August 1, 2011

Former Indonesian migrants seek jobs at home as moratorium goes into effect

Elly Faizal, “Former migrants in Saudi Arabia try new life at home,” The Jakarta Post. It’s not a widespread trend yet, as evidenced in Global Migration Trends: Fall 2011. However Indonesia has declared a moratorium on sending domestic workers to Saudi Arabia: 90% of the 1.2 million Indonesian domestic workers in Saudi Arabia worked under “improper working conditions.”  Many have been abused. Now Indonesia is trying to encourage their integration into the workforce at home and plans to create a small-scale entrepreneurship program. This is an opportunity for the church to bless Indonesia with experience and knowledge in the area [...]

Read more →
July 29, 2011

Weep with those who weep: mental health in Aceh

The world has likely all but forgotten how nearly eight years ago, a devastating earthquake triggered an even worse tsunami that destroyed much of the Aceh province in Indonesia. Over 200,000 were killed (that are known about). Thousands of communities and villages were wiped out. I was there a month after, helping to bring medical supplies in, and saw the immense and unimaginable devastation first hand, and then a year later I was back for a followup report. (You can see a report I published in the November 2005 PDF issue of Momentum). Whenever a disaster occurs, there are typically [...]

Read more →
July 29, 2011

Poor Indonesian families spend more on cigarettes

Via the Singapore Straits Times. While we are winning the war against smoking in the West, the tobacco companies have moved abroad. Poor households in Indonesia spend 19% of their income on staple foods, 11% on tobacco, 2% on education, and 3% on health care. See also “Losing out at home, Big Tobacco heads abroad,” in Global Post, November 2010.

Read more →
July 27, 2011

Indonesian Internet users prefer it to other media

Here’s a new study from Yahoo and TNS that reveals Indonesian Internet users are now spending more time on the Internet than they do reading newspapers or listening to the radio.

Read more →
July 27, 2011

The unfinished task in Indonesia: over 10k, under 1% Christian

Today, @OWTips tweeted, “@OWTips: #OWFacts: In Indonesia, there are 128 people groups larger than 10,000 people with a Christian population of under 1%. #OperationWorld”. This comment intrigued me, and I decided to pick it up and do a quick analysis of who these people groups were. I’ve written before about how just because groups are engaged doesn’t mean the task is done. Although there is significant work going on in Southeast Asia (I used to live in the region), a group that is over 10,000 in size yet is less than 1% Christian is pretty significant. For this analysis, I pulled a [...]

Read more →
April 22, 2010

Effort to change blasphemy law in Indonesia halted

Indonesia blocks faith law change, offending rights activists. In BBC.

Read more →
April 22, 2010

Internet testing limits of debate in Indonesia

The New York Times notes how Indonesia is trying to regulate content on the Internet and a scrap is developing between it and Indonesia’s news media.

Read more →
January 13, 2010

Haiti vs. Aceh: an instructive illustration of “hiddenness.”

Today, there is an enormous amount of Twitter traffic representing the enormous amount happening on behalf of Haiti. This small, poor island country suffered a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake with thousands – perhaps tens of thousands – killed. I am all for work on behalf of Haiti. Yes, we should bless this little nation. Jesus loves Haiti just as much as He loves Aceh. In fact I could make an argument that my first short-term trip, with my family to Haiti when I was I think about 12, was probably very formative in my missionary thinking. For all that, however, I [...]

Read more →