Blog by a guy in Indonesia

[Theresa42]

I stumbled across this blog of a Western guy in Indonesia -- he seems to be a journalist or media person of some sort. His name is Chad and he travelled to North Sumatra and witnessed some poultry culling there -- and met Jones Ginting.

The blog is here:
http://jakartachad.blogspot.com/

Here are some bf high-lights:

Last night I witnessed what is called a ?mass culling? of foul in a one kilometer radius surrounding a positive test for bird flu in a chicken. In a sort of ?shock and awe? raid, dozens of police and army soldiers went into people?s homes and yards, took all of the birds they could find (including caged songbirds), and cut their throats in the streets. The villagers were generally compliant, but I saw several people pulling carcases out of the writhing piles of burlap bags and spiriting them away to be eaten later on. The whole macabre scene was witnessed by a growing parade of curious children ? some were crying, some were laughing, and the youngest seemed to me to be hypnotized in horror.

http://jakartachad.blogspot.com/2006_08_10_jakartachad_archive.html

A journalist I met from Indonesian Metro TV brought me to Jones? house, and when we arrived, he was sleeping. His wife laid out a mat on the tile floor for us to sit and wait while Jonas slept. I offered to come back later, but she said ?But he?s always sleeping. If you go away, he?ll just get up and go back to sleep by the time you return....?

Jones is a very soft spoken guy, and doesn?t have a lot to say about the ordeal. He wants to move on, to raise his two sons, and to take on the responsibilities of the family?s orange grove. For right now, he?s focused on gaining back the 22 pounds he lost during his fever.

http://jakartachad.blogspot.com/2006_08_13_jakartachad_archive.html

The first night I arrived in Kaben Jahe, rumors were circulating that lab tests from five chickens in the area had come back positive for the H5N1 virus. When I arrived at the local health department command post, it was teeming with Indonesian soldiers, police and brown-uniformed medical staff. The driver I had hired from Medan slipped his black Toyota SUV into a parked convoy of military and government vehicles. We waited in the car for an hour while the police and soldiers mustered in formation, passing out protective masks and gloves.

Finally, the group spread out into five teams to cover the five affected areas. Their orders were to kill and collect every domestic bird in a one kilometer radius around the five positive test sites across the district. The birds were killed in the streets in front of their owners. It was brutal, inefficient, and unsanitary in my opinion. Children gathered to watch in curiosity, and came well within the risk area from what I saw. The whole affair was a real nightmare.

http://jakartachad.blogspot.com/2006_08_15_jakartachad_archive.html