Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

100 BLURRED BORDERS AND SOCIAL INTEGRATIONShim. With no adequate medical treatment available onthe island, Awala died in the arms of his relatives andneighbors the same night. Agitated villagers kept vigilall night outside the residence of the sub-district head,threatening to set a fire if their calls for justice werenot heard. The next day, the Talaud bupati (regent)arrived to prevent the situation from escalating. Abouttwo hundred people, dressed in black, mobilized toexpress their outrage at the senseless death and theiracute neglect by the Indonesian state. They lowered theIndonesian flag at the Miangas pier and greeted the localgovernment delegation by waving a Philippine flag.In shock, Indonesian authorities wasted no time inwooing back the island population. Sacks of rice,assorted medicines and sports equipment were doledout almost immediately. Two years after the incident,the once sleepy island is awash with governmentprojects: the pier is upgraded, a warehouse constructed,and there is even talk of developing an airstrip to bringMiangas closer to the world. A piped water supply wascompleted in early 2006 and the first street light put uplater that year. A residence for a village doctor has beenbuilt, although there is still no word when s/he will setup practice. A terminal building and marketplace addto the picture—yet without the steady flow of peopleand goods, these remain unused (Velasco 2007). Thecentral government may have instituted a full-fledgedprogram to develop Indonesia’s outer islands in themeantime, but without adequate consultation with thelocal people, assistance does not always correspond tothe needs on the ground.Nonetheless, the Philippine flag has long been returnedto its rightful place at the Philippine Border CrossingStation on the island and locals are proud to point outthe progress when receiving newcomers. Mr. YoppyLuppa, the harbor master of Miangas, explains that “thepeople of Miangas feel close to the Philippines. But weare also scared of the war in Mindanao. We do not wantto go there.”In the case of Miangas, the remote location has bredpragmatists rather than rebels. Poverty and the lack ofopportunities force them to be practical and resourceful.They are not interested in talking about whether theyfeel more “Indonesian” or “Filipino.” What mattersmore to them is that their grievances are being heardand taken seriously. In Miangas, as elsewhere in NusaUtara, people prefer local identities to national ones,such as orang Miangas, orang Talaud or orang Sangir.They are just too far removed from the centers of thenation to participate meaningfully in provincial, letalone national, life.Similarly, being able to speak two to three languages,including Visaya and/or Tagalog, is not a “big deal” tothem, because it has “always” been that way in theirseafaring-trading culture. Having relatives both inDavao and Bitung is “normal” on the island, where theintercoastal movement of people is a way of life. No oneraises an eyebrow at “undocumented” Filipinos marriedto locals on the islands. It would certainly seem strangeto them if an academic came to them to “celebrate”their “hybridity.”The same is true for thirty-something Adrian (not hisreal name) and others like him whom I befriendedin Manado. Born to a Filipino father and a Sangiresemother in Davao, he keeps his “mixed” identitya secret. Since his birth certificate states that he is“Filipino,” he has no Indonesian identity card nor avalid visa and passport. Yet he has lived, studied andworked “illegally” in Manado for more than 20 yearsand knows no other “home.” Ironically, Adrian is acard-bearing member of the nationalist IndonesianDemocratic Party and has run for local office in thepast! As a stateless nationalist, as it were, he defies manynorms. Yet, the constant fear of being discovered is nojoke at all. Adrian’s circumvention of Indonesian lawsis not an act of mischief. For him, it is the only wayhe can continue the life he has built for himself in his“motherland.”ConclusionIn the main body of this essay, I portrayed thehistory and current issues in the Indonesia-Philippineborderzone. At this point, I would like to make mycritique of predominant border frameworks moreexplicit by relating it to questions of statehood.In conclusion, I point to a more people-centeredperspective in understanding and addressing the needsof local populations in the borderzone at hand.As seen above, my interaction with people in theborderzone has led me to question the centrality ofidentity and cultural flows in much of social sciencestoday. A major problem with the cultural approach toborder issues is that it obfuscates the need to remedyconditions that place local populations at a disadvantage.Rather than hailing border-crossers as subversive,itinerant subjects, I have, therefore, sought to refocusattention on the structural conditions of poverty andmarginality that necessitate the circumventing of officialrules in the Indonesian-Philippine borderzone.What the cultural approach lacks in problemorientation,the security approach more than makesAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows