Indonesian Gold (49 page)

‘You dance with me,
lah
?' she asked, voiced raised
in competition with the band. Although tempted, he had never learned the steps and had no desire
to learn.

‘No, not tonight.'

‘You stay in this hotel?' she inquired, nestling
closer.

Campbell
finished the
remaining Chivas and, when a waitress appeared he refused another, motioning for the
check.

‘You take me to your room, okay?' the girl insisted,
misreading the signs, gathering the remaining bar nuts in one hand, and shoveling these into her
face with practised speed. Campbell grimaced as her salty palm touched his leg, and he brushed it
aside.

‘Not tonight.'

‘You pay me two hundred
ringgit.
Okay-
lah
?'
she insisted, Campbell silently scoffing at the inflated offer which translated into a hundred
U.S. dollars.

‘I'll give you fifty ringgit,'
he said in Malay, hoping the insult would drive her away.

‘So, you speak Malay, very fluent, ya?'
she seemed pleased.
‘Tell you what, make it one hundred and I will spend
the whole night.'

By now, Campbell's eyes had adjusted to the smoke-filled
surrounds and he could clearly see the girl's face, hard, devoid of any animation, and lavishly
treated with cheap cosmetics. He had seen thousands like it before, lining the roads that
meandered through Jakarta's Ancol red-light district, back in Indonesia. He signed the tab,
extracted a ten-
ringgit
note from his wallet, and placed this in her hand.
‘I have a
wife, upstairs,'
he explained then rose, leaving the bargirl behind examining the crisp note
while one eye roamed the room for another challenge.

Outside, Campbell considered taking a stroll to kill time,
abandoning this idea when confronted by an ankle-twisting array of broken-concrete slabs, lining
the footpath. He checked the time and, as it was still too early to retire, caught a taxi the
short distance to the Hilton Hotel. In introspective mood, he remained propped at the bar
re-examining his feelings for Angela Dau, returning to the Equatorial in the early morning hours,
slightly drunk and none the wiser.

****

Royal-blue banners inscribed with gold lettering had been
affixed to stage curtains and surrounding walls, celebrating the event, the main hotel conference
hall already filled to capacity. Towards the rear where latecomers had been obliged to stand,
journalists' cameras rolled as the conference chairman introduced the first speaker, for the
second day of the conference. The room broke into applause when Angela Dau walked elegantly
across the podium, and curtsied lightly to the Malaysian prince, who had agreed to chair the
proceedings.

Dressed in traditional
kain-kebaya
, the colorful
sarong and lace blouse combination accentuated Angela's beautiful form, the high heels and
meticulously wound hair earning gasps from the younger men sitting in the front rows as she
appeared. ‘
Terima kasih,
your Excellency,' Angela thanked the Prince, and the Malaysian
hosts, then turned to her audience, and smiled. Hushed by her beauty, the predominantly-male
assembly crushed into attentive silence as her eyes roamed the sea of faces, settling finally on
Stewart Campbell

– reassured, when he raised clasped hands in support.
Then, recognizing a number of media representatives that had been introduced earlier, she
deliberately widened her smile in their direction, the hall instantly erupting with dazzling,
electronic flash. Angela's beauty alone was enough to gain her the attention of the crowded hall
but, when she commenced speaking, those in attendance immediately fell under her spell,
captivated by the alluring, husky resonance and conviction in her voice.

‘…and, when we talk of implementing policy to guarantee
environmental integrity, more often than not, social considerations, which are fundamental to the
very survival of many our indigenous groups, are ignored by governments in favor of foreign
investment.' Angela paused. ‘Today, I wish to present, as a case study, how mining has impacted
on the people in my home province of East Kalimantan where, as I speak, women and children are
dying, victims of ignorance – victims of multinational mining interests which are so obviously
devoid of any social conscience.' As she paused, a murmur of concern swept the room. Unfazed,
Angela continued. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, in order to gain a clearer picture of what is happening,
we must identify the driving forces which continuously deliver such disastrous outcomes. I can
state, quite categorically, that amongst the
Penehing Dayaks
of Eastern Kalimantan,
although the ongoing harvesting of forests contributes most to the destruction of our natural
habitat, it is the international mining houses' endless pursuit for gold across our traditional
lands, that consistently threatens the survival of our culture, and directly, the Dayak social
order.'

At the back of the hall, a New Zealand journalist dropped
the lens he was changing, distracting all present. Angela recovered from the interruption then
drew a breath before continuing.

‘It is now possible to measure many of the long term
effects gold mining operations will have on the Mahakam River catchment area and the indigenous
groups that live in these surrounds. But, first, I believe it imperative that we understand more
about this precious metal which, unfortunately for the Dayak people, has been discovered in
abundance throughout our traditional lands – a metal that is, in fact, non-essential to society's
survival, yet manages to generate more harm than good, throughout most societies.

‘More than eighty percent of all gold mined ends up as
jewelry. In short, the metal is almost entirely cosmetic and this, ladies and gentlemen, is the
real tragedy.' Angela glanced at her notes. ‘In the United States of America, for every one ton
of gold produced, there are three million tons of waste rock left to scar the landscape. This is
the home of RTZ-CRA and Anglo-American, which, together, control a third of all global
production. Last year, more than three thousand, six hundred tons of gold were mined, worldwide,
an increase of fifty percent over the past fifteen years, and most at the expense of our
environment and indigenous communities in Asia, Africa and South America.

‘In the distant village of Longdamai where I was born, for
the immediate future, the people can still eat the river fish, without concern. But, if one were
to travel only a hundred kilometers downriver where the foreign miner, Newton International
operates, the situation would drastically change. There, we would find thousands of children in
danger of becoming idiots because they consume mercury-polluted river water or fish caught along
the mighty Mahakam or its tributaries – where dangerous chemicals are used in separation
processes, the residual recklessly discarded, endangering the health of those who live in this
environment. The tailings from the Newton mine leach sulphuric acid, mercury, copper and arsenic
into the river system rendering its water unfit for drink or use. And, wherever mercury is
dumped, bacteria transform the liquid metal into a far more toxic form of methyl mercury. Almost
all of the village children tested in the past year have ten to twenty times the normal levels of
mercury in their systems. Young children suffering muscle weakness, breathing difficulties and
blurred vision is not uncommon, because economic expediency over environmental considerations are
turning the once pristine Mahakam eco-system into an unsafe habitat for us all.

‘But, contamination comes in other forms as well. The
influx of transmigrant laborers and their families from Java and Madura has created overwhelming
social and health problems amongst the indigenous peoples, many of whom have now been forcibly
resettled to accommodate mining operations on their soil. This has led to numerous outbreaks of
cholera, and the introduction of sexually transmitted diseases. Now, when we walk through the
back alleys of our provincial capital we find children of ten and twelve years working as
prostitutes, and once-proud landowners having lost their traditional land, begging at the side of
the road. Of course, gold has always been…'

Angela continued, her spellbound audience unaware that she
was now using her father's words, as she went on to describe how Dominion Mining had arrived,
unannounced, and proceeded to desecrate the
Penehing-Dayaks'
most sacred site.

****

Stewart Campbell remained transfixed, engrossed in her
emotive presentation, amazed with Angela's apparent oratory skills as she built her argument,
while reaching out and touching the delegates so deeply. Spontaneous applause frequently
interrupted the proceedings as indigenous Malays, Filipinos and Thai groups, recognizing issues
so close to their own hearts, acknowledged Angela's courage in raising these, at so public a
forum.

‘…and, it is an unfortunate fact that most of the of the
so-called ‘new gold' is being produced here, in South East Asian countries, because of our
governments' less stringent waste minimization requirements. Ironically, with my fellow Asians
responsible for more than seventy percent of all gold jewelry purchases, we are guilty of
creating the very demand that drives the multinationals to our shores and we should, therefore,
shoulder some of the responsibility.'

Campbell
checked his wrist for
the time, staggered to discover that she had already been speaking for the best part of an hour.
Turning his attention back to the dais where Angela's hypnotic effect continued to captivate, he
smiled, an intimate thought passing through his mind and he closed his eyes, briefly, allowing
Angela's velvet voice to fill his ears.

‘I therefore call upon the mining industry, both foreign
and domestic to take radical steps to curb the deadly social and environmental impacts unleashed
upon our communities.
Terima kasih.'
Angela closed, thanked the audience and bowed
respectfully in the direction of the Malaysian Prince, the hall exploding into tumultuous
applause as delegates rose to reward her with a standing ovation.

Campbell
felt nothing but
adoration as she stood before her peers, her adrenaline-filled face ablaze with confidence,
savoring this most important milestone in her career. Thronged as she stepped down from the dais
to make her way to the back of the hall, Campbell kept his distance permitting Angela to respond
to the barrage of eager journalists, impressed as she addressed a number of foreign
correspondents in fluent stride. Finally, observing that the Press was done, he approached,
clapping politely as he stood before her.
‘Well, you certainly made an impression – and won
more than a few hearts!'

Angela beamed.
‘To tell the truth, I was terrified when
I stepped onto the dais. Then, when I made my first comments about the multinationals, I wasn't
all that confident that the delegates would be as supportive as they were. I'm really pleased
with their response, Stewart.'
She placed her hand on his arm.
‘How do you think it went –
did I make many mistakes?'

Campbell
smiled reassuringly.
‘I'm sure tomorrow's papers will be filled with nothing but accolades.They all fell in love
with you.'

Angela laughed, and pinched his arm, affectionately.
‘Including the

Prince?'

‘Including his royal highness or excellency or
whatever…'
he teased.
‘Say, Angela, do you plan on attending
the remaining lectures?'

‘There are a few speakers I wouldn't want to miss.
Why?'

‘No, it's just that I thought we could take some time to
have a look around the city, take in some of the sights. Perhaps even celebrate?'

Angela mused before responding then, indicating her
costume,
‘I'd like to change out of this. There's another presentation I'm keen to attend
before lunch, and the other around three this afternoon.Why don't we meet for lunch then I'll go
to the other session and, when it's finished, take a look around the city
together?'

‘Great,'
Campbell
was pleased.
‘We can grab a sandwich, poolside,
if you like?'

Angela considered this.
‘The pool is tempting.'
Then, as an idea came to mind,
‘Stewart, I haven't been swimming for months.Why don't we meet
at the pool, say, around four when the last session is finished, take a swim and then go
sight-seeing later?'

‘
What about lunch?
'

‘I'll join the other delegates for the buffet. That way,
I'll be able to clear everything so we can have the rest of the time here to
ourselves.'

Campbell
knew he could not
refuse, recognizing that Angela was still pumped with success, and would enjoy the moment amongst
her peers.
‘Okay, that's fine. It wouldn't do me any harm to attend some of the other
discussion groups.The pool it is, then. We can have a swim then go for an early dinner. I have
something I want to show you.'

****

For Angela, the day continued to reward. Given the
opportunity to meet and mingle with respected environmentalists, geologists and politicians, she
quickly realized the value of networking, openly soliciting commitments for future communications
from many of the delegates. Also, in response to her own presentation, Angela found herself
included in general discussion – flattered by the recognition, as she had not expected any real
support, in what had traditionally been a male-dominated, mining world. Angela had been
deliberately provocative in her address, and was pleased to observe that she had at least sparked
some semblance of open debate amongst the few female delegates present.