No anti-colonial spirit was to be found in Indonesia and
Timor during the world cup. Across all generations the support for their
previous colonial masters was out loud and noisy. So many travellers commented
on how unexpected it is, to see the colonial nation celebrated. There seemed to
be no reflection on why they would support those, who they fought for
centuries, to get away from.
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Photo: Bunaken island’s village. There is the Netherlands’
flag with blue, the German flag and ?
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When in Dili, two lovely Singaporean women almost missed
their boat taxi to Atauro because their taxi didn’t show up. We all assumed
that the taxi had been at the Portugal game that had been on that morning. In
Dili, live games began at 4am and crowds attended cafes and crowded into homes.
Breakfast events were promoted by some restaurants. The Portuguese flag was out
everywhere. Including young gangs riding motorbikes through the city waving
their flags and generally being a boisterous convivial nuisance. In Sulawesi,
local staff were totally obsessed with the Netherlands. Also Brazil and German
flags were flying but in Sulawesi the majority support was for their previous
Dutch colonial master.
It would be like Australians barracking for the Poms in
cricket or league or union. Never gonna happen, hey. Except it’s not like that,
as Australians have the option of their own country. We can only wait for the Indonesian
nationalism that will come with Indonesia’s first World Cup team. Surely the
colonial powers will be ditched if a local team option existed. Would Timorese barrack for an Indonesian team?
Not inconceivable, despite the 24 year war fought for their independence but it
seemed like Portugal fanatics would remain the majority for years to come.
