Building houses and nations

Every morning we see workers stream by our house on their way to the many houses being constructed in our neighborhood. Rather than showing up driving work trucks and dressed in hearty flannel, complete with tool belts, work boots and construction hats, these workers walk to work in old pants, ratty t-shirts (often with punk or heavy metal bands advertised on the front) and flip flops (no tool belts or hats). They then work for 8 hours in very labor intensive jobs (everything done by hand), climbing bamboo scaffolding similar to what you see in the picture below. The minimum wage in Indonesia is just under $100 a month. While frustrating on a certain level, still there is hope that they are building sustainable homes (for others) and lives (for themselves) with the work. $100 a month actually goes quite a ways in a place where a kilo of rice or a hearty meal from a street vendor is often less than one dollar.

Bamboo scaffolding

Elections for the national legislature takes place this Thursday. Built on tenuous foundations, elections in developing countries are always at risk for spawning protests and violence (see Thailand last fall). Compared to established democracies in Europe, North America and Japan, where rule of law, due process, individual rights and democratic traditions are engrained (although likely taken for granted), democracy here seems riddled with incompetence and security issues (Indonesia has one of the most corrupt governments in the world—although it has been improving). Some of the shenanigans related to the elections are even funny (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/22144-erotic-dancers-and-freebies-draw-polls-crowds-in-indonesia ). While frustrating on a certain level, there is hope that through the imperfect process, Indonesians are building a solid democratic future complete with a sustainable economy.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla (on right)

End note: Most people feel good about the elections this year and project that they should be peaceful as the country continues to do relatively well given the crises the rest of the world faces. It is still an item for prayer.

Other Pictures:
When we were all gone last week, Neil collected all the snails in our front yard and arranged them in our back yard. Below are some cool pictures of these big snails (Since this time he has also seen giant iguanas and beetles in our yard as well):