Dynamic Jakarta

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Indonesia | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | 5 photos

I come from a culturally diverse family, and recently returned to my mother's country of birth, Indonesia. A lot had changed since my last visit - cars no longer got mobbed by hawkers at every traffic light and street corner; the local mosque was more considerate and only played the call to prayer on Fridays - but it still had its charm and a certain unmistakable essence.
There are two oppositional forces pulling Indonesia in different directions.
There is a push to Westernise. People are listening to, and playing, western music; large shopping malls are popping up everywhere.
There is the also the push of Islam. Mosques are being set up in poor areas and the Imams provide hospitals and schools for the community.
But Indonesia seems to be taking both, and slowly charting its own course. Within the malls people are setting up street-vendor style stores. The barging culture is still strong, you just have to looking a different place.
While Islamic values of modesty are held by most, the clothing is still made to look stylish or cute.
And in the middle of it all, separate yet caught up by both, lives my Chinese family. They have faced change and hard times before, and most likely will again, but for now, they are happy to just let my cousins be kids.