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Transmigration and Big Rock Beer
On the LEAD front…
As every student of Canadian history knows, way back in the later half of the 19th century, and into the early 20th, the federal government sought to “populate the west” of Canada with offers of free land and great opportunities to build a new life. It wanted to attract further immigrants from England specifically, but as most English balked at the offer, the program extended itself well into Eastern Europe, attracting thousands to the prairies. These people, through many hardships, would change the landscape over time and orient it towards agriculture, but they would also shape the traditions and culture of the new “Western Canada”, complete with Ukrainian, Finnish, Russian, and other influences.
Fast forward a half century later and the Indonesian government, prompted by none other than the World Bank, sought to replicate a policy eerily similar in efforts to alleviate poverty and overcrowding. Java Island, which has an estimated population of 124 million (out of a 230 million national population in the country) was targeted by the government for a transmigration scheme. Offering land, food, and other
incentives, thousands were reallocated to many of Indonesia’s other 18,000 islands.
As every well-rounded student of Canadian history knows, there were actually people and civilizations in the Canadian west long before European settlers were enticed, and the arrival of the agricultural era in the prairies spelled the end of many cultural practices and resulted in many hardships and tensions. As you can imagine, the same happened here, but on a much bigger scale.
As I have found out through all of my work so far, Indonesia, by and large, works through informal justice mechanisms… in fact, some research done that precipitated the LEAD Project suggests that the range of use of the informal system may be somewhere around 99% whereas the formal system is used only 1% of the time in resolving disputes. In a country where “land title” is granted to a mass wave of migrants, you can imagine that the land in question often was “owned” already under custom. Add in the fact that massive transmigration completely altered the ethnic and religious makeup (and majorities) of some regions and islands, and you get a pretty complex mix of
issues.
The transmigration program has stopped, but its legacy remains to this day. Often there remain disputes over land and resources, and only now does it seem like there is starting to be more scholarship and recognition of the importance of informal justice mechanisms. LEAD itself is very much focused on how this informal system works, and is trying to help spread recognition for and generate policy on the use of customary law. There have been some fairly impressive achievements to date, though there is still much work to be done; in the Aceh Project, another under the UNDP, customary judges (who tend to be heads of villages) are recording their decisions for the first time. This will provide policy makers an idea of how disputes are resolved, and will provide customary leaders a database of resolutions (might common law arise, perhaps?) I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about the impacts of custom on Indonesian society - the more I learn, the more complex and unwieldy the issues of rights enforcement in this country seem.
On the LIFE front…
My blog has been delayed recently due to a little holiday-ing with my boss and his family in the cultural and education capital of Indonesia, Yogyakarta. Nestled in between the ocean and the country’s most active volcano, Jogja (as the locals call it), is a unique little spot that has resisted fast-paced change (though over the past few years seems to have been losing the battle) and has a very different feel than Jakarta. Whereas Jakarta is built for the “spend an hour in traffic, work, leave at 6 and spend another hour inching along, watch a pirated DVD and go to bed” crowd (I’ve tried to resist this so far), Jogja is built for hanging out, talking, and enjoying company - no matter what time of day you drive through the streets, students, workers, grandmothers and children are all out talking and socializing with each other.
Even more fascinating about Jogja is that it used to be the capital of a massive and very rich kingdom of Hindus that eventually joined forces with a Buddhist kingdom, inspiring some pretty incredible temple architecture. Built between the 8th and 10th centuries AD, some of these temples were covered by layers of dirt and volcanic ash from the volcanic eruptions over the centuries, and only uncovered by unwitting farmers trying to harvest rice. The kingdom that was here was part of a long tradition of massive Southeast Asian empires, and was a frequent trader in spots as far away as Madagascar (in fact, an Aussie recently built a boat based on designs on one of the temple walls and sailed it to Ghana!) Pretty impressive stuff, considering that Europe at that time was in the middle of the dark ages.
I’ve been meaning to write a quick blurb about the life of a foreigner here in Indonesia, but I will save that one for next time. In fact, I’m feeling quite at home now that I had a taste of the “Canadian West” at the Canadian Embassy’s Canada Day celebrations on July 1. Luckily through a colleague with connections, I got an invite, and the embassy didn’t disappoint; surrounded by “trading posts” and videos of the country, we dined on bannock, Alberta Beef and Pacific Salmon while the Indonesian band, dressed up in the cowboy garb, did their best take on country music. And to top it all off of course, some Big Rock Traditional Ale was enjoyed by all!
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Brian
non-member comment
Enjoying your blogs. Interesting to learn that the Indonesian government implemented a transmigration policy similar to Can. Are you meeting people from regions affected by the program? See you in a month. Looking forward to more stories.