Getting to Know You

Paging through my passport in his stuffy, humid office, the immigration officer probed the little book to find little tidbits of information from which he could assemble a picture of me.  I decided to make it easier for him.  After all, I chose to be the one sitting in the chair opposite his desk, instead of some hired intermediary who typically shuttle documents between foreigners and immigration officials.  I wanted to meet him face to face.

As a newcomer to the city of Malang, where REI-Indonesia is now basing operations, I feel the need to know and be known by an increasing number of people in a growing network of professional connections.  So, within days of our arrival in Malang, I determined to meet as many people as I could in the immigration office by personally carrying out the normal procedures required of foreigners.  It didn't take long before I had personal meetings with heads of the office, all of whom wanted to know who I was.  After all, it is their job to know the foreigners.

I kept the story brief but relevant, describing the period I was consultant, which he noted in my passport, and the insight about poverty alleviation I gained from working with nationals.  Then I told him about the years of technology development and the subsequent years of training village workers.

He offered a quick response.  "Production is the easy part.  There are lots of things that can be produced in villages.  The hard part is marketing.  You can't create jobs if you don't succeed in marketing."

I mentioned the recent export of village products to the US and the plans to expand production, which is why I was requesting a visa from his office.

He chimed in again.  "People need to work and businesses are important.  It's a shame that the environment suffers so much."

I described the ongoing environmental degradation in the village, which has suffered under the unregulated practices of mining interests.  Then I tried to connect the dots for him:  by processing mangos in the village, residents have more economic reasons to refuse the short-term contracts of mining companies that leave their land unusable.

The lights went on for him.  "That's great.  That's a good business model."

Not only have I received a visa, I have gained a friend and an ally in the immigration office.  He represents another person in what I hope to be a growing network of professionals who can grasp our intentions to "build people to build a nation".