Yegenaga Travel & Tours Guide

Drizzle still whack when the car I was riding into the bridge Fisabilillah. The bridge is the main gateway to  Galang. Construction of steel and like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, with a length of 700 m and a height of 350 m. From there, we can see the panorama scattered small islands amazing.

Drizzle did not dampen her desire for people to stand on either side of the bridge. Just stopped taking his eyes, or was deliberately coming tour. Most visitors hang out in the tent stalls that lined both ends, enjoy roasted corn.

I am with three old friends who now go abroad in Batam, almost tempted to stop by. But Hijratul, car owners as well as a driver, a reminder that the trip to Galang Island is still quite far away.

True. We passed the bridge again in four islands the acronym of Batam, Rempang, and Galang. All three main islands put together a solid steel bridges and artistic, plus the small islands, namely, the island of Tonton, Nipah, and Sekikir. Total general there are six bridges connecting the islands was completed in 1992 it.

At that time, B.J. Habibie, the Batam Authority’s project was obviously want to keep Singapore in the strategic region. By bringing together a number of islands, Batam at least larger than mainland Tumasik Raffles pocus results from the colonial era. But what meretricious, dream Habibie seems to run aground: excellent infrastructure is still not able to make Batam perform brilliantly.

Ah, I get rid of the heavy thoughts. It’s time to enjoy the journey. The car raced in the now deserted streets, past the bridge after bridge, pineapple plantations and houses a rare and lonely. We had time to whisper, if only a flat tire or run out of gas, where to complain? Luckily, our gasoline is full content, and fairly smooth road tires ensure security.

After a corners, the car turned left, into the road slightly damaged asphalt. If straight, we’d met last bridge, the Bridge Little King 180 meters long that connects the island of Galang and Galang new. But our main goal is not to it, but the former reservoir boat people from Vietnam (1979-1996).

Not far in front, there is a pick guard post levy on behalf of the Batam Authority, amounting to Rp 10,000 for the sedan. That’s a sign we are entering a destination. Twenty years ago, the gate must be guarded by the army in which every person can not out-go, because the relocation area is like a mini state transitional “government” involving the United Nations refugee (UNHCR).

Although there is no longer the soldiers on guard, but the atmosphere remained tense feel. Rubber trees that are not maintained, the shrubs and trees that began making the atmosphere quiet and obscure. Rows of old buildings remains the refugees, such as barracks, houses a simple board, and various places of worship left mostly rotten, miserable, adding silence difficult to describe.

The car continued along the road encircling the quiet area. Large tree  extended to the edge of the road, a place where a group of flying monkeys requested rations. We threw some bread. The sound of scrambling monkeys broke the silence quite capable.

Apparently, a large stump that used to be a Buddhist ritual of refugees, so marked by a sign that read “Body Tree”. In addition to the tree body, other places of worship we see is the pagoda and the church. There Qim Chua Quang pagoda, Chuan Ky Vien, Cao Dai, and the biggest named Quan Am Tu, features a statue of Guan Yin Goddess of almost 3 meters tall.

While the Catholic church there are two, namely Ta Duc Me On Chatolic To Chruch and Nha Vo Duc Me Nhiem Chatolic Chruch this last-decorated Statue of Virgin Mary in the refugee ship. For the Protestants, there Tinh Lanh Chruch. All houses of worship were made of wood and wood, painted, has a large gate and artistic. Unfortunately, not all of which I entered because it was drizzling rain has transformed quite dense.

Peak visits I felt when we arrived at an area of green open space. On the grass was laid some wood-engine outboard boats, not too big, just a fishing boat in the harbor fish or Cirebon. More like a boat than a ship, from which the term “boat people” came from. Yes, that’s the original ships had used the South Vietnamese refugees who departed from the Gulf of  Tonkin and the surrounding areas, leaving their homeland was ravaged civil war.

I was trembling and awe at the ship or the boats. Was unable to imagine the suffering of the refugees who fought life and death in the ocean. This time I did not care about the rain. With his head wrapped in bags only, I immediately jumped out of the car, then touched and boarded the boats. Some of them are porous and hollow. Understandably not given awning. Apparently, the intention to build a museum open had been translated literally by the manager, so that the roof was just

How many times I go up and down to the deck of the ships that have saved countless hundreds of lives these refugees, as if not yet convinced that the tragedy was painfully true. But obviously it was not a dream. In a paper taped to the mossy concrete memorial, among other reads, “This is a used boat refugees across the South China Sea for months and so far thousands of miles to many parts of the world to seek protection from another country.”

It’s tragic. A large picture photo series of the refugees are also stuck on the sidelines, with sad faces. Despite fading and dull, so it is enough to disturb the marker events of our conscience. But strangely, in that there is a bilbord panel picture which seems deliberately covered with zinc. What’s wrong with that picture? Too vulgar? No escape censorship? Or protests former refugees? Either. Hopefully blur and masking the picture does not bode closing value of friendship ever.

Finally, before returning home, my visits to the complex genapkan Trang Ngha Grave, where over 500 refugees were buried. Rows of graves, crosses and stone-washed stone silent witness to the eternal rain for long trail boat people on Galang Island.

Former Refugees protested

“Cold War” two giants of capitalism and the ideological-communist-impact to Indochina. The civil war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam one of its effects. Vietcong forces in 1975 (North) invaded the South. Tens of thousands of refugees escape to the outside, jostling on a wooden boat down the ferocity of the South China Sea. Dozens of shipwrecks, hundreds of refugees died at sea, the other patrol boats captured in the Gulf of Siam.

Approximately 250 thousand refugees stranded on the island of Natuna, and others in the area of Indonesia. The Indonesian government is responsive, and work with UNHCR to relocate them on Galang Island in 1979. The region is designed. Barracks, houses, offices, schools, places of worship, highways, constructed so that resembled a small town. They are not allowed out of the area, but free to professionals such as business exchange, store of rice, making know-tempe, a teacher or employee UNHCR. Of these businesses is very limited, so most people remain dependent on aid that the UN agency.

When in 1995 the UNHCR has declared no longer a budget, the Indonesian government decided to repatriate the refugees. Interestingly (or touching), the refugees refused to go home. They are still traumatized. In fact, there are desperate to “suicide”: to burn the boat as a form of protest, and even set fire to himself. After all, 5,000 more refugees remain discharged, the remainder received a number of countries like America, Australia and France.

Now the area is run by former refugees the Batam Authority as a tourist attraction and human history. Quite reasonable. In terms of visitors, for example, how many former refugees are successful in various countries or countries of origin? Every time there’s always come on pilgrimage. Potential market. But unfortunately the management was not optimal. The number of damaged buildings clearly counterproductive to the historical value of the offer. Former refugees reportedly also be objected that the tourist attraction. Where they had lived miserably, far from the homeland, is considered less fit to be a tourist visit. It is said that the manager had confused, even if it did not think the objection should be a wedge.

Galang refugee life was relatively good, accepted by society and the Indonesian government empathetic. With a history of making tourist attractions, just ask anyone visited traces of humanity and friendship. That is, living how the manager synergize these values are proper and humane.