Monday, June 15, 2009

So Long, Surabaya

Posted by Danielle

For weeks now I have been planning my “Top 10 Things I Won’t Miss About Surabaya” blog, trying to evaluate and rank the less pleasant aspects of East Java’s capital, but John would have nothing of this. Not that he has developed a soft spot for water pipes that smell like sulfur, large rats, or the absence of useable sidewalks. Rather, he thought it better to draw attention what makes Surabaya the dynamic and teeming second-largest city of Indonesia.

I have to admit, though, that it is hard for me hide my general dislike of the place. Truth be told, the admiration and affection that we have developed for Indonesia has resulted largely in spite of the five weeks we spent in Surabaya, not because of it. Of all the places I’ve lived while attempting to conduct research, I’ve enjoyed Surabaya the least. When locals would ask me what I thought of their city, I had to be honest—it was too hot, too big, and too hard to navigate. But, I always would add, I liked the people of Surabaya, and they truly are the city’s main attraction.

The Javanese—Indonesia’s largest ethnic group, constituting 42% of the overall population and the majority of residents of the island of Java—can be divided into two sub-ethnic groups, the Mataraman and the Arek. The Mataraman are settled closer to Central Java and have a reputation of being softer and more refined, while the Arek are native to East Java and are known for being more direct and coarse. Frankly, my own integration into Javanese society is so limited that I never really could discern this difference in my own interactions. The sociologist who I worked with in Surabaya took great efforts to ensure that I had both Mataramans and Areks among my interview respondents, but I could never tell them apart and this sub-ethnicity did not seem to play any role in how they talked about politics or interacted with me.

In fact, if I were to take my and John’s own experiences in interacting with Javanese in Central and East Java as a guide for categorizing which group is aggressive and which is refined, I think we would reach the opposite conclusion. Due to Yogyakarta’s place as one of Indonesia’s prime tourist destinations, our images of the Javanese of Central Java are full of aggressive pedicab drivers, batik merchants, and souvenir vendors seeking out to prey relentlessly on any visible foreigner. Since Surabaya is hardly on anyone’s tour list, we found ourselves the objects of unwanted vendor attention much less frequently here.

Yet, if you spend any time in the City of Heroes (as Surabaya is known across Indonesia) the qualities of Arek roughness become apparent. Surabaya’s residents have a unique and powerful history of distinction, and the “Arek-Arek Suroboyo” proved their mettle by weathering the heaviest battle in Indonesia’s National Revolution in November 1945. Refusing to turn their weapons over to British troops who had sought to recapture Indonesia for the Dutch after Japan’s defeat in World War II, local Surabayans endured an 18-day battle in which many fought to the end using only bamboo spears. Thousands died. Though Indonesia still had to endure four more years of struggle before the Dutch finally gave up attempts at re-colonization, the Battle of Surabaya galvanized support for independence across Indonesia and also taught the British that it might want to consider taking a neutral role on this conflict.

Monuments to the revolution’s heroes are all over the city. The greatest concentration, however, is on a special square of land just south of where the first armed encounter took place. The park houses an interesting museum of the revolution, and is fronted by giant statues of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno, and vice-president Mohammad Hatta (see picture to the right),

who came to dedicate the memorial on November 10, 1962. Next to the statues are pillars in which revolutionary slogans are painted, including “Independence or Death” (Merdeka ataoe mati—see picture below).

When I was in Indonesia for Independence Day (August 17) in 2007, I remember being deeply impressed by the scale of celebration. Sixty-four years constitute a rather young age for an independent state, and most Indonesians have parents or grandparents who remember the revolution. This sense of enormous pride and jubilation at earning independence is heightened in Surabaya, where the residents’ parents and grandparents can give firsthand testimony of the cost they bore.

For me, one of the more challenging aspects of my time in Surabaya was witnessing how much the current residents of the city still must bear. Many of the individuals I interviewed lived in circumstances I would describe as dire and lacking of opportunity. Yet, they patiently took the time out of their busy lives to tell me their stories and bear my endless questioning about political leaders and elections in language that was, I am sure, far from clear. They welcomed me into their modest homes, sharing their food, drink, and opinions. While I am certainly happy that the Arek of Surabaya are now living in an independent Indonesia with a democratic government, after spending about 70 hours interviewing them, I cannot help but think that they deserve more accountable leaders and better public goods.

But, the people of Surabaya are not ones to complain. Rather, they take action. I found examples of this all over the place, from the volunteer after-school program run in the upstairs room of one unemployed woman’s house, to the neighborhood group that organized its own volunteer garbage collection brigade, to the even more extensive organization of residents living on the banks of the river, who have started a composting and recycling program to try and build a green and sustainable community among the marginalized river squatters. The rest of the world could learn a lot about civic responsibility from Surabaya’s contemporary heroes.

In the meantime, though, we have moved on to our next set of adventures. I am back in Jakarta scanning library documents and John is currently in Singapore recovering from the flu and getting a new Indonesian visa. Stay tuned for his adventures.

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