He’s been taking part in the Australian government and
private enterprise BRIDGE programme linking schools on both sides of the Timor
Sea.
“I appreciated the informality of teachers and students
feeling free to ask for help, though I didn’t like the way teenage boys and
girls get so close,” the 17-year old said on his return. I never knew we had a
neighbour so different.”
The
observations of the young Muslim were spot on.
The two countries need more than Canberra-imposed policy to span the
gap, cooee close yet a cultural canyon apart, requiring hard work and political
will to bridge.
Consider
the differences:
Australians
are mainly big, white, brash, irreligious, pragmatic and well paid. We live in a nation where powers are
separated and the rule of law rules. Don’t dare tell us who to worship.
Indonesians
are generally small, brown, restrained, religious, superstitious, exploited and
poorly paid. They live in a nascent
democracy manipulated by moneymen and the military. The state’s fingers are in every citizen’s
dealings with the Deity.
We’re eighth
on Transparency International’s corruption perception index. A year ago Indonesia ranked 100. Now it’s 118.
Our
background is as recent transplants, Judaeo Christian, British democratic,
colonial now multicultural. Our independence was granted amicably.
Indonesia’s
history is ancient with Hindu and Buddhist traditions, feudal, patriarchal and
colonised. Independence was bravely won
after a four year brutal revolutionary war that still shapes the nation.
For every
one of us there are eleven of them. Population growth rate of just one per cent
- sounds manageable? Another baby was
born while you read this sentence.
We live in
the Anglosphere. Our mates live far away in Europe and the US. Their friends
are – well, we don’t really know, but fear they’re in the Middle East.
Indonesians are on
their own from cradle to grave. Useless
whingeing to the government. The welfare system is the family.
We do all
sports well on splendid public facilities. They play soccer badly and practise
in the street.
Our diet is
dairy and grain, protein and booze. their staple is rice. No grog. Even toilets are different.
How can
such two such radically dissimilar cultures intersect peacefully?
Friendship
can’t be bought, but governments think otherwise. So Australian taxpayers give around half a
billion aid dollars a year. Much is
spent building schools, the proper role of the sovereign state.
There’s no
sign this generosity enhances understanding of the people next door other than
reinforcing opinions about our wealth and their government’s failure to
provide.
The taxation directorate general says there are 60 million
potential taxpayers - but only 20 million are listed and paying. Just half a
million businesses are registered out of an estimated 22 million.
How the Indonesian government gathers and uses its money
(the military gets most) is not our business. A nation that can’t even dig
taxes out of miners and is heading towards a $20 billion deficit is in no
position to lecture. But we can select
our aid priorities.
Indonesia’s education system is in crisis. It’s at the bottom of the Pearson Study of 40
nations’ schools. Bringing top chalkies
to Australia to learn how to teach, write courses and run schools would be far
more beneficial than paying Indonesian contractors to plaster walls.
The BRIDGE project that helped open teenager Zulino’s eyes
to Aussie culture pre-dates PM Julia Gillard’s Asian Century by four
years. So far it has attracted less than
100 school partnerships.
We’ve been
neighbors since Gondwanaland split.
For much of that time we’ve viewed each other with suspicion laced with
ignorance and travel warnings, inter-cut with moments of great generosity like
our magnificent response to the Aceh tsunami and other natural disasters.
Suddenly
we’ve heard that they’ve got money. That
means they must need foods and goods, maybe even a few old Hercules. Hello, how
can we help, how much can you pay?
Are these
the foundations for a good and lasting relationship?
We want to
join Asia but does Asia want us? I
haven’t heard anyone in Indonesia talking about the Australian Century. Hillary Clinton launched its Pacific Century
(that includes Indonesia) a year ahead of Ms Gillard’s statement.
Australian
leaders may be serious about an Asian Century where curious and open-minded
youngsters can poke around their neighbor’s culture to erase prejudices.
But it’s
clear they haven’t got the Indonesians on the same page, as Erin McMahon’s
piece makes clear.
The Asia Century policy is a gentle shuffle forward and a welcome shift
from the drivers of defence and security.
The hype makes it sound like a Southeast Asian version of the open border
European Community that’s helped dissolve ancient hatreds and foster unity
through people-to-people contacts.
It’s not.
But it should be.
Duncan Graham is a journalist and editor of the online blog, 'Indonesia Now'
www.indonesianow.blogspot.com ). An expanded
version of this commentary first appeared in On Line Opinion.
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