Waking from the
American Dream
About a dozen Indonesians, all illegal immigrants, thought
they’d found their niche in the United States.
The men had good jobs with a nickel mining company, enough
money for a car and rented a big house where they cooked rice in every known archipelagic
combination.
They’d probably still be there enjoying their American dream
had they understood the local culture a little better. But one fine Sunday morning the lads felt so
happy they opened all the doors and windows to let out the music.
Loud noise is OK in Indonesia – even essential to disperse malevolent
spirits. But not in US suburbs on the
Sabbath. A neighbor complained. The police arrived and checked identities. End of dream.
New York based journalist Ramdani [Dani] Sirait (above) visited the
men in prison before they were deported and added another anecdote to his store
of cross-cultural stories.
These have now been blended into one; Green Card is the writer’s first novel, and based on his three plus
years as the Antara news agency’s bureau chief at the United Nations HQ in
Manhattan. It covers the adventures of
Rafli, a young man from North Sumatra working on a cruise liner and wanting
more from life.
“Rafli isn’t me,” said Dani, though hero and creator come
from the same island. “Some other characters are modelled on real people,
though I’ve changed their names.
“The American Dream is still alive. There’s an estimated 110,000 Indonesians in
the US. Maybe more than half are there illegally.
They are brave and ambitious. They
deserve our respect. That’s why I wrote the book.”
Rafli jumps ship and begins his quest for the worker’s Holy
Grail, the permanent residence document known as the Green Card. With no visa
or other permissions he’s an alien, certain to be on the next Boeing to
Indonesia if caught.
He gets jobs the Americans don’t want and meets other Indonesians. Not all are fair. Erina has a Green Card
because she was once a US citizen’s wife.
A false marriage might get the document, but Rafli is
vulnerable and easily exploited. The lady wants money. If he doesn’t pay she
might call Immigration; then it’s bye-bye the USA.
Larger forces are about to play a role in the drama. Two
hijacked commercial jets plough into the Twin Towers, paranoia sets in and
differences spawn doubt. Rafli, always worried that one day he’d get a tap on
the shoulder, becomes doubly fearful when the government demands all aliens get
registered.
If he fronts the authorities he’ll get caught. If he doesn’t he might get asked to identify
himself on the street because his features and accent fit the profile of an imagined
terrorist. Read the book to discover
what happens – this feature is not a spoiler.
Dani, now 47, remembers well the bright September morn when
the world crashed into a new era. “It
was a beautiful day, one of the best times to be in New York,” he said. “At
first we thought it was a stupid pilot who’d lost his way. I just managed to get out a news flash on the
real situation before phone lines and Internet connections were cut.
“Later came the suspicions.
Some authorities linked my name [Ramdani] to Ramadhan [the fasting
month] and I was pulled out of lines at airports three times. I was annoyed,
but I understood what was happening.
“Many thought I was Vietnamese or a Filipino. There’s not much knowledge about Indonesia in
the US.”
As a journalist Dani has the enviable knack of being in the
right place at the right time. Before
being assigned to New York he was in East Timor reporting on the last
Indonesian troops to leave – later he was in Aceh after the tsunami.
He was on the palace round when travel-crazed Abdurrahman
Wahid [Gus Dur] was the Republic’s fourth president. Dani criss-crossed the world reporting historical
events. In Pakistan he asked President Pervez Musharraf what
he thought about Gus Dur calling the world’s Islamic leaders to meet in
Jakarta.
Unfortunately the
Indonesian President hadn’t got around to inviting his Pakistani host so the
question created a display of red faces and diplomatic gymnastics. “It
was a challenging, funny and exciting time,” Dani said. “I was far too busy to start
my novel.”
When Antara recalled him to Jakarta to drive a desk he
suffered from the foreign correspondent’s itch.
Having seen overseas reporting trends he proposed giving
Antara’s correspondents video cameras to file vision with text. When the idea
bombed it was time to find the exit. For
seven years he worked for the mining company Freeport in Jakarta and West Papua
as deputy to the head of communications.
Now he’s executive director of the Indonesian Business
Coalition on AIDS promoting awareness of the disease and strategies should
employees become ill. His next novel
will be about a woman who copes with HIV.
“I won’t be happy with Green
Card until it’s a film,” Dani said.
“I’ve been talking to a producer and director but the problem is the cost of having
to set scenes in the US.
“Indonesians get their ideas of America from films and
television, beautiful people in branded clothes. The media seldom shows the down and outs, the
badly maintained buildings, the garbage.
“Indonesians are resourceful and many could make it,
particularly in areas like information technology. We work hard and have a reputation for being
friendly, flexible, multi-skilled and
agreeable – that’s why so many are employed on cruise liners.
“Preparation is necessary – particularly competence in
English, and qualifications. Despite
everything Rafli’s story is one of success. When opportunity meets chance it
can be a beautiful marriage.
“I tell people keen to go overseas: ‘I hope you have Rafli’s spirit. Instead of
complaining he does something. Don’t be afraid. The world is our workplace’.
“Rafli represents the youth of Indonesia, the people we need
to make our nation great.”
Green Card by Dani
Sirait
Published by Kompas Gramedia,
2014
234 pages
(First published in The Jakarta Post, 30 March 2015) https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/30/waking-american-dream.html#google_vignette
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