I haven’t written for such a long time. AGES in fact. I’d put it down
to not wanting to get my ass in trouble for potential rumours and/or
threats of violence against my staff for being such dishonest little
fuckers, and considering this a public site, I refrained from putting in
too much information. Still, now I’ve decided to come back to it and
put a bit of info in here. I’m past caring about what people think any
more.
So, let’s start at the very beginning, a very
good place to start… Our Logistics team started uncovering some
anomalies in prices for WatSan materials, and started asking questions,
and now we’re in the middle of a full-blown investigation of all staff
in Simeulue (including me). There's rumours of staff collusion with
suppliers on prices, getting kickbacks, preferring particular suppliers
for personal gain, and not delivering what materials in the quantities
they say they're delivering... blah blah blah.
Staff
R&R and Annual Leave were suspended until further notice, and
ARC sent in a Senior Finance Person (SFP) from Melbourne to conduct
interviews with all staff. The investigation process was extremely
stressful and frustrating for everyone, particularly due to the length
of time it took, the way in which it was done and the lack of
information to us about what’s happening with the results. I wish they’d
bloody hurry up! I have been fobbing off staff left, right and centre
with “it will be here soon” and “I don’t know anything”. All I want to
do is go on my R&R and get away from this bloody place!
As
the SFP predicted on her departure, “this place is about to fall apart”
– precisely what happened the next week, in spectacular fashion when my
staff had a big argument and verbally abused each other. Hooray for
WatSan!
I feel that this investigation has caused
relatively ‘commonplace’ (so to speak – in Indonesia; corruption is
ingrained in this place) activities, no matter how appropriate, to be
blown totally out of proportion. It has made them seem so much worse
than they actually are (I have no qualms about the seriousness of them,
however), and chatting to people in other NGOs, this is not a case
special to ARC.
ARC appears to place such huge
importance on this process, and wants to treat it as a serious matter,
yet the investigation has been done in a piecemeal fashion. It’s all
been done for show and there’s little substance. It’s all well and good
to do an investigation, but for goodness’ sake, do it properly.
The
interview process was completely rushed, a number of people were not
adequately interviewed (including me – I did not have enough time for my
interview) or not interviewed at all. The 5 construction supervisors
were all interviewed at once, allowing them time to potentially
collaborate on their story. Our previous Logistics officer was neither
interviewed nor involved in the process and our previous head of office
was only chatted to ‘informally’.
I don’t even know
there will be a process for staff to know the accusations against us,
and receive the opportunity to argue against the allegations. Surely
this is the right of all staff, particularly as the investigation has to
date only revealed verbal allegations. Because there is no hard
evidence, we cannot pin anything on anyone, even though the fraud policy
states that we just need adequate verbal information to take action. I
am extremely worried, given the nature of the staff and the situation
that is Simeulue, that much of the ‘evidence’ in that report is
potentially fabricated by some in order to bring others down, get
themselves ahead, or get revenge for incidences that have occurred in
the past. That’s how the staff are in this office. There’s a real
‘divide and conquer’ attitude. But all implicated staff should have the
right to ‘a fair trial’.
Plus I have one staff member
who, prior to the investigation, had applied for and won another
position with another NGO. Yet due to this investigation, the position
has been put on hold until the results of the investigation are known. I
worry that if any allegations are made against this staff member which
are not actually true, and they are totally innocent as they maintain,
are we tarnishing their record forever by believing a story that someone
has made up because they don’t like them? Are we preventing this person
from being employed when they have every right to work for the NGO
without suspicion for corruption? And does this person get to argue her
case of innocence?
For my part, they were one of the
people I suspected least, and from a manager’s perspective my signature
is on every document they submitted for orders of materials. I had no
problem with them at the time. However I do admit that for this person
to maintain that they did not know anything was happening (and I'm sure
it has, I'm just not sure to what extent) shows either total stupidity
and ignorance, or what I think is actually true – they were implicated
by simply knowing what was going on and turning a blind eye to it –
something we could say for many, if not all, people in the office.
However
I will never actually know this, because to date I have not been
allowed to read the report. I don’t know if I’ll even get a chance to
read it, because I was investigated as part of this too.
What
our management must remember is that people like myself work with the
staff here every day and we have both personal and professional
relationships with them. It’s easy for someone in HR that is outside of
the process to implement the recommendations because they personally do
not have to deal with the consequences in Simeulue. They are isolated
from the everyday stresses that this whole issue has caused and will
continue to cause until the saga is over.
We must be
extremely careful about the way we implement the report’s
recommendations. Outside people must be very well briefed beforehand on
each situation or possibly even not involved at all – hence my question
about us reading the report and implementing the recommendations
ourselves.
I also want to know if any other
investigation has been undertaken; ie: is Simeulue the only perceived
‘corrupt’ office, or has this served as a prompt to formally review all
our operations in Indonesia? We are ignorant if we think this is limited
to Simeulue. Corruption is part of the every day in Indonesia – for
example, by using a particular supplier you always get a freebie; a pack
of cigarettes or an extra gallon of Aqua bottled water. It’s normal.
ARC have to remember this. Sure it’s not how we should do things, and
staff who have read the fraud policy know it, but old habits die hard.
What’s
scary is I don’t know who’s taken it further and is actually taking big
kickbacks from purchasing large quantities of items like quarry
materials, timber, hardware etc. I really hope none of my staff are
involved, but I become less and less adamant of it by the day. It’s hard
not to be a cynic.
So the saga continues…
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Hooray for Simeulue.
Every time someone writes me an email or a msg, I say, yeah I'm great, how you doing?
Fuck, that's a lie.
So, here 'tis:
I'm stressed to my eyeballs because:
Fuck, that's a lie.
So, here 'tis:
I'm stressed to my eyeballs because:
- my program is months behind schedule due to a pricing/logistics process review,
- subsequently, the big boss has put the kibosh on all material delivery, which doesn't mean much because no materials have been arriving for us to construct anything anyway,
- my boss just left (we are only two expats now and I've lost my drinking buddy!),
- the community want our heads on stakes,
- my staff are totally stressed out, and:
- on top of that we are all being investigated for corruption.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Out of Aceh
Well. Not really sure why I’m writing. Just bored I guess. I’m
sitting in the Tiara Hotel in Medan, on the way back to Simeulue. I’ve
just hit up Sun Plaza for some groceries – I always stock up on the
comforts of home (which in this trip have included baked beans, cheese,
capsicums, pasta, yoghurt – but no olives! Boohoo!!) – and have wandered
back to my hotel room.
I have been in Banda Aceh since Saturday, so 4-and-a-bit days all up. My boss Paul, his wife Popy and I went back to farewell Natasha, our Logistics delegate, who used to work on Simeulue but has spent most of the last 3 or 4 months in BA. Oh whoops, I meant we went back for some staff meetings. On Saturday night she had a farewell bash at the Big Brother House (one of the 2 ARC staff houses – the better one with younger people and not the boss!), which was good fun and involved Proper Food.
Tuesday night was the local staff bash; everyone came around for a yummy Chinese dinner and karaoke on the magic mic – which we originally hired for the national staff who love to sing, but ended up being way more fun for us when they all left! We dug up quite a few gold nuggets from the 70s and 80s and spent the night screaming our lungs out. Great fun.
BA is such a different world to Simeulue. For a start, it’s a bustling metropolis of 400,000 people and a hell of a lot more expats. In fact almost every NGO and Red Cross society known to man ascended on the place soon after December 26, 2004. As a result, amny support services and buildings sprung up everywhere and the place rapidly grew (and continues to grow) at a rate of knots. There are proper restaurants (many of which are able to legally sell alcohol, and most of which I’m yet to visit – although I’ve managed to eat at a different one every meal this week!), parties on every weekend, and many groups of active people getting out and playing sport, mountain bike riding, surfing and running. A big singles scene exists there too. I’m always exhausted after visiting Banda because I spend the whole time drinking, eating and partying too much (oh yeah as well as working)! It reminds me a lot of Monrovia actually.
On Sunday, we went for a drive around BA. I’d done “the tour” before, but the others hadn’t… That said, we went to a beach I’d never seen, and a major leg of the tour I hadn’t yet seen was to mosque in the centre of town.
Baiturrahman mosque is, by far, the most beautiful mosque I’ve seen in Indonesia. A huge, sprawling white complex with beautiful contrasting black domes, it is the religious centre of the city. I was not allowed inside the building, but I was able to wander around the spacious grounds, with my hair covered of course (and long sleeves/pants. No arms or legs showing, ladies!). Let’s just say I was the only bulé for miles around, and the locals thought it was rather unusual-slash-amusing for one to be wandering around their sacred mosque. Not that they minded; I was just the focus of the gaze of every Acehnese for 20 minutes.
Banda Aceh is also quite mountainous, considering it is right on the coast. I was surprised at this when I first arrived. There are a number of hills behind the town shadowed by volcanoes dotted around the countryside. It really is a beautiful area; when you drive from the airport you are surrounded by these mountains, which slope down to a maze of rice paddies dotted with villages and mosques. And it’s just so green! Whenever I compare Indonesia with Australia, I’m always amazed at the contrast. Funny what a decent amount of rain can do... :)
And so it’s back to Simeulue tomorrow morning. Thank god the early morning (6:40am) flight was fully booked. We get to fly at 10:40 instead. Hooray for sleep-ins. We plan to stock up on gin (and other things, like olives!) from “Mr Ben’s” – which is just around the corner – on the way to the airport. Hopefully we can smuggle it through the airport. Shouldn’t be a problem on little Susi Air... fingers crossed.
In some ways I’m looking forward to going back. The simple life really is refreshing after the hustle & bustle of places like Medan and Banda Aceh. Not that I mind the big city, but when you get used to living in Simeulue, these places become very tiring very quickly! (not to mention access to alcohol 24-7!)
I have been in Banda Aceh since Saturday, so 4-and-a-bit days all up. My boss Paul, his wife Popy and I went back to farewell Natasha, our Logistics delegate, who used to work on Simeulue but has spent most of the last 3 or 4 months in BA. Oh whoops, I meant we went back for some staff meetings. On Saturday night she had a farewell bash at the Big Brother House (one of the 2 ARC staff houses – the better one with younger people and not the boss!), which was good fun and involved Proper Food.
Tuesday night was the local staff bash; everyone came around for a yummy Chinese dinner and karaoke on the magic mic – which we originally hired for the national staff who love to sing, but ended up being way more fun for us when they all left! We dug up quite a few gold nuggets from the 70s and 80s and spent the night screaming our lungs out. Great fun.
BA is such a different world to Simeulue. For a start, it’s a bustling metropolis of 400,000 people and a hell of a lot more expats. In fact almost every NGO and Red Cross society known to man ascended on the place soon after December 26, 2004. As a result, amny support services and buildings sprung up everywhere and the place rapidly grew (and continues to grow) at a rate of knots. There are proper restaurants (many of which are able to legally sell alcohol, and most of which I’m yet to visit – although I’ve managed to eat at a different one every meal this week!), parties on every weekend, and many groups of active people getting out and playing sport, mountain bike riding, surfing and running. A big singles scene exists there too. I’m always exhausted after visiting Banda because I spend the whole time drinking, eating and partying too much (oh yeah as well as working)! It reminds me a lot of Monrovia actually.
On Sunday, we went for a drive around BA. I’d done “the tour” before, but the others hadn’t… That said, we went to a beach I’d never seen, and a major leg of the tour I hadn’t yet seen was to mosque in the centre of town.
Baiturrahman mosque is, by far, the most beautiful mosque I’ve seen in Indonesia. A huge, sprawling white complex with beautiful contrasting black domes, it is the religious centre of the city. I was not allowed inside the building, but I was able to wander around the spacious grounds, with my hair covered of course (and long sleeves/pants. No arms or legs showing, ladies!). Let’s just say I was the only bulé for miles around, and the locals thought it was rather unusual-slash-amusing for one to be wandering around their sacred mosque. Not that they minded; I was just the focus of the gaze of every Acehnese for 20 minutes.
Banda Aceh is also quite mountainous, considering it is right on the coast. I was surprised at this when I first arrived. There are a number of hills behind the town shadowed by volcanoes dotted around the countryside. It really is a beautiful area; when you drive from the airport you are surrounded by these mountains, which slope down to a maze of rice paddies dotted with villages and mosques. And it’s just so green! Whenever I compare Indonesia with Australia, I’m always amazed at the contrast. Funny what a decent amount of rain can do... :)
And so it’s back to Simeulue tomorrow morning. Thank god the early morning (6:40am) flight was fully booked. We get to fly at 10:40 instead. Hooray for sleep-ins. We plan to stock up on gin (and other things, like olives!) from “Mr Ben’s” – which is just around the corner – on the way to the airport. Hopefully we can smuggle it through the airport. Shouldn’t be a problem on little Susi Air... fingers crossed.
In some ways I’m looking forward to going back. The simple life really is refreshing after the hustle & bustle of places like Medan and Banda Aceh. Not that I mind the big city, but when you get used to living in Simeulue, these places become very tiring very quickly! (not to mention access to alcohol 24-7!)
Friday, April 4, 2008
a little help deciding...
Ah gawd.... life just keeps getting more and more interesting...
So, my boss Paul has accepted a job in Banda Aceh. He leaves in a month! Which means.... I'll probably be A/Head of Office until they find someone new (if that's what they decide). I think it will be difficult to recruit someone that's prepared to come and work in Simeulue, especially if it's only for a short time (around 9 months I'm guessing, in order to close down our operations here by early next year). So who knows, maybe I'll be Head of Office until I leave Simeulue.
Paul and I are going to Banda Aceh tomorrow, for some meetings next week, and also to farewell our logistics delegate Natasha, so hopefully that will shed more light on what's gonna happen.
That whole concept scares me a bit. I don't feel experienced enough to be Head of Office. But of all the delegates in ARC I am probably the one who understands most about projects in Sim! And we are winding down our projects now; there is only the WatSan project and the construction project in Kota Batu (building 120 houses for people displaced by the earthquake), which also has an associated integrated program of health/hygiene/livelihoods training. I'm a bit worried about Kota Batu though, because it's been in the pipeline for 3 years and they haven't even started building houses yet. So many delays. The construction delegates haven't even visited the site. So bloody slack. It frustrates the hell out of me. Until construction begins the community aren't even remotely interested in doing any training, so one relies on the other. Plus the WatSan component of the construction designs hasn't even been properly considered! I get the distinct feeling they'll lump it all on me as the only ARC WatSan delegate in Indonesia... which would stress me out even more, on top of having to run the office. It would also mean I probably wouldn't get out to the field as much, which I'd hate. But that said, as HoO I'd also get to decide...
Plus I'm really gonna miss Paul. I love having him around, he's a great guy, really laid back and loves a drink (maybe a bit too much)! He's really active too, always out on his bike or going running. Thank goodness we have Nick, our new logistician here, for a bit of bule normality! But he's a lot older and more conservative than me, so I don't enjoy his company half as much as I do Paul's. But that said, I'm really happy for Paul - he finally gets to live with his family. He'll be so much happier in Banda Aceh, there's so many more people and things to do, and his job will be better paid, have better support for him and his family, and he won't be subject to the shit that regularly gets launched at us from ARC Banda.
And in terms of other departures: Jon, my mate from Care, is leaving on Wed. We're having a farewell for him tonight. His girlfriend Steph, another great mate, is leaving the following Sunday. So two of my favourite people are leaving! :( They have been the most fun to have around on the island, and are always keen to get out and about and do things. I will be very sad (not to mention bored!) when they leave. At least they're moving to Australia, so I can see them when I eventually get home!
Nam, my tennis buddy and another favourite person on the island, leaves in a couple of months too. I'll have to satisfy my tennis cravings through the local old guys that play. Still fun, and it will help my Bahasa, but not as fun (nor energetic!) as Nam. Plus, he is the only one prepared to play early in the morning; all the old guys play from about 4pm. Early morning is better because it's not so hot and there isn't a queue to get on the court.
The only people left after that will be Anna from GAA, Chigusa from Japanese RC (who are both great and like to get out and be active), 2 Norwegian Red Cross people (who we hardly see), plus 4 Germans who I don't see that much and who are quite a bit older and more boring... so the options are certainly shrinking! However, our national staff are lots of fun, and hopefully they will be able to fill the gap left by my other friends. Plus I'm also thinking I should get off my ass and explore Indonesia a bit more with my weekends, and use up some of my leave to do so. There are lots of places that are easy to get to from Medan that don't take much time to get to.
For example, on Sunday Steph and I are going to Medan and then to Berastagi to climb the volcano there. I am taking Monday off to do this, so back to work on Tues - simple! Should be fun too, a last hurrah for Steph and I.
So, all of these departures, the workload of Head of Office, and the probably lengthy delay before a new HoO arrival will definitely shape my intentions about staying on here. I'm strongly considering leaving at the end of my contract now, and travelling back home with my sister Ange.
I definitely have something to look forward to - Ange's arrival! She is travelling home in early August, after 2 years working in London. Yay!!! She gets to Medan on August 8; we plan to travel around Indo together and I want to show her around Simeulue too. Then she plans to go to Bangladesh to visit friends there. Possibly some other countries in SE Asia as well. I would love to join her for this part of her travel. Then I must decide to either come back here, or travel back home with her. I miss her so much, and can't wait to see her!!
If I did come back here, it would be because I want to support my WatSan team, and see the project to the end. It's scheduled to end 2008, but we're already 3 months behind and not making ground quickly, particualrly due to logistics. So who knows how long it will drag out for. I could be here for another year! But I think I'd like to be home for Christmas, or at the most by my birthday (end January). Something to aim for maybe.
So we'll just have to wait and see what happens... :)
So, my boss Paul has accepted a job in Banda Aceh. He leaves in a month! Which means.... I'll probably be A/Head of Office until they find someone new (if that's what they decide). I think it will be difficult to recruit someone that's prepared to come and work in Simeulue, especially if it's only for a short time (around 9 months I'm guessing, in order to close down our operations here by early next year). So who knows, maybe I'll be Head of Office until I leave Simeulue.
Paul and I are going to Banda Aceh tomorrow, for some meetings next week, and also to farewell our logistics delegate Natasha, so hopefully that will shed more light on what's gonna happen.
That whole concept scares me a bit. I don't feel experienced enough to be Head of Office. But of all the delegates in ARC I am probably the one who understands most about projects in Sim! And we are winding down our projects now; there is only the WatSan project and the construction project in Kota Batu (building 120 houses for people displaced by the earthquake), which also has an associated integrated program of health/hygiene/livelihoods training. I'm a bit worried about Kota Batu though, because it's been in the pipeline for 3 years and they haven't even started building houses yet. So many delays. The construction delegates haven't even visited the site. So bloody slack. It frustrates the hell out of me. Until construction begins the community aren't even remotely interested in doing any training, so one relies on the other. Plus the WatSan component of the construction designs hasn't even been properly considered! I get the distinct feeling they'll lump it all on me as the only ARC WatSan delegate in Indonesia... which would stress me out even more, on top of having to run the office. It would also mean I probably wouldn't get out to the field as much, which I'd hate. But that said, as HoO I'd also get to decide...
Plus I'm really gonna miss Paul. I love having him around, he's a great guy, really laid back and loves a drink (maybe a bit too much)! He's really active too, always out on his bike or going running. Thank goodness we have Nick, our new logistician here, for a bit of bule normality! But he's a lot older and more conservative than me, so I don't enjoy his company half as much as I do Paul's. But that said, I'm really happy for Paul - he finally gets to live with his family. He'll be so much happier in Banda Aceh, there's so many more people and things to do, and his job will be better paid, have better support for him and his family, and he won't be subject to the shit that regularly gets launched at us from ARC Banda.
And in terms of other departures: Jon, my mate from Care, is leaving on Wed. We're having a farewell for him tonight. His girlfriend Steph, another great mate, is leaving the following Sunday. So two of my favourite people are leaving! :( They have been the most fun to have around on the island, and are always keen to get out and about and do things. I will be very sad (not to mention bored!) when they leave. At least they're moving to Australia, so I can see them when I eventually get home!
Nam, my tennis buddy and another favourite person on the island, leaves in a couple of months too. I'll have to satisfy my tennis cravings through the local old guys that play. Still fun, and it will help my Bahasa, but not as fun (nor energetic!) as Nam. Plus, he is the only one prepared to play early in the morning; all the old guys play from about 4pm. Early morning is better because it's not so hot and there isn't a queue to get on the court.
The only people left after that will be Anna from GAA, Chigusa from Japanese RC (who are both great and like to get out and be active), 2 Norwegian Red Cross people (who we hardly see), plus 4 Germans who I don't see that much and who are quite a bit older and more boring... so the options are certainly shrinking! However, our national staff are lots of fun, and hopefully they will be able to fill the gap left by my other friends. Plus I'm also thinking I should get off my ass and explore Indonesia a bit more with my weekends, and use up some of my leave to do so. There are lots of places that are easy to get to from Medan that don't take much time to get to.
For example, on Sunday Steph and I are going to Medan and then to Berastagi to climb the volcano there. I am taking Monday off to do this, so back to work on Tues - simple! Should be fun too, a last hurrah for Steph and I.
So, all of these departures, the workload of Head of Office, and the probably lengthy delay before a new HoO arrival will definitely shape my intentions about staying on here. I'm strongly considering leaving at the end of my contract now, and travelling back home with my sister Ange.
I definitely have something to look forward to - Ange's arrival! She is travelling home in early August, after 2 years working in London. Yay!!! She gets to Medan on August 8; we plan to travel around Indo together and I want to show her around Simeulue too. Then she plans to go to Bangladesh to visit friends there. Possibly some other countries in SE Asia as well. I would love to join her for this part of her travel. Then I must decide to either come back here, or travel back home with her. I miss her so much, and can't wait to see her!!
If I did come back here, it would be because I want to support my WatSan team, and see the project to the end. It's scheduled to end 2008, but we're already 3 months behind and not making ground quickly, particualrly due to logistics. So who knows how long it will drag out for. I could be here for another year! But I think I'd like to be home for Christmas, or at the most by my birthday (end January). Something to aim for maybe.
So we'll just have to wait and see what happens... :)
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