Haram vs. Halal

While most people know that pork is forbidden to Muslims too eat, recently I learned of a new food that apparently falls into the same category of Haram foods, it is frog.  On a bus ride somewhere or other my conversation with two Indonesian friends went on to talk about strange foods we had or hadn't tried before (and living in Asia that list is very, very long).  Frogs, surprisingly, came up and my friend pointed out that she could not have eaten them because they are considered haram since they live on both land and water.  Now, I don't think I am the only one to consider that a strange justification.  So I decided to look into it, and did you know you can find answers to what is haram or halal on websites ranging from Islamic Awakening to Wiki Answers?  Well according to the former website, frogs are "regarded as revolting and unclean."  Peacock meat, on the other hand, is halal and good to go.  Considering I have had peacocks my entire life that was a little more disturbing- besides the surprising fact that these animals even come up for debate!  Wiki Answers just had a simple answer, haram.  Guess I am still learning new and fascinating things all the time!

Work + Travel = Awesome Long Weekend

This morning I flew back to Jakarta after a four-day conference about Protecting Migrant Workers on Lombok Island, just east of Bali.  I traveled here last February when Preethi came to visit me from Australia, but this time the focus was on researching the situation of Indonesian migrant workers and attending a conference put on by several of the Tifa Foundation’s partner NGOs.

The conference brought together about 30 participants from different NGOs, government offices, paralegals, and academics whose work and passion is on helping protect and educate migrant workers and their families.  This particular region of Indonesia has one of the highest rates of migrant workers, mostly due to pervasive poverty.  They generally travel to countries such as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, legally or illegally, to take on jobs in places such as factories, palm oil plantations, and as domestic workers.  Ideally these men and women, often just teenagers, go and work for a year or two and send home enough money for their family eat a little better and maybe even build a new home.  Unfortunately, cases of abuse, unpaid wages and general maltreatment are incredibly common.  The worst trend I heard was of women who worked abroad as domestic worker, generally the toughest positions, and their husbands used the money they sent home to get married again!  These women returned to no home and a broken family. 
 
I spent my time listening to the conference attendees share their experiences with casework, public education, and struggles, and also interviewing both former and potential migrant workers, government immigration officials and other activists.  Previously I had only been mildly knowledgeable of this issue, but the trip was incredibly enlightening and I am facing a few writing assignments on my findings.  The interviews with locals also put my Indonesian to use!

Rice paddies, palm trees, and thatched houses of rural Lombok Island.

Lunch with migrant worker activists, the local specialty: freshly caught and grilled fish.

Village kids where I was interviewing former migrant workers.  Every Indonesian kid I have met loves to get their photo taken and then see it on the camera, more excitement comes if this is done over and over and over again.

 

The surprisingly nice resort where the conference was held.  But I forgot my swim suit...

The human victims of environmental degradation

A third Indonesian farmer has just recently been attacked and killed by a rare Sumatran tiger, and that is only counting since the end of summer.  The most recent victim, a 25 year-old chili plantation worker, was killed at the most northern tip of Sumatra in Aceh while two previous Sumatran attacks left dead a palm oil worker in September and a rubber plantation worker in August.

This unfortunate trend has been attributed to the rapid, and often illegal, deforestation in Sumatra that pushes tigers out of their habitat when trees are cut down for timber or to make way for crops, in particular palm oil plantations.  This then forces the animals such as tigers and elephants into closer contact with people.  Last spring it was big news in Jambi when an elementary school just a couple hours away was horribly frightened by two tigers that approached it in the middle of the school day.

The Nature Conservancy estimates that Indonesia's forests are disappearing at a rate of about 300 football fields an hour.  While the government has made some encouraging promises about halting deforestation, tangible positive results are still yet to be reported.

Indonesian cheesecake

The Indonesian affinity for cheese flavored foods is seemingly unlimited.  This, literally, cheese cake was generously provided by the office cook for our 3pm snack today.  It was essentially cheese sprinkled and baked into the top of the butter-flavored cake. Yum.

Food for thought

Yesterday afternoon, over a meal of chicken satay and fresh mango juice with friends from the office, I learned a new bit about Indonesia’s quirky culture.  People here believe that if you bite the inside of your mouth, like accidentally while eating, it means that somewhere, someone is talking about you.