PostScript

The Bible was brought to Indonesia by thousands of European missionaries across the centuries. While there are restrictions today on how and where foreigners can preach in Indonesia, there aren’t too many who are keen to come in any case. By contrast, Indonesia's Catholic graduates are now taking their version of the word of God to the West. The top Catholic institute in Indonesia is the Ledalero Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Katolik (STFK Ledalero), a college of Catholic philosophy that is run by the Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) – the Society of the Divine Word. The college is located just outside Maumere in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. “We’re now the largest provider of SVD apostles (also called Verbites) to the world,” said counselor Bill Burt, an Australian. “We have about 300 young men studying. This year... Log in with your social account … [Read more...] about Ledalero: Exporting indigenized religion and priests

Despite the relatively comfortable lives they enjoy, young middle-class corporate workers in Jakarta can be the greatest whiners in the world. Instead of counting their blessings, the fact that they can still pay their rent and bring food to their table through their office jobs – taking into account that many people in Jakarta are unemployed and still live in poverty – the privileged lives they lead, which open their access to various resources, have inflated their expectations unrealistically. Their educational background and professional skills instead have turned these people into entitled brats, they feel they deserve a more exciting life owing to their privileged context. Just look at Maya, the 29-year-old female character in Indonesian writer Nuril Basri’s latest novel Rasa (Feelings) published simultaneously this year in Indonesia and Malaysia. She is a... Log in with your social account … [Read more...] about ‘Rasa’: Stop whining and start living

Women ministers of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s Working Cabinet paid special attention to their appearance for the plenary meeting of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Friday, where the President made public the administration’s annual report. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti took to Twitter and shared two pictures of her and her colleagues dressed up for the occasion. In the first photo, Susi posed with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Susana Yembise. While the other four were wearing either a kebaya (traditional blouse) or baju kurung (ankle-length underskirt combined with a knee-length blouse), Susi was in black blazer and pants. For the caption, she wrote: “Who says we’re not beautiful and great? Who dares [to say so]?” In … [Read more...] about Women ministers show off their national attire

Barred from the bathroom, harassed on campus and suspended from school, transgender students report a host of problems at US colleges. They also run a higher risk of suicide, according to research released on Friday. A study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine said trans students were more than four times as likely as their peers to suffer at least one mental health condition. The study comes as President Donald Trump's government rolls back LGBT+ rights, banning trans people from enrolling in the military and proposing that firms with federal contracts can shun LGBT+ candidates on religious grounds. In colleges, students who are trans or identify as neither man nor woman have been barred from using the bathroom of their choice, turfed out of dorms and called before disciplinary hearings to explain their gender reassignment. All that alongside a daily diet of abuse and isolation, according to a trans student interviewed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "I would hear … [Read more...] about Barred, bullied, depressed: Life for many US trans students

After making his name designing and printing posters for Nirvana and other bands at the height Seattle's grunge scene, American artist Jeff Ross has since been wandering the globe in search of inspiration. Now he is finding it in Serbia, where the 58-year-old recently set up studio outside of Belgrade and is taking part in the gritty capital's vibrant street art scene. "I sense there is something here, there is a ball of something happening and I want to be here for it, and collaborate, teach people how to screen print, make art, make music, noise," he told AFP of the "energy" that drew him to Serbia. On a recent night Ross could be seen spray-painting loopy, brightly colored designs on the walls of Maniac, one of Belgrade's underground -- literally beneath a street -- late-night alternative music clubs. He also works on private pieces for sale in the studio he has set up in Pancevo, a smaller city just across the Danube from Belgrade. Read also: US artist Jeff … [Read more...] about Nirvana artist finds a new canvas in Serbia