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My last flight for BOURAQ occurred on 26th January 1994; a Manado round-robin requiring six legs.
Having completed my three-month
contract, I shook the dust from my sandals and departed two days afterward for
Phuket, via Singapore.
I had written up a detailed report on my
illegal Christmas Eve sojourn to Singapore, and, until my departure, sat on the
edge of my seat waiting for an official entity to request my report. Neither BOURAQ, nor the Indonesian
Government, nor the Singaporean Government ever contacted me; causing my thick,
detailed report to lie impotently on a shelf and collect dust. Giving me the impression that everybody
wanted to sweep the occurrence under the rug – so the red tape and paperwork
would go away. Good thing I had declared
an “emergency,” for I guess my captain’s emergency authority had paid off;
allowing me to “skate.”
Happily I departed Indonesia for the following reasons:
AVILINK’s four 737s were becoming flying
junk. Mechanical equipment on the
aircraft would fail, as they are programmed to do with use, only instead of
replacing the broken item, it would be “deferred” and we’d be forced to use the
backup system. This is not the safe way
to run an airline. A couple of months
after I left, the Canadian Captain informed me that he had discovered what was
going on. AVILINK in good faith was
sending us parts, however the Filipino mechanics they had hired to maintain our
737s, were selling the parts on the black market to other Indonesian airlines. Ergo our 737s were not getting badly needed
parts and were literally falling apart.
The Indonesians wanton disregard for their
unique wildlife and rain forests was heartbreaking. Out of greed and corruption they couldn’t
destroy either fast enough.
Along these lines, in remote villages of
the West Java Province, they practice “Adu
Bagong,” a violent form of gambling.
This is where they pit wild boars against dogs, in a bamboo encircled
arena, while screaming at the top of their voices in blood lust as the animals tear
each other apart. 
I
found Islam that barbaric, dear reader.
As for the “Dog Meat Trade,” it’s estimated that over one million dogs are butchered yearly throughout the country.
Plus “Animals Australia” claims
that on the beautiful, exotic island of Bali alone over 100,000 dogs are
butchered annually. A lot of these dogs are
stolen, beloved, household pets. Despite
this, dog meat is still considered a delicacy in the Indonesian culture.
Being a dog lover, dear reader, their “culture” horrifies me! Except, I suppose, in reality this is entirely
my own fault. What else should I expect
upon seeking out a “Terry and the Prates” adventure in Southeast Asia.
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