Pengalaman PELNI

Menjelahjah di Pelni.

Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia,known sebagai PELNI, adalah warga negara Indonesia shippingline. Ialah satu sangat terakhir shippinglines di dunia masih menjalankan sebenarnya jarak jauh passengerservice, di mana transportasi orang, dan tidak mengunjungi, partai atau taxfree adalah titik pelaksanaan. Kapal adalah mikro-versi Indonesia sendiri, memberi wisatawan aneh kesempatan unik untuk menemui orang dari di seluruh negara, semua kadar masyarakat dan sama sekali jalan-jalan hidup serta rasa hari-hari usianya yang baik oceanliners. Tetapi don´t mengharapkan kedatangan apa saja dekat Titanic gaya kenyamanan-kapal penuh sesak dan sangat spartanous.

PELNIS kapal-kebanyakan mereka menamai sesudah vulkanik gunung tukang sihir negara dipenuhi dengan, pergi "ke mana-mana". Tetapi, kebanyakan kapal mulai dan akhir 14 hari mereka ke satu bulan roundtrips di Jakarta, ibu kota Indonesia. Kapal mempunyai beberapa kelas-dari yang penuh-sesak, tetapi sangat colourfull kelas ekonomi, economyclass, ke kabin kelas satu bahwa tak seorang pun akan mempertimbangkan kelas satu, concidering harga. Lebih murah untuk terbang. Tetapi sedikitnya makanan agak lebih enak, dan dimakan di table.Whilst di economyclass meja anda ialah anda melompat. Ada kebebasan pribadi di kabin anda, dan juga entah di mana aman untuk menyimpan persneling anda. Aspek itu sulit di ekonomi. Sebagai orang asing anda menonjol, dan bagasi anda agak interresting bagi orang dengan jari panjang. Kewaspadaan dinasehatkan.

Perjalanan pertama saya di atas kapal pesiar PELNI pergi dari Surabaya, salah satu yang utama portcities di Jawa, ke yang kecil riverport Kumai di Kalimantan. Saya memasuki yang penuh-sesak dan hampir tak ditukar udara waitingroom tepat pada waktunya-dan sampai kejutan saya asrama memarahkan hanya separuh jam terlambat. Dua pintu sempit terbuka, dan terhalangi kerusuhan kondisi seperti sebagai seribu orang mau pergi palung sekaligus. Semuanya mengisi muatan dengan barang terdapat dari karpet dan sepeda ke ricesacks dan beberapa kurungan dengan ayam. Polisi yang dititikberatkan mencoba berjajar sepanjang kami ke atas dan berurusan dengan kasar dengan satu orang yang berusaha untuk pergi dengan diam-diam di hadapan. Dia secara brutal dibawa al cara ke belakang tidak pernah berakhir garis -bpuncnya persneling tetap sendiri di muka. Satu orang laki-laki entah bagaimana mengelola untuk mendapat di atas kapal tanpa tiket. Masalah baginya ialah bahwa ticketcontrols sangat seksama. Pintu ditutup di seluruh kapal untuk menghalangi orang dalam pergi diam-diam, dan ticketcontrol sendiri mengesankan. Atas kesempatan di pertanyaan, itu terdiri: tiga putih berseragam ticketripping shipofficers, dua orang anggota marinir dari kapal memiliki securityforce bersenjata dengan pestol, dan akhirnya empat orang polisi yang bersenjata dengan pestol dan machinepistols. Laki-laki tanpa tiket dijaga sedikit banyak sangat mirip terroristarrest.I tidak pernah melihatnya nanti.

Saya hidup terus asrama, dan menemukan panti saya untuk keesokan malamnya-lebarnya 60 sentimeter kasur dengan satu lain di masing-masing menempati sampingan oleh mencintai pasangan di mereka twenties dan seorang wanita pada hari-harinya yang lebih usianya masing-masing. Di total kira-kira 100 orang yang terisi bersama suka sardins di kaleng. Barang kami ditempatkan di mana pernah kami bisa menemukan angkasa. Atau membuat angkasa tidak ada lemari untuk ditemukan di mana pun di atas kapal. Bukan keajaiban banyak yang lebih suka membahas hal mereka di geladak atau ke luar di koridor dan tangga-tukang sihir sebetulnya ialah airconditioned-satu-satunya sisa kemewahan untuk ditemukan di mana pun di economyclass.

Three blows in the whistle, and our ship Binaiya started to sail out trough the labyrinth of anchored ships from all over the world, and headed north and out in open sea. Soon it was only an empty horizon to look at, and a beautifull black-bluish watersurface, occasionally penetrated by flyingfishes, to look at. I started to talk with people-or they started to talk to me. As the only foreigner onboard I was a sought after target and had to go trough the classic interrogation countless times: Where from. Married or not. Any children? Personal belief? Here it is wise to mention a faith, regardless wether you believe or not. According to common indonesian logic a nonbeliever must be a communist, since communists disregard religion. And to be a communist is not a good thing in Indonesia. Also it is wise to be prepared for the next unavoidable question-your salary! In Indonesia I made it into a rule always to have a paper where my income was written on top-that always raised gasps. But then-almost as a self defence-listing up all the livingcosts I also had to live with. That usually made people very silent! I got to talk to all sort of people. Like a young armyconscript that recently lost his girlfriend. Or the girl that had been moved to Kalimantan from her native Java under the transmigrasiprogram-where people are moved from heavily populated areas to less or even unpopulated areas of the country. Everything is so different from home”, she sighed

The empty horizon with some spread clouds and mist provided a fantastic sunset. A red glowing ball, sending a shower of colours over the sky, and lining the blue-blackish horizonline with shining, floating gold. The moment the sun disappeared-a loud "Allah-U-Akhbar" shattered the air. Time for the believers to go down to the huge, airconditioned mosque to pray.

The food distribution on the economyclass is a chapter on its own. I had heard a lot about food on kelas ekonomi in advance, and nothing good, so had what I needed in my backpack. But I wanted to observe. And what I saw was a line of waiting people starting up on the deck, going down a stair, trough one corridor and around a corner into another corridor. Then down another stair, before finally ending in front of a hatch in the wall. There everyone get a metalboard with some rice and something called meat and vegetables that looks distinctively dead. Attacked by a sting of humoristic sense I joined in, got my board and ate the food, wondering where to put my board afterwards. A smiling man literally took the matter in his own hands by grabbing my board, smiling, and then dropping it on the floor. The established way of getting rid of it.

Arriving in many of the ports is an entertaining experience. Often these ships are the main entertainment and the weekly or biweekly big event for the locals. As a result, huge crowds are often drawn in when a PELNI liner is expected. Kumai was filled with a mix of miners, loggers, oilworkers, traders, townspeople. And when I a few months later arrived in Sorong on Irian Jaya onboard the Nggapulu, we were met by a convoy of small boats. In the harbour there was something reminiscent of a local festival-complete with living music and foodstalls. The air was filled with the smell of grilled meat. For a moment the situation became tense when soldiers traveling on Nggapulu came into conflict with police. A warningshot was fired into the air, people ran over to the other side of the quay and the ships gangway was lifted. But a moment later everything was back to normal again. The girl I sort of traveled together with, angrily commented that it´s always friction between police and soldiers on leave. She later turned out to be a relative of activists in the OMP-the Free Papua movement, being active in the Papua province of Indonesia. While she was terrified to speak about the issue-referring to “long ears being everywhere”, others were very eager to talk. The locals from the province all said exactly the same with different words-“we feel like second class citizens in our own country. We want to rule ourselves, and if necessary we will use armed force to get it. But we prefer the matter to be solved peacefully” While talking to this girl, I could not help thinking about another girl I met. Evi from Sumatra. Evi with Indonesias prettiest smile, and on her way to start on her police education. Quite an opposite stand in life.

Nggapulu left the harbour, followed by more or less the same convoy, and I participated in the general shouting and hand waiving taking place until the distance became too big. Under the wakening tropical star heaven I instead focused on the market onboard-vendors selling everything from watches-very cheap watches, to t-shirts and jewelry. There even were a traveling healer, that healed his victims, sorry, patients, by tapping them for blood that were thrown overboard by his two helpers. And in the best Indonesian style, it all took place directly under a sign announcing: “NO VENDORS!”