus influenza); PCV (for streptococcal pneumonia); and MMR (for measles, mumps and rubella).

Unesco Takes Note of Indonesia’s Angklung, Grants it Cultural Heritage Title

The Jakarta Globe

Unesco Takes Note of Indonesia’s Angklung, Grants it Cultural Heritage Title

Jakarta. Angklung, the traditional West Java musical instrument made from bamboo, has been included in Unesco’s list of intangible cultural heritage.

The instrument was among 46 items from 21 countries inscribed to the list at the Fifth Unesco Inter-Governmental Committee meeting on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Nairobi, Kenya.

The angklung now joins the wayang (the Javanese shadow puppet theater), the kris (the Javanese ceremonial dagger) and batik among the Indonesian representatives in the list.

I Gusti Ngurah Putra, a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the government welcomed the recognition granted by Unesco.

“The reason the angklung was inscribed to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is because it has deep philosophical values for humanity, such as cooperation, respect and social harmony,” he said.

“Because to produce music with angklung requires good cooperation among the angklung players, as no melody can be played by a single player.”

Masanori Nagaoka, the culture program specialist at Unesco’s Jakarta office, said it was hoped the recognition would lead to greater awareness of angklung and its traditions.

“Being recognized by Unesco on the list ensures better visibility for the intangible cultural heritage and raises awareness of its importance, while encouraging dialogue that respects cultural diversity,” he said.

Each angklung is made with two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame.

It plays only one specific note, which is produced by shaking the instrument rapidly from side to side.

During the height of the Sunda Kingdom, when much of Indonesia was still Hindu, it was used to signal prayer times. Later on it was used by the Sundanese to boost morale, and was banned by the Dutch colonial masters.

That effectively relegated it to a children’s toy.

In the 20th century, the angklung was adopted by several other countries, including Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

These were variations of the original, with the Thai angklung, for instance, using three bamboo tubes instead of two.

In addition to the four items Indonesia now boasts on the list of intangible cultural heritage, the country also has seven sites on Unesco’s list of world heritage sites.

Three of them — the Borobudur monument, the Prambanan temple complex and the Sangiran Early man site, all in Central Java — are on the list of world cultural heritage. The other four — the Komodo, Lorentz and Ujung Kulon national parks, as well as the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra — are listed as world natural heritage.

“We’re now working on getting the Acehnese Saman Dance to be recognized as intangible cultural heritage,” Putra said.

“We’re going to work hard to have as much of our culture as possible recognized by Unesco, the main point being to get the rest of the world involved in preserving our culture.”

He said the government also wanted recognition of Indonesian culture to prevent other countries from laying claim to it.

The government earlier this year promoted the angklung by inscribing it on the back of the new Rp 1,000 coin, which was introduced in April

Piece of Mind: When Money Talks, Unity Takes a Walk

The Jakarta Globe

Piece of Mind: When Money Talks, Unity Takes a Walk

When I was in elementary school in the mid-1990s, my teachers went out of their way to emphasize the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which translates as “Unity in Diversity.”

The motto — taken from a famous Javanese poem penned during the Majapahit kingdom in the 14th century — pertains to the fact that Indonesia is an archipelago that is rich with different cultures, tribes, religions and languages.

The motto is intended to draw on the country’s diversity as a unifying strength instead of allowing it to become divisive.

It’s a nice idea, but one that seems to be showing more and more cracks these days.

The most blatant recent examples pertain to religion and sexual orientation.

But there are other, more subtle examples that have increasingly come to my attention, mostly having to do with status and money.

Take the artists’ enclave of Ubud.

With its starring role in the best-selling book “Eat Pray Love” and the film adaptation starring Julia Roberts, it seems like everyone has been talking about Bali and how perfect it is as a tourist destination.

I lived there, among the lush rice fields of Ubud, for more than a year.

And while I love the beauty and culture of the place, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that while it was welcoming to foreigners from all over the world, this same welcome doesn’t always seem to be as warmly extended to fellow Indonesians.

As a Javanese woman dating a Western man, I sometimes felt that I was discriminated against in terms of race and gender while living there.

When I went to a restaurant or shop with my fiance, he was greeted with a warm smile and friendly words.

I, on the other hand, was largely ignored.

I found myself asking if there was something wrong with me.

Was it because my fiance was a Western man and people assumed that he had more money than me?

Or was it maybe because of the stereotype that Indonesian women who date Western men are morally compromised and are just out to squeeze some money from the man’s pockets?

If I only felt this way once or twice about the way I was treated, I could probably just brush it off.

But it happened again and again, almost anywhere we went.

I also saw it happen to other Indonesian women, even men, and it never failed to test my patience.

I eventually decided to channel my anger in a creative manner by blogging about my experiences.

I ended up getting a lot of responses and comments from readers who had experienced the same thing.

There were also some people who were surprised that this would happen, given that there are so many Indonesian tourists who visit Bali.

I have two theories about why this happens.

The first is that Bali has become spoiled by tourism money.

It seems to me as if a lot of people there have forgotten basic manners in their quest to take a bite out of the tourism pie.

My second theory is that some Balinese may simply not feel kind towards other Indonesians.

This feeling may have increased since the 2002 terrorist bombings, from which the island is still recovering today.

But it’s not just Bali. I have found that things like this happen in other parts of the country as well.

Before I moved to Jakarta, I called the owner of an apartment in Central Jakarta and tried to rent his place.

He was friendly and organized as he went over the details with me.

I agreed to all the rules and was ready to pay.

Then, oddly enough, he asked if the apartment was for me or a foreigner.

I told him it would be for me, a young Indonesian woman.

I never heard back from him until my Western friend contacted him and he responded immediately with a rental agreement.

It is quite sad that this sort of thing happens in Indonesia, especially when we are taught Bhinneka Tunggal Ika growing up.

It seems that our motto of equality and tolerance is not always reality.

Tourists from Jakarta who visit Bali may be quoted higher room rates than others.

Foreigners are usually given more friendly treatment in tourist shops and restaurants there.

They also get easy access to apartments in Jakarta.

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika is a great idea, it’s just one that doesn’t always translate into real life — especially when the equality and unity in question stem from one’s wallet.

Elisabeth Oktofani is a freelance writer.

Debt Deal Helps Mend Quake-Damaged Schools

The Jakarta Globe

Debt Deal Helps Mend Quake-Damaged Schools

Elisabeth Oktofani & Putri Prameshwari

Jakarta. In the wake of the May 2006 earthquake that damaged more than 3,300 schools in Yogyakarta and Central Java, a debt-restructuring deal effectively channeled funds toward rebuilding some of them, National Education Ministry officials said after the debt-swap certificate was handed over recently.

Given the extent of the damage, the ministry prioritized primary and junior high schools for rehabilitation.

“The nine-year education program covering primary and junior high school is a compulsory one that plays a fundamental role in helping develop children’s potential and assisting them to be successful at the next level of education,” Suyanto, the ministry’s director general for primary and secondary schools, said on Monday.

Under the deal, worked up in the aftermath of the quake and running until 2008, the German government agreed to waive 20 million euros (Rp 250 billion at the time) of official development assistance owed to it by the Indonesian government, in exchange for the latter investing half that amount in education development activities.

The initiative, called Debt Swap IV, targeted 193 primary schools and 34 junior high schools in Yogyakarta and Central Java.

The schools were selected based on the severity of the damage they suffered as a result of the magnitude-6.3 earthquake, and were spread across Yogyakarta municipality, Sleman, Kulon Progo and Bantul districts in Yogyakarta, plus Klaten, Sukoharjo and Boyolali districts in Central Java.

During its two years of operation, the program’s funds were managed by the two provincial administrations, district-level education offices and the National Education Ministry.

In its final report to German development bank KfW, which bankrolled the program, the government showed it had surpassed the targeted investment in education called for under the debt swap, having spent a total of Rp 132 billion, or 5 percent more than it was obliged to.

Last week, National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh received a debt swap certificate for the 20 million euros from the KfW, signaling the project’s successful conclusion.

This marks the second debt swap between Germany and Indonesia in the field of education.

In 2002, Germany waived Indonesia’s 25.6 million euro overseas development assistance debt on condition that Indonesia invested at least half that much in basic education.

The government decided to invest the money in a project to construct over 500 training centers for biology teachers, complete with teaching materials and equipment, in 17 provinces across the country.

More than 30,000 primary schools and four million students were believed to have benefited from the program.

“This time, it’s for increasing the quality of education in primary and junior high schools across Yogyakarta and Central Java,” Nuh said.

Suyanto said the success of the latest debt swap suggested it was a feasible model for funding the rebuilding of schools in other disaster-hit areas

Priceless Loyalty To the Sultan

The Jakarta Globe

Priceless Loyalty to the Sultan

Elisabeth Oktofani & Florencia Margaretha Taruli Toruan

Yogyakarta Palace is a symbol of Javanese culture. It is also the home of Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and his family.

About 3,000 abdi dalem — which loosely translates as royal servants — serve the sultan and his extended family. In return, they receive a minimal monthly salary ranging from Rp 8,000 to Rp 62,500 (90 cents to $7).

But for these royal servants, their work is not about money, but about upholding and honoring ancient Javanese traditions.

The royal guards, who are among the abdi dalem, dedicate their time to Ngarso Dalem, a term they use to refer to the Yogyakarta sultan.

Aji Triman, 43, who is dressed in kain pranakan — a dark blue fabric with a pattern of three vertical lines typically worn by the royal guards — said he was inspired to become an abdi dalem after having recurring dreams.

“One night, I dreamed about GKR Hemas,” Aji said, referring to the current sultaness of Yogyakarta. “In my dream, I helped her catch a very big fish in the pond.

“After I gave her the fish, she said, ‘Would you like to help me find one more fish?’ I said yes and left to find another fish. But when I left, I suddenly woke up. The dream was a sign for me to dedicate myself to the sultan’s palace and his family.”

Bekel Djoko Tjermo, 57, has been working as an abdi dalem since 1985 and believes that his path in life has nothing to do with how much money he earns.

“I can feel the blessing from Ngarso Dalem, which makes my life easier,” Djoko said. “That is what I earn, actually.

“Every month, I get paid Rp 8,000 by the sultanate. I work twice a week, in two three-hour shifts,” he said.

Along with his Rp 8,000, Djoko added that the money he earned from his small business and from presiding over traditional Javanese weddings was sufficient to cover his family’s needs.

“In fact, it is a lot. I can send my children to university, I own a house and I can also feed my family three times a day.”

Ngabehi Margowikarto, 78, has been registered as an abdi dalem since 1990, when he retired as a civil servant for the railway company.

Margowikarto, who is also known as Djumakir, said he enjoyed his duties as an abdi dalem more that his previous job with the railway company.

“Actually, I cannot really sit still at home and do nothing. I want to dedicate myself to Ngarso Dalem, find new activities to do and make new friends,” said Djumakir, adding that one of his favorite duties is to help tourists who visit the palace.

Gusti Bendoro Pangeran Haryo Joyokusumo, who is in charge of paying the abdi dalem, said the Yogyakarta Sultanate is currently working on a new salary scheme for the servants.

“The salary of the abdi dalem actually cannot really be called a salary, but rather it is an ucah dalem [the term for salary or stipend in the palace] because it does not reach the regional minimum wage rate for Yogyakarta, which is Rp 745,694 per month,” Joyokusumo said.

“Some abdi dalem, do not spend the ucah dalem from the sultan’s palace, but keep it as a talisman for luck.”

Joyokusumo explained that under the new structure of ucah dalem, the sultanate is planning to hand out allowances based on each abdi dalem’s duties and length of service, which will affect how much they received for transportation, for their families, as well as for their daily fees.

But in order to implement the new system, the sultanate has to determine the rank of each of the 3,000 abdi dalem.

“The only problem that we have right now is that we need to register all the abdi dalem electronically. [Currently], the manual registration logbook is still being used,” Joyokusumo said.

“Once we have them computerized, we can give them the new ucah dalem based on their individual professional levels. As guardians of Javanese tradition, the abdi dalem receive a quality education in Javanese culture,” he added.

Joyokusumo said the sultanate recruited new abdi dalem twice a year and all Indonesians could apply, as long as they were willing to learn, understand and implement Javanese culture and tradition.

“We have two grades of education for abdi dalem. First grade is an introduction of general knowledge about the Yogyakarta Sultanate and Javanese tradition, while the second grade concerns leadership,” he said.

According to Joyokusumo, each grade consists of eight training sessions and the abdi dalem receive career advancement as well as additional ucah dalem after successfully passing each level.

However, it can be difficult to sell a job that pays Rp 8,000 month, especially to young people.

Heirwid Benny Sulistriono, 23, a student at Gadjah Mada University, said that while he would like to be an abdi dalem, the low salary was an issue.

“To be realistic, how can you live on less than $10 a month? Let me say that I have priorities in my life,” he said.

“My priority at the moment is once I graduate, I want to get an enjoyable job that provides a good salary, enough for meals, to have a house to live in and also to enjoy myself,” Heirwid said.

“This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to be an abdi dalem if I was asked to be one. I could be an abdi dalem if the work hours were flexible. Perhaps, if I only had to work on the weekends, then I would not be bothered by the low salary.”

Febrianto Valentinus Situmeang, 22, a recent graduate from Atma Jaya University in Yogyakarta, said he had lived and studied in Yogyakarta for the last four years, and had absolutely no interest in becoming an abdi dalem.

“Yogyakarta has a special character due to it being a cultural center. But I am Batak, not Javanese,” he said.

“Even if I were Javanese, I don’t think that I would want to be an abdi dalem because it requires a high level of personal dedication.”

Joyokusumo is not worried, however, that the palace will run out of willing abdi dalem anytime soon. He said there was no lack of applications from young people who wanted to preserve Javanese tradition by becoming abdi dalem despite the low remuneration.

“It might appear that most of the abdi dalem are old,” he said. “But fortunately, every time we open recruitment, we always have young applicants between the ages of 24 and 30.”

Nation’s Gay, Transgender Community Searches for a Voice in the Mass Media

The Jakarta Globe

Nation’s Gay, Transgender Community Searches for a Voice in the Mass Media

Yogyakarta. The media wield enormous influence in informing public opinion, and in Indonesia this power has often been used to discriminate against marginalized social groups such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Homosexuality is often portrayed in local media as a sexual aberration or deviant behavior. These and similar other labels are used to denounce the LGBT community through the media, both directly and indirectly.

“When was the last time you read a news report about a crime committed by a heterosexual person, in which the headline made reference to their sexual orientation, like ‘Heterosexual man kills girlfriend,’ for instance?” said Mira, an activist with the Yogyakarta-based LGBT group People Like Us One Heart.

“So why is it the media insist on trumpeting the suspect’s sexual preference if they are homosexual, as in the case of Ryan, the serial killer from Jombang [East Java]? And another thing: why don’t media report on the achievements of LGBT individuals?”

Mira was speaking at the LGBT in the Mass Media forum on Tuesday, held by PLU One Heart and Yogyakarta-based Atma Jaya University’s School of Political and Social Sciences.

The skewed reporting can be traced to journalists’ lack of formal training on the topics of sexuality and gender studies, said Ashadi Siregar, the executive director of the Yogyakarta Research, Education and Publishing Institute.

“Media workers are not trained to understand LGBT issues correctly,” he said. “Their reference paradigm is one that has been molded by prevailing religious and cultural values, so what they need is more education on this topic.”

Atma Jaya journalism lecturer D Danarka Sasangka blamed the poor standard of LGBT news coverage on the fact that the media were catering to viewer tastes in a largely conservative country.

“The media cannot be separated from business and political interests,” he said. “Their level of objectivity in terms of homosexuality should therefore be seen from the point of view of industry.”

Danarka cited the reality-based television show “Be a man,” in which male transvestite contestants undergo a series of tasks ostensibly designed to make them renounce their lifestyle choice.

“Unfortunately, there are many transgender people who want to take part in the show,” he said. “It paints an often very negative picture of the transgender community. This is how the mass media shape our reality.”

Ashadi said there were steps the LGBT community could take to rectify the situation.

“They can help end the stigma in two ways,” he said. “First, by establishing a media-monitoring institute to combat the negative stereotypes, and second, by developing alternative media for advocacy purposes, which will help the LGBT community raise public awareness about the issues it faces.”

My Jakarta: Sri Asih, Entrepreneur and Grandmother

The Jakarta Globe

My Jakarta: Sri Asih, Entrepreneur and Grandmother

When Sri Asih isn’t celebrating the birthday of one of her 14 grandchildren with her husband, Mohammad Mupriyanto, she’s flexing her entrepreneurial muscles. Asih, 60, who moved from Sragen, Central Java, to Jakarta in 1968, has done everything from making gado-gado (salad with peanut sauce) and mopping floors to sewing buttons and serving food. Today, she explains how one of her businesses, Badut Mupri, has been bringing joy to the kids of Jakarta for 35 years, why being a clown sure beats being a criminal and how, if you can turn a frown upside down, she’s hiring.

Why did you come to Jakarta?

Most of my friends’ parents were asking them to get married at a young age. That was my worst nightmare because I wasn’t ready to get married at that stage. So I decided to leave Sragen to seek a better future in Jakarta.

How did you meet your husband?

It was one week before Idul Fitri in 1969. He had been coming to the warung [food stall] I worked at for some time and one day we had a conversation. We were both alone in Jakarta so we decided to live together and get married.

And what do the two of you do now?

My husband and I run an entertainment business, Badut Mupri [Mupri the Clown]. Actually, we started by selling handmade cardboard masks at an art bazaar in Ancol in 1975. My husband wore a mask while I stood next to him selling similar masks. He didn’t do anything funny, he just wore the mask, but people laughed anyway. It was obvious that people were hungry for entertainment. So that same day we decided to start our own entertainment business.

What was the first day of business like for Badut Mupri?

We earned Rp 70,000 in three days. And that was in 1975.

What role do you play in the business?

I’m the wife of Badut Mupri, a maker of clown costumes and also the owner of the business. I do whatever the business requires, be it acting, sewing or booking parties.

How do you promote your business?

We never really went out and advertised until my youngest son, Eko, helped us make a brochure and created a Web site for us [http://badut-mupri.com/]. But basically, the business operates by word of mouth.

Why clowns?

Clowning is a great form of entertainment. It makes people happy and puts smiles on kids’ faces. But it makes me sad when I see people dressed up like clowns just to beg for money on the street. I mean, it’s better than going out and robbing people, but it can ruin the image of clowns for kids.

Have you ever painted your face and worked alongside your husband?

Yes! One day in 1978, we had overbooked and we didn’t have enough performers to fulfill all the bookings, so I had to dress up. If I’m not mistaken, we had 19 performances scheduled for 19 different places that day. So I had to go and work at a birthday party hosted by Gen. Tjokropranolo [a former governor of Jakarta]. I went there as a duck.

How did it feel performing for everyone?

It was very strange and everybody was laughing and making fun of me. They grabbed my tail and pulled me here and there. But then again, nobody could see that it was a grown woman in the suit.

How does it feel being the wife of a clown?

Wonderful. I’m proud of it! Not only has my husband made work for himself, but he has also created jobs for others. Many people mocked my husband when he said he wanted to be a clown. They said he was crazy, but which is worse, being a clown or a criminal?

Do you have any dreams you haven’t fulfilled?

I want to build a park or a playground for children so they can expand their imaginations. I want it to be a place where kids can play and have fun, but also a place to learn.

Do you ever think about retiring?

As long as we are still able to work, we have no plans to stop making kids smile. But I expect that one of my children will take over so that the business, which started from zero, doesn’t just disappear when we retire.

Where do you find your clowns and acrobats?

We welcome anyone who is willing to work and never says I can’t do this or that, because people can accomplish anything as long as they have the will to do so. We have a place for them to stay and we have jobs for them.

Sri Asih was talking to Elisabeth Oktofani.

Tune Your Radios to a Greener Jakarta

The Jakarta Globe

Tune Your Radios to a Greener Jakarta

For those stuck twirling the dial during smoggy commutes, Green Radio is a breath of fresh air for those who like their news mixed with a daily dose of environmental responsibility.

Broadcasting on 89.2-FM, Green Radio is the only news station in Jakarta whose main focus is educating listeners about the big and small changes they can make to benefit the environment.

“Green Radio was inspired by the floods in 2007 that left more than 70 percent of the Jakarta area drowned,” said Santosa, the station’s managing director. “There must be something wrong with the environment, so one day I came up with an idea to change our previous station, Radio Utan Kayu, which focused on more general issues, to Green Radio.”

The station’s tag line is “The eco-lifestyle of Jakarta,” and Santosa said more than 200,000 people tune in daily across Greater Jakarta to listen to news, environmental reports and discussions.

And the small station’s influence extends beyond the reach of its radio transmitters. Besides broadcasting a message urging environmental consciousness, Green Radio has also spearheaded programs aimed at getting their audience actively involved. “Green Radio has on-air activities and also off-air activities because we want to encourage the public, through our listeners, to get involved to save the planet and help to avoid floods in Jakarta such as the 2007 flood,” Santosa said.

And it isn’t all just talk. From day one, Green Radio has used solar panels to power its 18-hour broadcast day.

“I decided to use solar panels because they are very environmentally friendly and use an unlimited natural resource: the sun,” Santosa said.

So far, Green Radio has organized three initiatives: the Friends of the Forest tree adoption campaign at Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, a clean-up of the area around Monas in June and a biopore creation workshop. Biopores are small holes drilled in the ground to decrease flooding.

Green Radio collaborates with private sector and government organizations as well as members of its audience, Santosa said, adding that the station has had more than 2000 individual participants take part in its greening programs.

Through its Friends of the Forest adoption program, individuals and organizations donate Rp 108,000 ($12) to have a tree planted in a deforested area in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park in West Java. Green Radio has collected enough money to plant 7,031 trees in a 10-hectare area over the last 18 months, decreasing soil erosion at the farms that line the park’s borders.

“We’ve already got 15 big organizations and 300 individual adopters,” Santosa said. The program was created in partnership with the park and Conservation International Indonesia.

He added that the program was also helping reclaim parts of the forest from local farmers who use the park to plant crops, and trains those farmers for new careers in eco-tourism. At a cost of Rp 290,000 per person for two days and one night, the tour provides lodgings in a campground or tree house, five meals, guides, porters and the planting of a tree.

“The income goes to local farmers who help us organize the eco-tours. They prepare the food and act as forest guides and porters.” Santosa said, adding that some farmers were also given goats, rabbits and honeybees to breed.

In addition to Friends of the Forest, Green Radio has also developed a biopore program, active since July 2009.

“The biopore program is a regular training program that teaches people how to make small holes [in the ground] for water absorption. They can absorb more water in the rainy season and also can be used to produce compost.” Santosa said.

Each biopore is designed with a 10-centimeter opening and with a depth of one meter.

Through partnership with the Body Shop retail chain and Mall Ciputra, Green Radio’s program has been responsible for the creation of 1,500 biopores across Jakarta.

“We are working together with these caring communities to help reach the government’s goal of creating one million biopores,” Santosa said. “Hopefully, these biopores will help us to avoid another big flood like the Jakarta flood in 2007.”