Talking to Chimene Hickey in Seminyak Bali

Chimene Hickey is an old friend of mine who I have known going back to 1988 in Santa Barbara California. She has lived for a total of 5 years in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra which had a flash flood in late 2003 which wiped out 90% of the village.

Baliblog: Chimene you are back in Bali, how long are you here for?
Chimene: I am in Indonesia for a month.

Baliblog: Last time you were in Indonesia what did you do and see?
Chimene: Well last time I was in Sumatra in Bukit Lawang because I used to live there for a long time and I went back because there was a flash flood that happened on November 2nd 2003 which destroyed the whole town and killed a lot of people. Its similar to what happened with the tsunami on December 26th, but just to 1 village. So I went back to help raise some money for them and I went back to give it to people and check in with them. It was a difficult situation, the village was gone except for a few scattered bungalows here and there, but pretty much everything was destroyed and everybody was homeless and no livelihood and lost a lot of family and friends and a very difficult situation. So I went back to check in on them.

Baliblog: How were they?
Chimene: Well they were mixed because it had been about 3 months since the flood happened when I got there they were having a 100 day ceremony. In the muslim religion after something happens 100 afterwards they have a ceremony that is kind of like letting go. You know &#37we have moved on&#37 to the next phase of recovery. So that was where they were. They were no longer in a state of emergency like the people in Sumatra who hit by the tsunami, they were living in little shelters the government had made, kind of makeshift houses in the next door village. They were basic 10&#37 by 10&#37 boxes made of plywood that everyone was living in. They were getting donations of rice and pots and pans, clothes and basic necessities, so they had moved forward but they were still in shock still traumatized and still sad and desperate. They were in a very difficult situation.

Baliblog: You were helping to collect financial aid.
Chimene: Yes.

Baliblog: Tell us about that. The mechanism and name of the organization and how you went about it.
Chimene: Well how I went about it was I wrote a letter and sent it out to everybody that I knew that my family knew and I explained what happened in Bukit Lawang and the situation and that people needed help. I asked everyone to contribute whatever they could if it was $10 or $100 or $1,000, whatever they felt like they could give to help the people. I sent the letter out via the internet and I got 56 people who contributed and people contributed anywhere from $5 to $5,000. We raised a total of $11,000. I gave half the money away last year and this year I am giving away the other half.

Baliblog: If people want to donate this time how do they go about it?
Chimene: Well they can contact me. My email address is: chimene25@hotmail.com and basically they sent me checks or I set up a Paypal account people contributed through Paypal. I would either bring that money over or send it to friends in Bukit Lawang to distribute it.

Baliblog: How was it distributed when you got there?
Chimene: Well I did it twice. The first round of distribution was by sending money to friends of min e who were living there and I specified a lot of people that I had known who had lost their house and lost their family, so my friends distributed it. The second round when I got there I spoke with a friend of mine who is from the village was born and raised there and knows everybody. I asked her basically to help me figure out who to give it to and the criteria was I wanted to give it to people who needed it more like people who did not have western contacts already, who did not have much outside help and who had lost a lot of family members or who had a lot of kids. You know people living in the government housing, but it was very difficult because everybody was in need, everybody lost family, home etc. Its just hard to decide. I was a difficult situation but I asked my friend Embot to help me and basically its a delicate situation because I am going in there with a lot of money and there is a lot of people who need help. So if I were to go and advertise Hey I got money, I am inviting trouble. So I had to keep very quiet about it and only tell a few people that I had money, that I was there to help and just try to keep it on the down-low and also it would not be good if I went around passing out money. I tired to do it behind the scenes basically through my friend Embot and we went and got like 30 envelopes, we gave money to 30 different families. Embot went around on the quiet, visited the families and gave them envelopes and said it was from friends in America who helping. So I did it through her.

Baliblog: Do you know the response from the people who received money?
Chimene: Well people were very grateful. A lot of them came up and thanked me personally, you know they need a lot of help its a hard situation you know nobody wants to be in the position of having to beg for their livelihood. When everything is taken away from you what else can you do. People were very grateful.

Baliblog: So you have been back once since the disaster.
Chimene: Once and this is the second time.

Baliblog: What were your thoughts when you saw tv footage of the tsunami recently?
Chimene: Oh its just devastating you know, I was just sad, just really sad. It reminded me of all of the emotions that I went through with Bukit Lawang because it was the same story, except that was the ocean and Bukit Lawang was the river. Its the same effect you know, it killed a lot of people and left a lot of people with nothing. My heart just went out to those people.

Baliblog: When you got to Bukit Lawang the first time after the event the destruction must have wiped out half the village right?
Chimene: It wiped out 90% of the village.

Baliblog: That disaster it must of taken only a few minutes.
Chimene: It took 15 minutes basically and compounding it that it happened at night time. It was like 9.30pm and so it was pitch black and there is electricity in the village now but within minutes it was all destroyed and people could not even see anything. You can imagine the chaos all they could hear was this wall of water, they could hear this like, monster coming at them. The people who survived the tsunami now describe the sound as almost deafening. So basically within 15 minutes the water rose to their knees then their stomachs then over their heads and tearing the buildings down. People did not really have time to react, a lot of strong smart people that you would think would be able to escape, could not escape.

Baliblog: Did the amount of destruction surprise you when you visited?
Chimene: You know I had seen it in pictures so I kind of expected it. I guess I was somewhat prepared but when I got there and looked around and there was just nothing in the place that used to be the village and the bus stop and this and that it was just leveled. So it was shocking, I do not know how really prepared you can be for that. You can have a concept but its not the same until you see it with your own eyes. Then to hear all the stories, everybody pulled me aside and told me what happened to them that night and how they have been coping with it. It was just very sad, a lot of sad stories.

Baliblog: Do you have any special goals this time? To do anything different than the last trip or continue in the same direction?
Chimene: Well its a bit of both. In the last visit what I did was to give money directly to the families and let them decide what they were going to do with it because people know what they need. They know what they need more than I do, they just do not have any money to get it so I gave them money to spend as they needed to. I would like to continue to do that this time but then I would also like to use some of the money to invest in infrastructure for the village, something that is good not only for individual families but is good for the community as a whole. I do not really have a specific idea in mind, I need to go and check out the situation and see what they have done and what they need. I figure its their village and so they should have an idea of what they need, more than I do just coming in there for a week every year. Last year they were telling me about this organization called Bukit Lawang Forum which was basically a group of leaders who were getting together and representing Bukit Lawang to the outside world, so I am hoping they still have that going and have generated some ideas regarding what they need. So that is kind of what I am aiming for. Like I said I am not going to know until I get there, but I would like to check out what they are doing about the water system, sanitation system, because when I there last they had a few toilets for hundreds of families and they were overflowing within days and that is not healthy.

Baliblog: Are you excited to be back in Indonesia?
Chimene: I am. It is nice to be back in Indonesia although I am kind of nervous honestly. Bali is kind of easy, nice to be here and visiting with friends and doing business etc. but about Sumatra I am nervous, because first of all with the tsunami over 100,000 people are dead and it is a hard thing to walk into even though I am not going to be in the center of it I am not far and I will be with people just went through the same thing last year and who are still not on their feet totally. I am walking in with money, I have given money away before and so people will have a pretty good idea that I am coming with more money. An Indonesian friend of mine said you are like honey, you are sweet and everybody wants to get a piece of you. That is hard, you know, I am not just a regular person and there is a lot more that people need than I can provide so its hard to decide who and where to give to. On the one hand I am really glad to be able to help, on the other it is really emotionally taxing.

Baliblog: For a person who has never been to Sumatra but has been to Bali and is contemplating visiting Sumatra what are the differences in a nutshell, and especially for a backpacker what precautions should they take and what things should they do different?
Chimene: Well I would say Bali is a lot more built up and luxurious than Sumatra. Sumatra is more wild, its covered with jungle, people live in little simple huts, it is a lot poorer. Bali has a lot more infrastructure so for your average backpacker Bali is like a kind of paradise. Its easy and beautiful and Sumatra is more rustic but I find people to be warmer in Sumatra and they are really very friendly, beautiful people. Many people invite you into their house and they just sincerely just want a western friend, they are curios about you. So precautions, I mean you have got to watch your back and keep your ear to the ground always but its pretty safe except for Medan and stuff you have got to like watch yourself but basically they are very nice people. Sumatra is fascinating its more third world than Bali, so for back packers it might be even a little bit more interesting in that sense. Its definitely not as culturally rich in terms of all the dances and everything as Bali, but nature wise its fantastic.

Baliblog: As a backpacker should you be concerned about your safety, apart from natural disasters?
Chimene: Not really, I mean in Medan yes, in the capital city yeah, I mean there is a lot of thugs in any city in Asia so you know, but I would say not overly I never felt in danger in Sumatra, its fine. Nice people. I would not worry too much just be an aware traveler, but you got to be aware anywhere you are. Sumatra is just a little more off the beaten track than Bali so some people are hesitant to go I would suggest they go its wonderful.

Baliblog: After Sumatra what are your plans?
Chimene: Well after that I m going to come back and finish of my business in Bali and then go home to California and be an aunt.

Baliblog: What goods do you specialize in?
Chimene: I specialize in sarongs of all sorts and mens clothing and jewelry and natural paper note books, journals, masks.

Baliblog: So if someone in Sydney Australia wants you to ship them some stuff, can you?
Chimene: Sure just send me an email. I do not have a web-site yet, but its coming.

Baliblog: Chimene thank you for your answers and good luck helping the people in Bukit Lawang.

• Meeting Chimene in Seminyak Bali
• Tuesday October 19th 2004 in Kuta Bali
• Flash floods cause havoc in East Java
• Exploring other islands in Indonesia
• Meeting Chimene and Jana in Globe Cafe Kerobokan Bali

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