• Jim's Journal

“Opting for the Poor”

As I write, it’s just about 6am and there is a rooster crowing outside the door. I have been up since 4am (still adjusting to the time change) and am so full of energy and excitement that I cannot wait for the sun to rise and the day to begin. I am finally here! I am following my passion. I am seeking truth and trying, as best I can, to take the preferential option for the poor.

Our flight touched down safely just before 1pm local time yesterday. I was a bit nervous that there was no sign of Leily (our translator/guide) just outside immigration or near the baggage claim. But sure enough, as we came out of the arrivals area, through a mob of people, I spotted a makeshift cardboard sign with our names scribbled on it in black magic marker. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I am happy to report that we have survived our first day, we are doing well and Jakarta is just as I remembered it, hot, crowded and overwhelming.

Following our introductions, we jumped into taxis and were off for the hotel. I still could not believe I was finally here doing this. This is the culmination of my almost three years of campaigning for justice for these workers. These are the people I put my job on the line for at St. John’s. These are the people I have advocated for at countless rallies and in countless newspaper articles. I now have the honor and privilege to finally meet with them face to face. I must be honest; it is somewhat terrifying as well. In the next few weeks I am going to find out if my commitment and sacrifice were grounded in truth. I am faced with the very real fear that at the end of this, I might have to swallow my pride and say, “I was wrong.”

We got to our hotel, settled in and soon were off for the SISBIKUM (worker’s NGO) office. It was a very exciting way to begin our project. I had my volley of questions prepared and was quite excited to learn first hand, from these labor organizers, about the workers’ struggle for justice. I cannot wait to meet the workers themselves. We plan to head out to our site on August 2nd and begin living in solidarity with the workers (on a dollar a day) on August 3rd.

We have a full day planned for today (August 1st). First we have a meeting with a lawyer who defends the workers when they get into trouble for organizing. Then we are off to a demonstration being organized by the students from the University of Jakarta. And hopefully, later in the day, we will meet with labor organizer, Dita Sari, who has been persecuted, jailed and lived in fear of receiving the death penalty for leading a strike of 20,000 Indonesian workers (see Amnesty International). I cannot wait!

I pray that God will be with us, more tomorrow.

Peace, Jim