The Burqini...

The burqini as a fashion statement might not warrant much discussion, but it seems as a practical garment for swimming that allows Muslim women and girls to enjoy the wonders of water whether it be in a swimming pool or at the beach has become a bit of a flash point, at least in France.

The burqini is a head-to-toe swimsuit that apparently meets all the strict dress requirements for Muslim women to be seen in public. It was designed by an Australian, Aheda Zanetti, and would appear, at least to my unfashionable eye, to be a practical solution to the issue at hand.

However, it would seem that the French are somewhat more fashionable that I and have banned the burqini from being worn in French swimming pools. The reason, the suit is unhygienic, and therefore it is a public health issue. I am wondering exactly what hygiene issues are involved that would make the wearing of the burqini in a public pool any less hygienic than a naughty 10-year-old taking a pee in the pool.

Yet, it would seem that the rationale is that larger garments would conceivably carry more bacteria. This sounds pretty weak as an argument considering the last time I swam in a public pool it was like jumping into a bottle of chlorine. Then again, I am not a scientist with knowledge of the intricacies of burqini hygiene.

Interestingly, reports out of France say that the move as received widespread support from the French population and there has not been a significant backlash form French Muslims in response to the ban.

The Mayor of a regional Italian town, Varallo Sesia, has also banned the burqini from the local swimming pool as well. The reason is also related to hygiene matters. However, the mayor is also a member of a party that is staunchly anti-immigration and his comments might suggest that there is more at play than just hygiene.

The mayor is alleged to have said words to the effect that the sight of a masked woman at a swimming pool would scare young children, and imagine a western woman wearing a bikini in a Muslim nation as she would be at risk of decapitation, among other punishments. The idea being that the local mayor is only banning the wearing of the burqini and not arresting or punishing its wearers.

Are these valid arguments? Or, would the governments seeking to ban the wearing of the burqini be better served by continuing to trot out the hygiene excuse and ratchet that up with a few scientific studies?

Life in a multicultural world.

Food Quality -- Jakarta

This is scary but is it all that surprising? Food quality is an important issue, particularly food hygiene and how it is handled and disposed of.

The Deputy Governor of Jakarta, Prijanto, has called on the community to be more vigilant and to report irregularities. This call to action comes after rotten meat was found in local markets. As a matter of interest who remembered that Prijanto was the Deputy Governor of Jakarta. Has anyone heard his name uttered since he was chosen to be the No. 2?

This is scary because I try and do the right thing and buy local, support my local community, and buy my fresh food stuffs from local market vendors. My local market does not sell Vegemite and other "essentials" so I have to go to a supermarket for some of the basic necessities.

This is also not surprising when one considers there was a bit of an uproar when it was publicly confirmed that bakso sellers were treating their meatballs with formaldehyde to make the meat last longer.

The basic complaints in the market meat trade are that the meat is not fresh or that some vendors actually dye pork meat red and then sell it off as beef. The big concern is that some unscrupulous vendors are visiting garbage dumps where it is known that hotels and restaurants dump their out-of-date meat and the vendors then collect it for "recycling". Recycling in this sense means that the meat is dyed to make it look fresh, repackaged, and then sold as fresh meat. This certainly gives new meaning to the idea of waste not want not.

It is worth noting that this is reasonably big business as the repackaged meat can be sold for up to IDR 100,000. This makes recycled meat a nice little income earner. The health benefits aside of course. And with Eid approaching the fresh meat market is likely to see prices spiral even higher. Funnily enough the government has warned people to be wary of low-priced meat. But, there is nothing low-priced about meat selling at IDR 100,000 per kilo.

It seems that the beef market is not the only one where unscrupulous traders are operating. The government is also reporting that it has found inflated chickens in the Kemiri Muka market. Inflated chickens sound like some kind of fetish sex toy. However, it turns out that vendors are sealing the chickens and then using a bicycle tyre pump to inflate the chickens to make them look a little better fed than they really are. It must be noted that inflated chickens are probably not the same health risk that rotten meat is.

Some might think that I am being critical of Indonesia and wonder why I hate Indonesia so, and if I hate Indonesia so then why do I choose to live here and stay here. For those of you pondering such deep philosophical questions, here is my answer. I am writing about things that interest me. Sometimes these musings might paint a less that stellar picture of Jakarta, but this should never be construed as me hating Jakarta or thinking anything less of Jakarta or her citizens. To the contrary, it is these very experiences that make Jakarta what it is. Can it be frustrating, yes! But these frustrations are not just frustrations for foreigners, they are frustrations endured (enjoyed) by Indonesians as well.

Peace!