THE patient in Bougenville Room 11, Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, has a long and tortuous story. Dede, the patient, has been a farm worker, beggar, joined a freak show, and became a “star” in ‘My Shocking Story’, a documentary program on the Discovery Channel. The 37-year-old primary school graduate had also been divorced by his wife.

All this happened because of two things: warts and poverty. A lot of warts have grown on Dede’s ski