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Memories

In times of tragedy, xenophobia rears its ugly head

Xenophobia in some sectors of society has reached alarming levels. Every time there is the slightest hint of the presence of foreign forces of any kind in the country, the ugly head of xenophobia pops up.

This is evident from some of the discussions taking place on radio, television and the Internet. Statements like "foreigners are infringing on our sovereignty" and "why should the government allow them to come in" are common.

There is nothing wrong with being alert, but it is entirely different to be concerned about something which is baseless. For example, a Singapore plane with search and rescue equipment and a U.S. naval oceanographic survey ship, the Mary Sears, are currently in Indonesian territory simply to help Indonesian authorities locate the missing Adam Air jetliner.

They are here because Indonesia lacks the technology to locate the missing Adam Air Boeing 737-400. It is exactly because of the country's technological limitations that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked friendly countries to help in the search.

It is good to remind alarmists that remote sensing technology is now so advanced that advanced countries can train their satellites on any spot in the world. So there is virtually nothing we can conceal anyway. In fact, the U.S. has provided Indonesia with satellite imagery to help find the Adam Air plane.

The Singapore Fokker-50 airplane is equipped with sonar technology to detect objects on the ground as well as on the water's surface, while objects on the seabed can be detected by the Mary Sears.

It is simply rude to talk badly about our foreign friends while they may be working at this very moment with local forces in the southern Sulawesi waters off Pare-Pare, searching for the jetliner.

There are worrying signs that xenophobia is here to stay, judging from recent events. When foreign countries scrambled to Aceh after the December 2004 tsunami, the Indonesian Military (TNI) responded by restricting the movement of international aid workers and foreign military personnel.

Foreign military ships and planes also were required to be accompanied by military liaison officers and to get clearance from the TNI for all their movements.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla then told foreign troops to leave Indonesia within three months, amid allegations that the troops were engaged in espionage on behalf of their governments.

There were also concerns that the largely Western foreign volunteers were out to convert the mainly Muslim Acehnese to Christianity.

Fortunately, voices of reason made themselves heard, protesting the restrictions and even questioning the true motives of the TNI.

This ugly xenophobia again appeared after last May's earthquake in Yogyakarta. The government wasted no time in appealing for international help, but no sooner had foreign medical personnel and volunteers arrived to help victims than top leaders in Jakarta demanded to know how long they would be there.

Just like the volunteers who streamed into Aceh two years ago and Yogyakarta in May, the crews of the Singapore plane and the American ship are motivated by a strong sense of compassion for the 102 people aboard the missing jetliner.

Indonesia seems to be saying, we will take your money and aid, now get out.

If we are unable to overcome our xenophobia, the international community will be forgiven for perceiving us as an ungrateful nation.

Harry Bhaskara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian Search Teams Recover Pieces of Missing Plane

Indonesian search teams are starting to recover pieces of a passenger jet that disappeared on New Year's Day with more than 100 people on board.

The head of search and rescue operations, Eddy Suyanto, says a fisherman found the tail stabilizer in waters about 300 meters off Indonesia's Sulawesi island, near Pare Pare.

He says a partial serial number stamped on the wreckage matches that of the Adam Air Boeing 737.

Airline seats, food trays and other parts of the plane have also been found strewn along the shore on Sulawesi island.

The jet was carrying 102 people when it went down in rough weather during a flight from Surabaya on Java island to Manado on Sulawesi.

Authorities are still unsure where the plane crashed, saying the debris could have drifted great distances.

More than 3,600 soldiers, police and volunteers have been scouring Sulawesi's thick jungle and the surrounding seas for the plane for almost two weeks.

Indonesian ships and a U.S. vessel with ocean survey capabilities are being used to determine whether several large metal objects detected by sonar on the seabed off Sulawesi could be parts of the plane.

Relatives have been anxiously awaiting news of the fate of the passengers, after being incorrectly informed last week that the plane's wreckage and 12 survivors had been found.

Adam Air is one of about 30 budget airlines that have sprung up in Indonesia since the industry was deregulated in 1998.

In 2005, 17 Adam Air pilots quit after complaining of poor safety standards.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

Some Recent Disasters in Indonesia

_ Jan. 1: An Indonesian plane disappears in stormy weather after issuing a distress signal during a two-hour flight from East Java to Manado.

_ Dec. 29, 2006: A crowded Indonesian ferry, carrying nearly 640 passengers, breaks apart and sinks in the Java Sea during a violent storm. At least 400 are still missing.

_ Dec. 23, 2006: Days of heavy rain touch off floods that kill more than 100 people and displace over 400,000 on northwestern Sumatra island.

_ June 19, 2006: Heavy rains cause floods and mud flows that kill as many as 300 people in southern Sulawesi province.

_ May 27, 2006: A 6.3-magnitude earthquake in central Java island kills at least 5,800 people and injures more than 36,000.

_ May 2006: A series of explosions spew hot ash down the slopes of Mount Merapi, eventually forcing at least 15,000 villagers to flee their homes.

_ May 2006: Mud flows, set off by an accident deep in a drilling shaft operated by a gas exploration company, displace more than 10,000 people and cover over 1,000 acres of land on Java island.

_ Jan. 4, 2006: At least 200 people are killed when mud and rock covers the village of Cijeruk on Java island in a landslide.

_ Sept. 4, 2005: An Indonesian jet crashes in a residential neighborhood in Medan, the country's third largest city, killing at least 149 people, including 47 on the ground.

_ March 28, 2005: At least 647 people die and tens of thousands are left homeless in a 8.7-magnitude earthquake that hits Nias, Banyak and Simeulue islands off the coast of Sumatra.

_ Dec. 26, 2004: An 8.9-magnitude earthquake sets off a tsunami that kills more than 126,000 people in Indonesia, mostly in Aceh province on Sumatra island, in the country's worst disaster. More than 100,000 others die in several other countries.

© 2006 The Associated Press.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16430595/