year end notes (2)

Three days now since last Sunday. Death toll media tolled by has passed 27,000. For first time last night, air view reporting was made possible by SCTV, which covered a small densely populated Meulaboh, a small island-village that had been literally swallowed by rising tides. Communication and transportation has been cut dead. Its population used to be about 50 thousands. Official figure of dead bodies found has been released by MOH of over 10,000.

Corpses pilling up have begun rotting. Imminence of disease outbreaks loom too deadly to ignore. Though government finally opened Aceh to foreign journalists, aid workers, bureacracy is enemy within. As Jakarta Post quoted secretary to coordinating minister for social welfare Sutedjo as saying: “Jakarta-based foreign journalists could go direct to Aceh after they had secured a pass from local military authorities.” Aid workers and journalists not based here are required to submit application letters, which may take two weeks to process! Such bureaucrat should be…! Not, complaining isn’t good policy either.

Idle Tears took words out of my mouth, and I cannot agree more: Parachuting tons of rice, noodles and blankets will not be enough. Tomorrow and days after should be considered and decided fast. Empathy wanes easily with today’s soul-blunting infotainment. (Precisely what I said to I. last night, after exhausting herself from mobilizing and transporting boxes of food, blankets and used clothing to Aid Posts at Metro TV in the morning and on Wijaya XIII at night. Tomorrow we will do it again. But how long before we both run out energy?)

“A catastrophe the scale of this latest disaster calls for more than this simplistic, myopic and haphazard attitude. Without careful coordination and long-term planning, we are only offering passionless, hopeless grief to these victims.”

links to Aceh and North Sumatra Reliefs

This is to update recent postings.

Here's some quick but reliable info about how to help the victims of earthquakes and tsunami attacks in Indonesia.

Cash donations

Via bank transfer to the following addresses/accounts:

1. PT. Kompas Media Nusantara/DKK-Bencana Aceh. Bank BNI Jakarta Kota, acc. no. 001.007.55555.1001 or Bank BCA Gajah Mada branch, acc. no. 012.3016600. Via cash delivery to Redaksi Kompas, Kompas Building, Unit II Fl. IV, Jl. Palmerah Selatan 26-28, West Jakarta. This service lasts for 14 days, from 28 Dec-14 Jan only. Donations will be dispatched to Aceh and North Sumatra.

2. PT. Media Grup (Metro TV); Dompet Indonesia Menangis. Bank BCA, KCP Kedoya Baru, account no. 309.300.7979. Atas nama PT. Citra Media Nusa Purnama.
(Translation: PT. Media Group (Metro TV); Donation for "Indonesia in Tears", via Bank Central Asia. Accout no. 309.300.7979, c/o PT. Citra Media Nusa Purnama.)

3. Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI); "Lumbung Sosial TVRI"; Bank Mandiri, Cabang Kantor Kehutanan, acc. no. 102.000.303.0126.
(Translation: Television of Republic of Indonesia (TVRI); "TVRI Social Safety Net"; Bank Mandiri, Cabang Kantor Kehutanan, acc. no. 102.000.303.0126.

4. TPI Peduli, Bank BNI acc. no. 259.439.932001 ; or via Bank BRI acc. no. 0206.01.000.592.30.4 further information will be updated asap.

For non-cash/material reliefs via:

1) Metro TV, Contact tel. (62-21) 583 00077 ext. 21014, Pilar Mas Raya street, Kav. A-D, Kedoya, West Jakarta. (24 hours)

2) Grand Wijaya Center Blok A/8, Jl. Wijaya II, South Jakarta; Tel. (62-21) 720-2924. (24 hours)

3) Posko Bencana Alam Aceh:
Food, clothes, medicine directly can be sent to:
Jl. Wijaya 13 no. 21, South Jakarta . Contact persons: Mrs. Muna and Ms. LIA, HP: 0811896468;08129953359.(24 hours)

more media channels for aceh relief

Photos of victims.

TRANS TV: Donation via this TV station can be transferred to "Rekening Dompet Amal" or TransTV Relief Funds via Bank BCA, Setiabudi branch, acc. no: 766-012-1000 or Bank Mega Cabang Priority Banking, acc. no: 01-901-00-11-11110.

INDOSIAR: Indonesiar's WE CARE program (Program KITA PEDULI Indosiar), via Bank Central Asia (BCA), acc. no: 001-304-0009

(See also 27 Dec. posting.)

action for tsunami reliefs

Here's some quick but reliable info about how to help the victims of earthquakes and tsunami attacks in Indonesia.

Cash donation to victims in Aceh and Medan, Indonesia, can be done via bank transfer to the following addresses/accounts:

1. PT. Media Grup (Metro TV); Dompet Indonesia Menangis. Bank BCA, KCP Kedoya Baru, account no. 309.300.7979. Atas nama PT. Citra Media Nusa Purnama.
(Translation: PT. Media Group (Metro TV); Donation for "Indonesia in Tears", via Bank Central Asia. Accout no. 309.300.7979, c/o PT. Citra Media Nusa Purnama.)

2. Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI); "Lumbung Sosial TVRI"; Bank Mandiri, Cabang Kantor Kehutanan, acc. no. 102.000.303.0126.
(Translation: Television of Republic of Indonesia (TVRI); "TVRI Social Safety Net"; Bank Mandiri, Cabang Kantor Kehutanan, acc. no. 102.000.303.0126.

3. TPI Peduli, Bank BNI acc. no. 259.439.932001 ; or via Bank BRI acc. no. 0206.01.000.592.30.4 further information will be updated asap.

For non-cash/material reliefs via Metro TV, e.g. used/new clothing, food and medicine, 24 hours.), contact Tel. (62-21) 583 00077 ext. 21014, Pilar Mas Raya street, Kav. A-D, Kedoya, West Jakarta.)

Alternative address for non-cash aids: Grand Wijaya Center Blok A/8, Jl. Wijaya II, South Jakarta; Tel. (62-21) 720-2924; 24 hours.

(Source: Newstickers from respective TV station.)

year end notes (1)

2004 drawing fast to a close, another new year will soon be on us. A lot of tragedies happened this year: saddest of all concern the untimely death of Munir, a young, fearless human rights activist who got poisoned with arsenic; and recurrence of natural disasters in Nabire, Papua. As many good things were around, too: eg. campaigns against corruption that start turning into actions, promising start of new president and the cabinet. These days I've improved my html knowledge but spent too much time fiddling with it. Enough. Blogging has continued taking a lot of resources on my end. I'll focus more on content than format; be spontaneous and less severe with silly ideas.

merry christmas!

Happiness may come from something we receive or do. It may as well come from something that we don't. Big or small, it always is a state of mind. So, whatever it means to you, I wish you a Merry Christmas! May lots of long lasting happinesses befall upon you on this holy day--and througout the rest of 2004, and into the brave new year.

beauty

Beauty is a pleasure best enjoyed. To describe it is different pleasure. Artists of all times have tried to recapture it. A few succeeded in the venture, most drown themselves in it. An ancient quality, its secret is muteness. Beauty is no thing logical, nor is it illogical. It knows no gender and for it we need no explanation.

So much for a prelude. All I wanted to say today is I found a beautiful newspaper article this morning in the Post. About politics; goodness!

a misnomer

Most of what we know about the world or living is nothing but second hand. Partly due to human nature, the world or life through our incapacity and transience was, has been, and will always be reduced into concepts, ideas, and narratives. We, now and then with pauses in between, merely inteprete and reinterprete, basing upon these thinking blocks that come mostly handed down. Our existence thus basically consists of living to develop, and developing to live, those concepts, ideas and narratives--old and new. To get-along along this ephemera, some collective agreement about the world is needed in all its macro and microcosms. I suppose this is what’s called: collective consciousness. With it we partake in maintaining and establishing the natural fences of realities, material or immaterial alike, while continuing the ones available to us handy. ... More

embed

It's been a positive word to me, but this morning this word "embed" whirled in my mind rather peculiarly. I somehow felt sure that this word would gain more significance in its meanings and employment than ever before. Anyway, today I have embedded a news clippings section into Onceuponaweblog. Can be useful for Indon's political/economic researchers. Let's see how it turns out.