an entry somewhere else

Today began as any normal day would: breakfast, the gym, to the university. Between the gym and the university something was different. The taxi couldn’t enter the university’s carpark because several students had strewn car tires in front of the entrance in an effort to slow down traffic. There was a megaphone; there was a placard too. This, in itself, was not alarming. The university is known to have its fair share of demonstrations for a variety of reasons. Usually, the demonstrations end up on the front page of several newspapers. It was hinted later that this may have been the reason it was difficult to post a Fellow here.

Anyhow, the taxi driver wanted to know what I wanted to do. What did I want to do? He pulled over opposite the entrance and I tried to read the placard. The only word I understood was ‘asing’ (foreign). Hmm, maybe not the right time to show my pale face. I called my counterpart:

“M., what’s the demonstration about today?�
“What demonstration?� He was teaching but picked up the phone.
“The one in front of the university. They blocked the entrance. I can’t get in.�
“I don’t know. I’ll send one of my staff to find out. Take the side entrance. I’ll have someone meet you.�

You can guess where it went from there. I entered safe and sound from the side entrance no one ever told me about.

The demonstration was regarding the award of visas to separatist Papuans by the Australians. The Indonesian government has recalled their ambassador and the Australian government has said they will not back down.

The tires were burned a little after I had entered the main office and a black, odored smoke drifted our way for a while. I questioned a few students, and they didn’t know what it was about. They really didn’t care either. It wasn’t apathy, just a feeling of wasted time…