Today is a holiday according to the Christian faith. I don’t ever remember having this holiday off in the US. Perhaps, it is the effort of a pluralist society to even up the holidays of the religions granted legal status in Indonesia. Oddly, in a city of 80% Muslims, most of the stores are closed.
I’m supposed to head over to Watampone, a town in Bone regency. It’s only a couple hours northeast from here. It’s nowhere near the middle of the island where the religious strife is occurring. Nevertheless, being under the eye of the US government means I have to ask the people at the embassy about the area I’m planning to go. The kicker is this, according to the people who administrate our grants, we are sub-contractors, not employees; therefore, we aren’t paid directly by the US government. However, we do need to heed their overly-protective measures. The US government still has an ‘essential travel only’ warning on Indonesia. I’ve been here that entire time. Your look at it like this: your employer reserves the right to tell you that you can’t travel to Chicago because there “might” be crime there. Arghh!
I understand that this is a safety precaution, and that have had to give up some of the liberties I associate with freedom. But I also trust those I work with not to take me anywhere there might be tension either. As my past posts have shown, demonstrations can arise in a moments notice for anything, and I’m still working in this city.
4 Comments
You are without doubt safer in Watampone than in Makassar. There, isn’t that reassuring?
Tell me something I don’t know. Still, I must wag the dog to make people happy. I remember not being able to go on a rafting trip because the river traversed one district that *may* have had Maoist sympathizers…
The reason for the Australian government’s travel warning against travel to North Sulawesi (in place for many years now) is that Muslim rebels from the Philippines *may* come and kidnap tourists.
Is Makassar only 80% Muslim?
I’ve heard that thought about North Sulawesi, too. Nothing like paternalism to get in the way of life. And, no, I don’t know what the breakdown of religious affiliation is in Makassar. I was definitely hazarding a guess. Probably more like 90%???