Romantic, eh? So much so that the Media Center Lusi of the, rough translation this, National Team Responsible for the Big Mudhole in Sidoarjo (Timnas Penanggulangan Semburan Lumpur di Sidoarjo) has produced a fine glossy magazine dedicated to the mudhole.
The picture above is from the HotMudFlow blog, chiefly because the Media Center does not appear to be online. (If you happen to be in Surabaya, could you please visit their office in Jalan Raya Kupang Indah, and email me the URL if they have one. Thanks.)
It's not that this 12 page slightly smaller than A4 magazine, Edition 2, isn't appreciated, but it doesn't seem to give any current information, although I suppose if you didn't know that Lapindo was drilling very close to what Pertamina, the state oil company, labelled a 'danger zone' back in 1994 then this is somewhat relevant.
There are some nice pictures of refugees from villages of well-constructed semi-submerged houses and the road bridge which has been squatted to provide temporary accommodation. There are also a few pictures of concerned bureaucrats, all of which should be of concern to the 80,000 or so residents who have been uprooted and are now dependent on handouts. When (if?) I get round to translating the financial figures given, I'll post them as an addendum to this.
I am indebted to Ong of Unspun who this morning gave me the magazine and reminded me that he too is an expat. (I must amend my blogroll.) What concerns us both, interested as we are in the potential power of the internet to disseminate information, is the fact that the Media Center Lusi has the time to produce a magazine.
What's the budget? And what are the true costs of production? And wouldn't a flash-free website be much more cost-effective?
Could this be another case for the sleuths of Anti-KKN?
