..... although it's no thanks to Blogger.
On Saturday I posted a review here of In The Time Of Madness by Richard Parry. Five minutes later, an expat friend called by to say that there'd been an earthquake in Yogyakarta, his wife's hometown and a favourite holiday destination for most expats.
Indcoup is another expat married to a lass from that part of the world. Do read his post.
Jogyakarta was the first town I spent much time in when I first visited Indonesia many years ago. Its attractions are many, but what makes the place really special is that its incredible cultural heritage is still very much reflected in the character of the town today. Here is a place where you can get into conversations about philosophy, art & civilization, and forget about the ways of the mad capitalist world.
My sentiments exactly, so I hastily took down my book review and posted roughly what you see below. Or tried to because that was the time when Blogger decided to bugger around. It seemed that they'd lost my template and my saved copy which I reposted was then also lost. Several times. I was offline for 24 hours and just when the Indonesian blogosphere was responding as best it could to the latest natural disaster to befall Indonesia!
Anyway, here's a quick roundup of related stuff.
SBY has moved the seat of government to Yogya to directly oversee the relief work. (The last time this happened was in 1946 (?) when the War of Independence against the Dutch was in full swing.)
Help Blogs
- Indonesia Help (in English)
- Help Jogja (in Indonesian)
- Mount Merapi started as a journalist's account of waiting for Gunung Merapi to erupt ~ and it may yet ~ but has turned into a visceral piece of blogging with as well as having several more useful links.
Obviously, it's up to individuals to help according to ability, skills, materials, wealth etc. If abroad, the International Red Cross, which is already active in the area and has launched an appeal is possibly the best option for your donations.As Aangirfan comments, there are good reasons for not trusting the Indonesian Red Cross. But this is not the time for politics and/or Suharto bashing. That can be put on the back burner for a while.
Mind you, as Yosef Ardi has noted, there are some cronies capitalising on this tragedy to demonstrate how 'generous' they are.
The running texts of Indonesia's TV stations have apparently been focusing on the number of casualties and the amount of money donated by dignitaries like ... Kalla Family Rp2 billion, Prayogo Pangestu Rp500 million, Boy Thohir Rp100 million, Indra Bakrie Rp500 million, etc ... or the announcement from big companies in what they claimed corporate social responsibilities like ... Company A to rebuild the school, company B to rehabilitate the mosques and hospitals ... donates tents or boxes of instant noodles, tea, mineral water ... etc ... But I'm awaiting texts like ... smart guy donates a seismograph or scholarships for students in the earth sciences ...
I'm going to steer clear of frivolous blogging for a while. If you have essential information which needs networking, do email me and I'll post it here or on Indonesia Help.
Indonesia Anonymus also won't be blogging much for a while. They're in Yogya doing their bit. What's yours?
"Do find ways to help, no matter how small. It counts."
