Resensi buku – When Broken Glass Floats

At one evening in Pnom Penh, Cambodia, I was about to have dinner with my friend in a café by the Mekong river. Then, this young boy of 13 was approaching us. He sells books. And he was not the only one. There were lots of kids selling books there. He was very insisting in selling his books and he said it’s for his school tuition money. So, I decided to buy a book from him. He was recommending it. The book titled “When Broken Glass Floats – growing up under the Khmer Rouge” by Chanrithy Him. The author is a Cambodian. I took a glimpse look on the back cover [although I never trust any comments written at the back cover of a book!] before I paid him US$ 3. At that time, I only want to get rid of him as I was having a discussion with my friend. But 2 weeks later, I changed my mind…

It was indeed a good book. I’m glad he recommended that book to me. The story was very touching. It’s merely an autobiography. Chanrithy was a girl of 9 who had to suffer the hard times the Khmer Rouge gave. She and her family had to suddenly change their life from a settle situation under Norodom Sihanouk to a hell created by Angka Leu [Khmer Rouge].

I’ve heard stories about Khmer Rouge when I was little. It was on TV. The invasion and the war between Vietnam – Cambodia and Cambodia – Thailand. But this book had given me a different point of view. It’s a survival story of a child and a family. Khmer Rouge had put Cambodia in hell and Chanrithy gave a clear view through her words about what’s happening at that time. How people scattered and separated from the family. How people died of edema, dysentery and mishandling. How her mother was thrown alive into a well of dead. How her father was told to go to an orientation but in fact he was executed. How her sister and brothers died slowly because of curable illness which become deadly. How the labor camp had forced children to work on adult’s work with so little food. How the Khmer Rouge had manipulated everyone and executed them at the end of the day. How they caught in the middle of war between Vietnam and Cambodia, and then another war between Thailand and Cambodia. How siblings must survive after their parents was executed. Most of all is how they survived and keep the remaining family together during the 7 years of Khmer Rouge rules.

All the things she wrote are beyond my imagination. The way she wrote is making me able to see the killing fields and all the situations of the camps. I got carried away so much with the story. I couldn’t let the book go even for a minute! When I reached the part where the remaining of the family was being rescued and sent to a refugee camp in Philippines, I was so relief. And I even get happier when I reached the part that Chanrithy and her remaining family flew to America under the sponsor of her runaway uncle. It was a happy ending after all. She redeemed her lost life in Oregon, America and working for Khmer Adolescent Project to study the post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodians.

This book is about love, care, suffer, sadness, happiness in the sadness, longing, patience, pain, survival, trust, faith, belief, hope, culture, being strong, courage, positive thinking, playing smart, creativity, being grateful, faithfulness, despair and lost… a great lost for sure. Surprisingly, never even once I sense something about hatred in this book.

When I finish reading it, I felt so glad that I bought the book at the first place. It wasn’t for good reason at first, but good things are coming out of nowhere, out of anything. In this case, out of this US$ 3 book. I feel a little bit guilty for the little boy who sold the book to me. I was underestimating his recommendation at first. But now, I will recommend this book to other people. If it wasn’t for him, I would never had this great book with me.

“When Broken Glass Floats – growing up under the Khmer Rouge” by Chanrithy Him, published by WW Norton and Company - New York

Buruh migran – Pahlawan Devisa tapi nelangsa...

Saya sudah sering mendengar cerita sukses maupun cerita menyedihkan dari buruh migran, terutama buruh migran Indonesia. Tapi baru sekarang saya benar-benar berinteraksi dengan mereka. Ini dijembatani oleh pekerjaan saya yang baru. Saya memegang divisi pemberdayaan buruh migran yang positif mengidap HIV beserta pasangannya. Sejak bulan Oktober saya banyak bertemu dan berbagi cerita dengan buruh migran dari berbagai negara. Tak banyak perbedaan yang saya dapati dari cerita buruh migran tersebut. Walaupun berasal dari berbagai Negara yang berbeda, kisah sedih yang saya dengar tetap sama. Kekerasan, pelanggaran HAM, pelecehan seksual, perkosaan, bekerja dengan waktu yang panjang dan tanpa hari libur, kesulitan mengakses layanan kesehatan, menjadi korban trafficking, tertipu, tidak mendapatkan upah yang sesuai [bahkan seringkali tidak diberi upah sama sekali], menjalani tes HIV mandatory tanpa konseling sampai akhirnya dideportasi karena berstatus HIV.

Begitu banyaknya kisah sedih yang terjadi di Negara penerima. Sebagai pendatang, kadang mereka tidak sadar bahwa kehadiran mereka sebenarnya menyandang status tidak legal atau tidak terdokumentasi. Begitu banyaknya cerita tentang pelanggaran HAM dan pemerasan yang saya dengar terjadi di Negara penerima. Betapa semua mengeluhkan hal yang sama. Pada satu kesempatan di Manila, saya mengobrol panjang lebar dengan salah satu peserta pelatihan pemberdayaan yang merupakan mantan buruh migran dari Indonesia. Nina namanya [disamarkan]. Dari Nina saya mengetahui proses perekrutan buruh migran yang terjadi di Indonesia. Sebuah proses panjang dengan segudang pungli dan hutang-piutang.

Nina mendapatkan informasi tentang pekerjaan sebagai pembantu di Saudi Arabia dari salah seorang pencari sumber daya yang mereka sebut “sponsor”. Sang sponsor ini tugasnya mencari orang-orang, terutama perempuan, yang mau bekerja di luar negeri sebagai pembantu. Dia masuk ke pelosok desa di seputar Jawa Barat, termasuk tempat Nina tinggal. Nina yang melihat beberapa temannya kembali dari Arab dalam keadaan “kaya”, tergiur untuk mengikuti jejak teman sekampungnya. Setelah berunding dan berhasil meyakinkan ibunya, Nina lalu setuju untuk pergi bekerja di Arab. Untuk itu, Nina harus membayar sejumlah uang kepada sponsornya. Jumlah yang cukup besar sehingga Nina terpaksa harus menggadaikan sawah keluarganya. Pikirnya, toh nanti semua itu akan terbayar juga dengan gajinya.

Setelah proses pembayaran selesai, Nina dan beberapa orang perempuan lainnya dibawa sang sponsor ke Jakarta untuk diberikan pelatihan. Mereka ditampung di tempat yang mereka sebut “PT” [PJTKI]. Alih-alih diberi pembekalan dan pelatihan, Nina dan puluhan perempuan lainnya hanya disuruh menunggu pemberangkatan. Pada saat menunggu, Nina menjalani tes kesehatan. Pada saat itu dia diberitahu bahwa hasil tesnya ‘unfit’. Tidak dijelaskan apa maksud dan definisi dari ‘unfit’ tersebut. Nina hanya diberitahu bahwa dia tidak bisa segera berangkat dan harus menjalani tes kesehatan ulang 2 minggu ke depannya. Logikanya, jika memang ‘unfit’ adalah istilah yang dipakai untuk menyatakan bahwa seseorang sedang dalam keadaan kurang sehat, seharusnya orang tersebut diberikan vitamin atau suplemen pada saat tenggang waktu 2 minggu agar hasil tes ulangnya menjadi ‘fit’. Namun Nina tidak pernah mendapatkan vitamin ataupun suplemen apa-apa.

Setelah menunggu 2 minggu, Nina kembali menjalani tes. Hasilnya masih tetap sama. Beberapa orang menyarankan Nina untuk kembali ke kampung halamannya, daripada menunggu tanpa kepastian. Namun tekad Nina sudah bulat. Dia tak mau kembali dengan tangan kosong. Maka Nina pun memutuskan untuk menunggu hingga 4 bulan lamanya. Selama menunggu waktu keberangkatannya, Nina seringkali harus membeli sendiri makanan sehari-harinya. Nina membeli lewat celah pagar, dia tak bisa keluar karena pintu pagar selalu dalam keadaan terkunci. Persis seperti di penjara. Sebenarnya pihak PT memberi jatah makan, namun jatah yang diberikan sama sekali tidak memadai.

Setelah 4 bulan menunggu, akhirnya Nina mendapatkan kabar bahwa dia akan segera diberangkatkan ke Dammam. Untuk itu, Nina harus membuat paspor dan mengurus visa. Pihak PT mengatakan padanya bahwa mereka akan mengurus pembuatan paspor dan visa untuk Nina. Nina kemudian disodori kontrak untuk ditandatangani. Isi kontrak tersebut menyatakan bahwa Nina akan bekerja sebagai pembantu selama 2 tahun. Pihak PT akan mengambil gaji Nina untuk 3 bulan pertama sebagai pengganti masa tinggal Nina di PT dan biaya tes kesehatan ulang yang dijalani Nina sebanyak 3 kali. Di dalam kontrak, Nina melihat jumlah gaji yang dijanjikan cukup besar. Hatinya pun girang. Kewajiban memberikan gaji pada 3 bulan pertama tidak dirasakan sebagai sebuah paksaan karena toh dari sisanya nanti dia masih punya banyak uang.

Akhirnya hari yang ditunggu-tunggu pun tiba. Nina dan beberapa orang temannya bersiap berangkat diiringi doa dari teman-teman lain yang masih tertinggal di PT. Nina mantap menjalani pekerjaannya. Sudah terbayang di benaknya dia akan kembali dengan sejumlah uang untuk mengganti sawah keluarganya yang tergadai, memperbaiki rumahnya di kampung, membelikan perhiasan emas untuk ibunya. Nina berangkat dengan senyum terukir di wajahnya.

Tiba di Dammam, Nina ditempatkan pada sebuah keluarga tanpa anak. Nina harus langsung bekerja, padahal dia masih letih dan mengalami jet lag. Namun sang majikan tak mau ambil peduli. Nina ditempatkan di sebuah kamar sempit di bagian belakang rumah yang menyerupai gudang. Untuk makan, Nina diberikan peralatan makan tersendiri yang terbuat dari kaleng. Bentuknya mengingatkan Nina pada peralatan makan di dalam penjara yang sering dilihatnya di film-film. Makanan yang diberikan untuknya pun berbeda dengan makanan sang majikan. Nina hanya diberi roti 2 kali sehari. Dia harus bangun pukul 3.30 pagi dan bekerja hingga tengah malam. Tidak ada istirahat makan siang, apalagi hari libur.

Dengan kondisi pekerjaan yang sedemikian beratnya, tubuh Nina tak kuat. Dia pun jatuh sakit. Ketika sang majikan tahu, Nina tetap harus bekerja seperti sebelumnya. Ketika musim dingin tiba, daya tahan tubuh Nina semakin menurun. Dia semakin sering sakit. Nina mengalami diare berkepanjangan. Majikannya lalu memindahkan kamar Nina ke sebuah gudang yang berjarak 15 meter dari rumah utama. Nina harus tinggal di sana selama sakit. Berulang kali Nina memohon untuk dipulangkan ke Indonesia, tapi sang majikan tidak mengizinkan. Lebih dari itu, agen yang mengurus Nina di Dammam mengatakan dia tidak bisa pulang karena dia masih memiliki hutang yang harus dibayar dengan gajinya, terutama karena belakangan Nina sakit-sakitan, maka dari itu, Nina tidak menerima gaji karena dia dianggap tidak bisa memenuhi kewajibannya sebagaimana tercantum dalam kontrak. Dan gaji yang dipotong oleh majikannya itu pun langsung diberikan kepada sang agen.

Rupanya merosotnya kondisi kesehatan Nina disebabkan oleh virus HIV yang ternyata telah bersarang di tubuhnya tanpa dia ketahui. Majikannya pun semakin mengucilkannya. Seringkali Nina tidak diberi makan dalam sehari. Hanya diberi air minum, itu pun jumlahnya tak banyak. Tak tahan dengan keadaannya, Nina pun melarikan diri ke konsulat Indonesia. Beruntung paspornya tak ditahan sang majikan seperti buruh migran lainnya. Sesampainya di konsulat Indonesia, Nina tetap tidak bisa langsung pulang. Atas kebaikan hati dari istri salah seorang staf konsulat, Nina diperkenankan tinggal di rumah sang staf. Kondisi kesehatan Nina membaik, sebulan kemudia dia pun berhasil pulang. Tak sepeser pun gaji yang berhasil didapatnya dari 7 bulan berada di Dammam. Ketika pulang, Nina hanya membawa uang sebesar 100 Real pemberian istri staf konsulat tempatnya menumpang.

Nina bersyukur ketika dia telah berhasil kembali ke tanah air. Namun, kegembiraannya hanya sesaat, karena begitu tiba di kampung halamannya, Nina dikejar-kejar oleh PJTKI yang mengirimnya. Dia dituduh menyalahi kontrak dan diharuskan membayar sejumlah uang penalti. Alih-alih mengembalikan sawah dan membangun rumah, Nina malah harus keluar uang lagi untuk membayar “hutang”-nya kepada PJTKI.

Nina hanyalah satu dari sekian banyak buruh migran Indonesia yang bernasib kurang baik. Masih banyak kisah-kisah miris yang dating dari kalangan buruh migran.

Setiap kali saya pulang dari bepergian ke luar negeri, saya pasti melihat sebuah koridor di dekat meja imigrasi. Sebuah koridor khusus untuk para buruh migran yang baru saja kembali. Di atas koridor tersebut terpampang tulisan berukuran raksasa berbunyi “SELAMAT DATANG PAHLAWAN DEVISA!”. Hal serupa saya temui juga di bandara internasional Ninoy Aquino, Filipina. Sebuah banner berukuran besar yang menyambut para buruh migran dengan tulisan “WELCOME HOME OUR MODERN DAY HERO!”.

Siapa nyana, di balik koridor yang mengagungkan kedatangan para buruh migran tersebut masih tersisa rangkaian pemerasan. Hal ini pernah diliput secara eksklusif oleh wartawan sebuah majalah di Indonesia. Wartawan tersebut berhasil menyusup ke dalam dan menyamar sebagai buruh migran. Berbagai pungutan tak masuk akal menunggu para buruh migran di situ. Setelah keluar, mereka masih harus berhadapan dengan berbagai tantangan. Ongkos transport ke daerah asal yang besarnya tidak rasional, resiko dirampok di sepanjang jalan menuju kampung halamannya sampai dihipnotis dan ditipu. Semua orang mengira buruh migran yang kembali adalah OKB [Orang Kaya Baru]. Nyatanya, kebanyakan dari mereka justru pulang dengan tangan hampa, namun membawa luka batin dan fisik yang dalam. Tak sedikit pula yang pulang dalam keadaan tak bernyawa. Hanya tinggal nama dan tubuh beku di dalam peti mati.

Apa yang saya dengar dari Nina tentang pemerintah Indonesia? Seingatnya, tak ada hal signifikan yang dilakukan oleh kedutaan maupun konsulat Indonesia untuk mereka yang mengadukan nasib mereka ke perwakilan Negara tersebut. Tak ada hal signifikan yang dilakukan pemerintah untuk mereka yang telah dideportasi dan kehilangan kesempatan berikutnya untuk bekerja di luar negeri lagi. Tak ada sistem rujukan bagi mereka yang dipulangkan karena diketahui memiliki status HIV positif.

Berapa banyak sebenarnya buruh migran kita yang berhasil? Mungkin jumlahnya lebih kecil dibandingkan yang tak sukses. Sebutan “Pahlawan Devisa” bagi mereka sungguh tak sepadan dengan perlakuan yang mereka terima, baik di negeri sendiri maupun di negeri orang tempat mereka bekerja. Pahlawan Devisa, tapi nelangsa…

Ternyata… pelanggaran HAM terhadap buruh migran kita sudah berlangsung sejak pertama kali mereka memutuskan untuk menjadi buruh migran….

Pnom Penh

13 December 2007
I started the trip last night and surprisingly, we reached the airport in 2,5 hours only! So, I was stranded at the airport at around 4.30 AM. My flight is at 6.55 AM, so I have quite plenty of time to kill. I fresh up myself in the toilet and then go to find the check in counter of Malaysia Airlines.

It was 2 hour flight to KL, 30 minutes transit and off I go to Cambodia. The plane transited in Siem Reap for 45 minutes. I was thinking that I might get a wrong flight. So, I asked the flight attendant and he said that the plane will go back to KL after dropping the passenger in Pnom Penh, that’s why we landed in Siem Reap first. Siem Reap has a beautiful airport. Not big but beautiful. It took us 50 minutes to fly to Pnom Penh.

Something quite ridiculous happened last night when I just realize that I don’t know where to go in Cambodia. I checked all the emails from CARAM, but none of them saying anything about the hotel’s name. So, I called Malu to ask about the venue. She said it’s in Cambodiana Hotel. So, I exchanged my Dollar to Khmer Riel and had coke at the Dairy Queen. But actually, I don’t need to change my money because US Dollar is widely accepted in Cambodia. In fact, people here prefer to have US Dollar as payment.

I took a cab to the hotel. The driver’s name was Sovan. He was very polite. He charged US$ 10 [KR 40,000] to take me to the hotel. He drives slowly around the city and explain about the tourist sites that we passed. The roads are quiet here, juts like in Vientiane. So, there was no traffic jam. Sovan said I stay in a big 5-star hotel. The biggest hotel in Pnom Penh. When we reached the hotel, he gave me his business card so that I can call him when I need a taxi.

I share the room with Vivian. It’s a big room with 2 big beds. When I just changed my clothes, the phone rang and it was Nova. She asked me to have lunch meeting to discuss about the work plan. Wow! Work already? My God!

So, we meet at the lobby. Rathi, Nova, Valentina and I. We went to a café by the Mekong river side, had lunch together and then discuss the work plan. After 2 hours or so, we go back to the hotel and continue the meeting in the secretariat room. I met the rest of the CARAM staff there. We assist Ganesh with his speech. Ganesh is the chairman of CARAM Asia. At around 8.30 PM we go out to find ourselves some dinner. We met Luna and Asem from Jordan and we decided to go together. We go to a small but cozy Italian restaurant. The price is a bit high but the food was awesome!

14 December 2007
The first thing that we do in the morning is the Press Conference led by CARAM Cambodia. After that, we have a reporting session and discussing session over the constitution of CARAM. It’s a long day and we also have evening session [which I can’t contribute much due to lack of sleep that I suffered from the very start of my trip!].

The breakfast here is great. And the restaurant is also nice. It has a big terrace facing the Mekong river. The noodle is especially delicious. So, the meals are the only things that make me awake for today.

15 December 2007
Today we’re going to have task force meeting and then an election for new board members and chairman. Jackie volunteered herself to be the election commissioner. That’s too bad because we really want her to be the candidate for board member and chairman. But I guess she read our minds. Hahaha! Things are getting a bit hot when Navuth give announcement about tomorrow’s program. Tomorrow we all have to join a long march to celebrate International Migrant Day. The long march started at 7.30 AM!!! And he said, he will pick us up at 6.30 AM sharp!!! My goodness! I’m not a morning person. And most of the participants are also not. So, start complaining about the schedule, but really, there’s nothing we can do about it. In Cambodia, people start to work at 7.30 AM and they have long lunch hours [around 2,5 hours].

In the evening we’re having a celebration party. CARAM is entering the 10th year now, so we celebrate. The party is a cocktail dinner with performances from the migrant returnees. They do role play about the life of a domestic worker in Malaysia. They also danced.

We ended the party at around 10 PM. Some of the participants go out to the bar, but all the staffs are exhausted and we decided to go to bed after the party. We don’t want to wake up late and miss the long march tomorrow.

16 December 2007
I wake up lazily at 5.45 AM. That’s also because Gita called to my room. Strange! I ordered wake up call at 5 AM last night, but no one called! Thank God Gita called. So, Vivian and I were rushing ourselves to get ready. We managed to have breakfast at 6 AM. The sun rise is actually beautiful!

At 6.30 AM Navuth pick us up and we start to walk to the Victory Monument. That’s the meeting point with other migrants. The place is not so far from the hotel. Some participants are not coming. Surprisingly, those who went out last night actually join the parade! Great!

We start the march at around 7.45 AM and reach the ceremony venue at 8.15 AM. There, we have some sort of celebration for International Migrant Day. Around 500 migrant returnees are joining the long march. The ceremony attended by the chief of National AIDS Authority and chief of Ministry of Labour. Rina from Philippines is giving out a speech as the migrant representative.

The ceremony ends at 9.30 AM and we go back to the hotel. I go back with Gita. We really need to have some more sleep. But we can’t go to sleep anyway. We just lay down, smoking and chatting. At noon we decided to go out to the Russian market. This is our last day and we don’t have anything to do anymore except shopping and sightseeing! So, off we go to the Russian market. We ride a tuk-tuk, it costs us US$ 2.

The market is a traditional market where we can find just about everything. From vegetables, fruit, bags, clothes, souvenirs, food, shoes, suitcases, sunglasses, silver jewelries, home decoration, aromatherapy and many more! We spend about 3 hours in the market. I bought 8 table runners, 2 phasminas, 1 LV hand bag, 6 boxes of aromatherapy, 3 T-Shirts, a wooden box, 3 fridge magnets. After we’re done shopping, we go back to the hotel by tuk-tuk again. On our way back, we stopped at FCC to have lunch. It was a very late lunch. We chose Edelweiss Café by the Mekong river side.

We dropped our shopping bags in the hotel and then we go out again. This time to take pictures and sail on the Mekong river. We go on the Mekong river boat tour. The ticket is only US$ 1 per person. Finally, we sail on the Mekong river. The famous river that all this time we only read in our geography books during our high school. After that, Gita and I decided to go to the hairdresser. I want to blow dry my hair and Gita wants to have manicure – pedicure. But I end up having manicure too, and Gita ends up having a blow dry also! The salon has a cable TV and when the owner finds out that we’re from Indonesia, he put on Indosiar. Wow! Impressive!

We’re very happy with the service in that salon. It’s perfect! After that, we walk and have dinner in one café by the Mekong river. The place was crowded. It’s a sign that it has good food. While waiting for our orders, some kids approach us. They sell books. And there’s this 13-year old little girl, her name is Franny. She speaks quite good English. She’s in the junior high school but she sells books in the evening. She is not the only one. There are many kids who sell books here. Franny’s face is very sweet. I hope she’s not going to be a migrant worker someday. I asked her to bring me a book by Paulo Coelho, but she couldn’t find it and she looked very upset because she can’t deliver my request. This also avoids her from getting money.

We go back to the hotel at around 10 PM. When we walk out the café, Franny approaches us and ask, “Are you coming tomorrow?” and we said that we’re going home tomorrow. She looked sad. Maybe she was going to find the book for me and bring it on the following day. So, we wave goodbye there.

It’s a nice country. Nice people too. Good food, good market. I shall come back again someday… somehow…

My trip to Vientiane, Laos and Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Monday, 3 December 2007
So, I started my journey at 2 AM in the morning through a shuttle to the airport. And I suppose to meet someone from SBMI who has my ticket. I don’t know the person. I never met him, never seen him. I really don’t know how to find him. I just send SMS to Angie that I will be waiting at the MacDonald’s at around 6 AM.

I did meet the person after waiting and passing him by several times! I am short in cash because the UNDP only sent such a small amount. Enough to cover the fiscal and airport tax only! That is madness! The worst thing that I have to transit in Ho Chi Minh city on my way back home but they don’t provide the budget for a transit hotel, while I have a 24-hour transit! That is even more madness!

So, we travel anyway by Vietnam Airlines that is operated by Garuda. This is the worst flight ever for me! We have to transit 3 times! So, it was Jakarta – Singapore [transit] – Ho Chi Minh [transit again] – Pnom Penh [transit again!!!] – Vientiane [finally!]. That was a very exhausting flight for me ever!!! Just for the sake of saving US$ 20, we had to suffer from 3 transits! The other annoying thing was that in Ho Chi Minh airport I had to collect my luggage first because the luggage couldn’t check-in through from Jakarta. It was good that someone from the transfer counter was taking care of my luggage and make sure that it goes right to Vientiane.

I arrived in Vientiane feeling very tired at around 5.30 PM. So glad that the hotel had arranged a shuttle service for all the delegates. I can’t imagine if I had to bargain for taxi fares after that tiring flight. I met a lot of other participants, including Cynthia, in the shuttle.

The hotel is quite impressive. I think it’s a five star hotel and it’s fully booked by a lot of foreigners also. The room is nice and I don’t have to share it with anyone. But I had to move my room because my first room was a non-smoking room. The hotel is located at the tourist area.

After freshing up, I went out to have dinner with Cynthia and Reuben from Malaysia AIDS Council. We talked about a lot of things until around 11 PM. Then we felt tired and decided to go back to our room. So, I went up to my room and soaked myself in the hot tub. When you feel tired, hot tub is the best solution for the whole muscles in your body!

Tuesday, 4 December 2007
I woke up with a weary head. I slept so late last night. I didn’t feel want to wake up at all. But I managed myself to get ready and had breakfast at around 8 AM.

The session went well. I had to facilitate a group discussion about the challenges in HIV-AIDS for migrant workers and Civil Society Organizations. Some people in this workshop are not too familiar with HIV issues and some other not familiar with migrant issues. So, it was kind of dynamic. I like that! It keeps the class alive because a lot of discussions and feed back giving. Although I had to struggle myself against a participant who was very dominant in the group, I enjoyed myself.

At the end of the day, I went out alone to find a convenient store. I need to buy something. I asked the hotel staff, but I couldn’t get a satisfying answer. So, I decided to walk around and explore the surrounding. Accidently, I found a minimart and it was by the Mekong river side. And as I crossed the street to approach the Mekong river, I saw a lot of food stall there. So, I decided to have dinner by the river [even though I couldn’t see anything! It was very dark]. I think the place must be much prettier before dark. Especially during the sunset hours.

The streets in Vientiane are very quiet. Very few vehicles, motorbikes and tuk-tuk passing by on the streets here. It’s kind of nice, because I thought it would be like Bangkok, since Vientiane is the capital city of Lao. The city is considered very…very quiet. I wish Bandung is more like Vientiane. The weather is already similar. It’s quite hot during the day but getting cooler as the sun goes down. The cool breeze is a good companion. I felt a bit lonely though. I miss daddy so much. I really want to have some times to travel around with him. Maybe someday I will be able to do so. I want to take him to see another part of the world. The part that is better than the part he went before. More exotic and friendlier too. By the way, the prices here are about the same with in Indonesia. A bit higher, but the exchange currency between US Dollar and Lao Kip is the same as US Dollar to Indonesian Rupiah. So, it is impossible to save some, because everything is a bit more pricy here. I like the food here too. It’s similar to Thai food. So, I find no difficulties for food.

I went back to the hotel after checking my email in the nearest internet café. It was around 8 PM. I’m glad that this workshop is only for 2 days. But I’m still upset with the 24-hour transit. Even though I talked to Soimart from UNDP Bangkok and she convinced me that all expenses will be covered [but it has to be reimbursed] by UNDP, I have very little amount of money with me, so, I’m a bit worriedand feel insecure. Thank God I got my DSA on Friday, because Hadi came here without his DSA. They said that they already transferred but he didn’t get it until our departure time. He also forgot to exchange some Dollars too in Indonesia. So, he practically doesn’t have money. He borrowed US$ 30 from me for the visa on arrival at the airport. I feel sorry because I can’t help him either. All my money will be getting into my account on Wednesday or even Thursday. I hope it’s going to be there on Wednesday, because I have to cover my transit hotel first, and then reimburse it later to the UNDP.

Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Today we are going to have discussion on several things to be submitted in the UNRTF meeting tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. It’s about the involvement of Civil Society Organization in national and regional level. That’s tough, because a lot of civil society representatives are just tokenized.

At the end of the day we wrapped up with several recommendations for UNRTF in action plan format. By the way, UNRTF stands for United Nation Regional Task Force [just in case you don’t know what it is]. There are so many UN task forces, but so little follow up. I’m kind of upset about this matter. I’m not sure if anything is going to happen after this meeting. I hope there is a follow up, and a real one!

Thursday, 6 December 2007
So, I had to get up real early today because Malu, Cynthia and I have a breakfast meeting schedule. There’s no other time because I’m going home this morning. Well, not really home though. I’m going to stay over night in Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam.

I found out that a lot of the group member is also going to the airport at the same time. Jesus, Amy, Irene, Gladys from the Philippines, and then Jackie from Thailand, Navuth and his friends from Cambodia [I couldn’t remember their names]. We took a shuttle from the hotel at 8.15 AM. The streets are very quiet, there’s no traffic in Vientiane, which is very good because then we reached the Wattay airport in 15 minutes!

We took Vietnam Airlines and stopped in Pnom Penh before continued our trip to Ho Chi Minh city. It took only 45 minutes flying from Pnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh city. As soon as we landed in Tan Son Nhat International airport, my head was spinning because we need to find a place to stay over night. Malu lend me THB 4,000 and said that I can return it in the next meeting in Pnom Penh. So glad, because I don’t have any money with me.

After clearing the immigration, I exchanged my Baht to Vietnam Dong. I got VND 1,600,000, that should be enough to cover the expenses for hotel, taxi and meals during my stay. I managed to have a hotel reservation through a travel agent’s counter. The standard room costs VND 400,000 [US$ 25] and the deluxe room costs VND 550,000 [US$ 35]. That’s fair enough because when I see the map of the hotel, the location is close to the Ben Thanh Market, a famous place to shop in Ho Chi Minh city. Hadi also agreed with me, so he will have the standard room and I will have the deluxe room. It will all be reimbursed anyway. I also booked a taxi because the guy at the counter told me it costs US$ 7 and it’s a fixed rate. If I take a taxi by myself, it will be the same price anyway.

So, 45 minutes later we were in the taxi, heading for the Ha Hien Hotel at the 145 – 147 Ly Tung Street, District 1. Ho Chi Minh city is very different to Vientiane. It’s crowded, just like Bangkok and Jakarta. The hotel is located in the downtown area and has a lot of shops around it. It’s just like Sukhumvit area in Bangkok, so easy to find anything.

The hotel is a two-star hotel, but quite nice. And they have free internet too! Hooray!!! After laying back for a while, I went down again and see Hadi in the lobby. We went out to the market which is very…very close to the hotel! The place is quite huge and we can find just about everything there. From vegetables, fruits, food, drink, souvenirs, shoes, bags, clothes, house wares, house decorations, cosmetics, accessories, party utilities, disposable things, suitcases, flowers and many more! I bought some things there because I didn’t shop in Vientiane. The price is a bit higher than Bangkok though, and I had to bargain like hell!

On my way back to the hotel, I bought myself some dinner. It’s a grilled barbecued duck and rice. I took it away to have it in my room. It was nice!

Well, after this I just want to rest, re-pack my suitcase and get a good sleep.