October 8, 2002 edition
Almost every night toward the end of 1967, the sounds of heavy boots could be heard in Lorejo village, Bakung District, Blitar, East Java. They steered their “charges”, barefoot and bound, to Gua Tikus—The Rats’ Cave. There, the men, considered activists of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), were beaten, then thrown into the cave, never to be seen again.
Thirty-five years later, last August, the Kasut Perdamaian Foundation attempted to excavate the cave, searching for the bodies of the victims. When they came upon a jawbone, the Regent of Blitar hastily stopped them. What stories are still buried at the bottom of Gua Tikus?
Almost every night toward the end of 1967, the sounds of heavy boots could be heard in Lorejo village, Bakung District, Blitar, East Java. They steered their “charges”, barefoot and bound, to Gua Tikus—The Rats’ Cave. There, the men, considered activists of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), were beaten, then thrown into the cave, never to be seen again.
Thirty-five years later, last August, the Kasut Perdamaian Foundation attempted to excavate the cave, searching for the bodies of the victims. When they came upon a jawbone, the Regent of Blitar hastily stopped them. What stories are still buried at the bottom of Gua Tikus?
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September 17, 2002 edition
Approximately 50,000 workers are gambling with their lives in the small town of Nunukan, East Kalimantan. They're willing to stay in overcrowded and suffocating tents, even sleeping in parks and on stall porches. Hunger and disease are imminent: food and water are far from adequate. In the past month alone, 35 lives have been lost.
Although they've been expelled from Malaysia together with hundreds of thousands of other workers, they still hope to return there after processing the necessary papers in Nunukan. The new immigration law in the neighboring country requires that they hold passports and work agreements if they don't want to be imprisoned for five years and receive six strokes of the cane.
To the majority of the workers, only the neighboring country can fulfill their dreams. As such, they're willing to suffer—even to be forgotten.
Approximately 50,000 workers are gambling with their lives in the small town of Nunukan, East Kalimantan. They're willing to stay in overcrowded and suffocating tents, even sleeping in parks and on stall porches. Hunger and disease are imminent: food and water are far from adequate. In the past month alone, 35 lives have been lost.
Although they've been expelled from Malaysia together with hundreds of thousands of other workers, they still hope to return there after processing the necessary papers in Nunukan. The new immigration law in the neighboring country requires that they hold passports and work agreements if they don't want to be imprisoned for five years and receive six strokes of the cane.
To the majority of the workers, only the neighboring country can fulfill their dreams. As such, they're willing to suffer—even to be forgotten.