May 19, 2015 edition
A STATUE depicting Tinhn Loai Han, a woman who committed suicide after being raped, greeted visitors entering the Indochinese refugee camp in Galang Island, in the Riau Archipelagonow a tourism site. Inside, dilapidated structures are spread around 80 hectares of land, surrounded by trees, shrubs and manicured lawn. Former refugees' accommodations are covered with tall grass, except for one run-down wooden barrack. "The military tore them down over the years to discourage people from coming," Abdul Syukur, field coordinator of Galang Island Tourism Area, told Tempo English last week.
As many as 250,000 refugees tried to escape the war in Vietnam and Cambodia from 1979 onwards. Some fled overland to areas bordering Thailand, others crammed fishing boats and sailed southwards, in search of safety and a better life. Adnan, 49, head of the Galang refugee museum, who greeted those coming to revisit the site, would find them crying but feeling grateful. "I just met Nguyen Than Quan, a 70-year-old man who owns a successful ceramics business in the US. He was very moved to find out that the camp still existed," said Adnan. He was one of the more fortunate refugees. Many perished at sea, trying to reach Galang or died from disease and depression at the camp.
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May 12, 2015 edition
PRESIDENT Joko Widodo had just ended his sundown prayer at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, on Thursday in mid-April. Vice President Jusuf Kalla approached him, then softly tapped his shoulder. He asked Jokowi his reason for rejecting the nomination of Muhammad Said Didu as the director-general of minerals and coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. An official who knew what happened said that the president replied tersely: "There were special considerations."
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May 5, 2015 edition
THE bedroom of one 3x4-meter house with aluminum sheet roofing and plywood walls is connected to the kitchen. Mary Jane Fiesta, her husband, and their two children, used to live in this house, located in Esguerra village in Talavera, Nueva Ecija province, in the Philippines. "Its condition has not changed much since she left," Floramay Ladrillano, a cousin of Michael Candelaria, Mary Jane's husband, told Tempo, last week.
Mary Jane lived in this house since 2002. Five years ago, she left to find work in Malaysia. "The family's worsening economic situation led her to look for better work," said Floramay.
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April 28, 2015 edition
April 21, 2015 edition
THE lyrics became very famous in Sudan after the 1955 Asia-Africa (AA) conference in Bandung. The song Asia-Africa was again played repeatedly in Sudan ahead of the 60th anniversary of this year's conference. The Sudanese creator and composer, Abdel Karem Wlkabili, was inspired by the spirit of Sudan's struggle for independence.
"The song was created right after the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung. The composer did not come to Bandung, but he could feel the spirit when the conference took place," Abd Al Rahim Al Siddig, Sudan's ambassador to Indonesia told Tempo two weeks ago.
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April 14, 2015 edition
INDONESIAN PRESIDENT Joko Widodo had prepared two pages of a speech he intended to read during the opening of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) conference in Sanur, Bali, last week. He was helped by Minister/State Secretary Pratikno, who was accompanied by two State Secretariat staff. They discussed it on the back porch of the State Palace in Central Jakarta.
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April 7, 2015 edition