Among them was a middle-aged man supported by two broken sticks. His legs were bent permanently beneath him by accident or disease, and it took him five minutes to cross the room, collect his ballot...

Later on, I read the end of the New Order described as being ‘like sex without orgasm’. It was an unmomentous a historic moment as could be imagined – perfunctory, anti-climactic and unconvincing.

Just before we left, Jean said, ‘You know what else? Falintil is here. They’re not armed, but they’re keeping an eye on things. Can you spot them?’ I peered among the hill people, and thought...

Sebagai republik yang merdeka, Indonesia berusia lima puluh tahun, tetapi kedengaran lebih mirip sebuah kekaisaran tak terkendali daripada sebuah negara bangsa modern.

Tapi, Indonesia menyimpan terlalu banyak rahasia. Dan keanekaragamannya pun amat kelewatan…

Once again, I was conscious of the paradox of the compound: that here, at the heart of the unfolding events, we could catch no more than a glimpse of them. Fires were burning all over...