The Fifth Season (55 page)

‘They look like they have been waiting a long time,'
Hani said, now well enough to stand by herself and walk around the fishing boat unaided.

Mary Jo continued to peer across at the closer ships. Their markings were quite different, and she could see that a number of the vessels had been subjected to fire. As they came even closer, Mary Jo observed the general appearance of the newcomers, concluding that these refugees had already been through some difficult moments. She waved and was rewarded with a number of lethargic responses. Mary Jo had taken photos of the new arrivals, using her telephoto lens to confirm her suspicions that this group had been at sea considerably longer than her own.

‘
They're all Chinese,'
Budi said, matter-of-factly, and Mary Jo looked puzzled with the statement.

‘How can you tell?'
she asked, but Budi just smiled, then looked at his father. Mary Jo tried again.
‘Are there many in our fleet that aren't Chinese?'

Budi shook his head. ‘
Most of our group are also Chinese,'
he answered, and although she could tell that he was not comfortable with these questions, Mary Jo pressed ahead.

‘And you don't like the Chinese?'
she asked, her voice lowered.

‘They're all right,'
he replied, looking around to see if they were overheard.

‘Did you have any Chinese friends back in Sukabumi?'
Mary Jo noticed that Budi avoided her eyes when he responded.

‘Not many,'
he said, his voice becoming sullen. She looked at Hani, then back at Budi's father, and decided to let it go. But then Hani offered an opinion.

‘They are not liked,'
she said.

‘Why?'
Mary Jo asked, genuinely wishing to know more. She had discussed Indonesia's ethnic and racial differences with Anne in depth over the past two years and had always sensed that her assistant had held back.

On other occasions, whenever Mary Jo had raised the issues with Indonesians of varying ethnic and social backgrounds, she had found considerable resistance to any open discussion regarding racism.

‘The Chinese control the shops, the businesses, everything!'
Hani replied, emphatically.
‘We resent the power they have over us and their wealth. It is
because of them that Indonesia now suffers as it does.'

Mary Jo was surprised by her candor.
‘Did you have any Chinese
friends, Hani?'
she asked, curious when the young woman shook her head, shrugged, then said nothing more. There was an awkward silence and Mary Jo decided to let the subject drop, recognizing that Hani's small family of three were not all that comfortable amongst the others, experiencing for the first time in their lives what it was like to be part of a minority group. Later, Mary Jo broached the subject again when Hani asked about her work as a journalist.

‘Do you think people outside Indonesia care about what's happening to my
country?'
Hani had asked. Mary Jo had given her some background, filling in time as the long, monotonous hours dragged by, each the same as the one before.

‘I'm sure they do,'
she replied.

‘Why didn't they come and help us?'

‘They did, in a way,'
Mary Jo answered.
‘They gave loans, billions of dollars in fact.'

‘No, I meant why didn't they come and help us stop the fighting?'
Mary Jo squinted in the sun as she raised her head to look the younger woman directly in the eye.

‘Whose side would they have taken, Hani?'

‘Side?'
she said,
‘they shouldn't take sides, just stop the fighting, that's all.'

The naïve response brought a mirthless smile to Mary Jo's lips.

‘But that wouldn't resolve anything,'
she parried,
‘would it?'

‘Why don't the Americans come and help,'
she asked, sidestepping the question.

‘Why should we?'
Mary Jo challenged.

‘You sent your soldiers to fight against Saddam, when he attacked other
Moslems. Is it because of the oil?

‘That was different, Hani,'
she decided to explain, difficult as it was with her limited vocabulary.
‘Saddam Husein has dangerous weapons, weapons
that can kill many, many people. And it wasn't just the Americans who fought
against Saddam. It was the United Nations.'

‘Isn't that the same thing?'

‘No,'
Mary Jo managed, mirth creeping into her response,
‘but I agree
that it often seems that way.'

‘Are you going to write about us?'
Hani asked, changing the direction of the conversation again.

‘You bet,'
she smiled.
‘The world is going to know all about you, and the
others on these boats, I promise you,'
Mary Jo answered, emphatically.

‘How?'

‘Believe me, I'll make sure.'

‘How will that help us?'
Hani wanted to know.

‘It probably won't. But at least it will help others.'
Hani looked around at the other refugees.

‘Why help them?'
she asked, dropping her voice. ‘They're Chinese!'

‘Seems to me, Hani, they are the ones who really need the world to know
what is happening.'
Wishing to explore further, she took control of the conversation now. ‘
Their churches have been burned, their homes and shops
destroyed, and many have been killed. How do you feel about that?'
Hani thought for a moment, then shrugged.

‘Why should I feel guilty about what's happened to them? It was they who
corrupted the nation.'

‘How can you say that and believe it?'
Mary Jo challenged again.

‘Because it's true. At least they won't have any trouble when we arrive in
Australia. Do you think we will also be permitted to stay?'

‘I don't know, Hani, perhaps. Why do you think that you might have trouble?'

‘If we were Chinese, they would let us stay,'
she answered, confident that this was true. Hani waved to Budi and his father, standing at the far end of the vessel talking.

‘How do you know that for sure?'

‘It's true, Mary Jo. Many of us heard about the Australian Prime Minister's
statement on radio. When the riots first broke out in Jakarta, the foreign press
made it appear that only Chinese shops and people were being hurt by what was
happening. He said that Australia would accept any Chinese from Indonesia
who wanted to stay in Australia. Do you think that's fair?'

‘Are you sure he really said that?'

‘Yes. I'm sure. That's why we worry that, when we arrive, they will send us
back.'

‘I'm sure that if the others can stay, so will you, Hani,'
Mary Jo tried to reassure her but could see from Hani's uncertain expression that she would remain troubled until after their arrival in Australia. Mary Jo felt disturbed by Hani's obsession that Chinese in her country had been given preferen-tial treatment over the indigenous peoples. From her travels, she knew this to be untrue, for in every small town and village she had visited, Mary Jo had witnessed for herself the number of Chinese whose lives remained a difficult struggle. And now, having been at the sharp end of the murderous vigilante attacks, they were still to be blamed for being what they were.

She glanced around the overcrowded boat, uncertain as to who on board might fall into this category.

But try as she may, Mary Jo could not determine, simply by looking, who amongst those on board were of Chinese extraction, and who were not. Everybody had black hair. Although some may have commenced the voyage with slightly paler skin, exposure to the harsh conditions had soon remedied that. Deciding to let the conversation go for the time being, her energy sapped by the shortage of food and sleep, Mary Jo did as the others and slept during the midday heat, dozing off as the fishing-boat, in harmony with hundreds of others, hummed along slowly, making its way towards the Australian coast.

She slept, only to be awaken when someone shouted, warning another vessel that it was in danger of coming too close, alongside. Mary Jo stirred, climbed to her feet and went to the rear of the boat to wait her turn to use the open toilet which, by now, she had mastered carrying out her ablutions without embarrassment or shame.

Then, she inspected her equipment, noting that the scribble-pads were full and now had nothing left on which to write. Hopefully, they would reach landfall soon. Mary Jo cast her eyes ahead, hoping that their captain's information was accurate and that they would arrive at their destination in less than a week. Then she looked back at Hani and the others, pondering what might await these people who had fled their homeland, in search of racial and religious tolerance in Australia.

The Prime Minister considered the statement, then directed his question to the Defence Minister.

‘Where is the American Seventh Fleet at this time?'

‘Still steaming around south of the Philippines,' the politician replied.

‘They will not intervene unless we make a specific request for their help.'

Those at the meeting had always believed that, when tested, the ANZUS

Treaty might prove embarrassing to the Americans, considering their vested interests in countries to Australia's north.

‘What do we have in Darwin?'

‘We have two frigates already standing by off the Northern Territory. These are the ‘Darwin,' and the ‘Melbourne'. As for destroyers, well the ‘Hobart' will arrive some time today but the ‘Perth' and ‘Brisbane' will not get there until the end of the week. The Prime Minister knew that these ships were all equipped with state of the art guided missile systems. ‘As for patrol boats,' the Cabinet Minister continued, ‘we now have eight stationed permanently in Darwin, four on temporary duty in Broome and another two operating from Port Hedland.' The Fremantle Class Patrol Boats had been more visible than other Australian navy ships, as these were deployed to patrol Australia's extensive northern coastline, and Economic Exclusion Zone.

‘How do they stand up against the Indonesian ships?' the Prime Minister asked, wondering how the country could afford such a fleet, when even Australia struggled to maintain such a small navy.

‘Well, satellite intelligence shows that the Indonesian fleet consists of three frigates and five corvettes. The latter are all part of the former East German Fleet purchased after the Soviet collapse. These are not equipped with any surface-to-surface missile systems but the frigates are a different story. We have identified all three ships. Two are former Van Speijk class from the Netherlands. They are armed with Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles and the third is a former Yugoslav Fatahillah class ship armed with Exocet missiles. We all know from the Falklands what these can do.' He turned and looked at the others present, as if soliciting support for his next statement. ‘I believe that the Indonesian ships are well enough armed to represent a real threat but our ships could deal with them if a confrontation occurs.'

The majority of those present nodded sagely in concurrence, believing that had it been the Indonesians' intention to threaten, then they would have sent their entire fleet.

‘Then you agree with the Director, here?' the Prime Minister asked, indicating the security chief. His earlier assessment suggested that the Indonesian warships, identified by satellite as traveling towards Australia, had been deliberately delayed until the massive refugee fleet was closer to Australia's shores.

‘Yes, I'm afraid that I do,' the Minister confirmed. ‘The picture would be clearer if only we could determine what's really happening between Muis and Winarko. If these ships are under Abdul Muis' control, then we have a most serious problem. If they're not, then what are they up to?

Winarko certainly would not have sent them down in our direction without first alerting us as to his intentions. That's why I believe that these warships are part of some ploy Muis has initiated.'

‘But why only send less than half of their ships?' the Foreign Affairs Minister interrupted.

‘Because they don't want to show their hand,' the intelligence chief offered.

‘Let's face it, we're not about to send our navy out to destroy the refugee ships en masse, are we?' he asked, rhetorically. ‘It would be unwise for us to ignore the possibility that there could be a significant number of well armed, devout
Mufti Muharam
followers amongst the refugees. If the warships are, as we believe, under Abdul Muis' orders, then we must assume that he has decided to take advantage of the mass exodus, to gain a foothold on Australian soil. We estimate that the refugees could number as many as one hundred thousand in this wave. What if Muis has been able to disguise say, two or three thousand of his faithful followers amongst the others. I doubt if all those on board are Chinese. It is my department's assessment that the Indonesian Navy ships are there as escorts, that with the landing of such an incredible number Abdul Muis would have established a foothold without so much as firing a shot. He is very clever, and we should not underestimate this man.' He looked around to see if they had understood and, from their grim expressions, it was clear that they had. For many years Australians had been relatively ignorant regarding their neighbors in Asia. When the man on the street finally recognized that they lived in a Moslem world, with the largest Islamic population of almost two hundred million breathing down their necks, they panicked.

‘Then we agree that a full blockade is the only answer?' the Prime Minister asked, seriously concerned with the possibility that fundamentalist Moslems now threatened Australia's security. He had graphic images in his mind of how far the militant Moslems could go once they had established a foothold on Australian soil. The events of the past year had demonstrated that the
Mufti Muharam
had little respect for other than their own. The last major blood-letting during the mid-Sixties had resulted in some half a million Indonesians being killed during the anti-Communist sweeps. Conservative estimates had the
Mufti Muharam's
running toll at in excess of three million, most of whom were of Chinese descent.