Doing Interaction
to Observe Sumba
Follow-up Activities
of Social Analysis Training
Field observation and direct interaction with people to gather
information is one way to observe Sumba, as studied in the social analysis
training held a few days ago. Based on the group divison done before, each
group will work on a certain-chosen topic issue, as the follow up activity.
Many interesting things were found because what people
thought in the beginning was not always the same with the actual ones. Next, interviews
were conducted by participants, allowing them either to understand the real
issue or the character of the respondents that were so diverse.
There was an interesting experience when a follow-up group in
Inpres market did interviews because one of the participants, Elsy, got
splashed water poured down by a person from one upper floor. It seemed as a means
to make the hot weather cooling down. The reason that made us proud was their
passion to meet and interact with Inpres market traders, although the traders
sometimes refused to be interviewed realted with the unclear management of the
market. Evensome of them refused to give comment on the problem because of
fear.
One group that observed the farmers’ live in Mauliru found
out that many farmers had mortgaged their fields to meet their immediate needs
and had no way out except selling the mortgaged paddy. Generally they mortgaged
their fields to rich people or
government officials, thereby they easily released their fields at low prices
just because they needed money to fulfill custom. Consequently, they might be laborers on their own lands.
A group that observed scavengers, stated that many of the
scavengers were in early age. In that case, they lost their playing time to
help their parents due to economic pressures. Throughout the investigation, the
participants did not find any child scavengers who leave school, but they did
not have time like other normal kids. Furthermore, this group gathered people
who were concerned with education. They teached the little scavengers and gave
reading books and some stationery.
The group which’s concerned with ‘Ijon’ found some facts that
many people in Lewa depended on crops middlemen. Formerly, Lewa was supposed to
be a food granary, however it become a food insecure region. It’s caused by people
borrowing money or goods to the middleman had to pay 100% interest. This was
one example that made people Lewa remains on poverty line.
The student observer groups tried to get accurate data to be
presented in front of the members of the new house of representatives, as a
program reference that can be implemented. Wish it be useful.
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