We’d lived in Aceh for a year and it was increasingly obvious that politics favoured the Javanese. Don wrote to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta pointing out that virtually all the students given Colombo plan scholarships to come to Australia were from Java. The ambassador wrote back inviting Don to select four students from the university in Aceh. So it was that Djufri, Muchtar, Rusli and Dahlan ended up in Australia. Djufri studied Veterinary Science in Brisbane and the other three Commerce in Melbourne.
Dahlan’s formal name was Teuku Dahlan, an Acehnese honorific, equivalent of Tengku in Malaysia. His sons would also be Teuku and his daughter, Cut. Incidentally when Dahlan was having difficulty in finding accommodation, my brother-in-law told someone looking for an Australian boarder, that Dahlan was actually a sort of prince. He was accepted without a backward glance and the fact that a prince washed the dishes was a source of great pride.
Back to Cut. Thirty years later, we had a letter from Dahlan suggesting that his daughter Cut (she did have another name, Magfirah) come and spend a month with us and it was only because we were so dear to him, that he would entrust her to us.
We arranged to have her met at the plane and taken to the Wodonga train and thus it was that we met a very cold, very apprehensive Cut in the middle of June 1995. Half an hour later she was at her new home in Tallangatta.
Dahlan’s formal name was Teuku Dahlan, an Acehnese honorific, equivalent of Tengku in Malaysia. His sons would also be Teuku and his daughter, Cut. Incidentally when Dahlan was having difficulty in finding accommodation, my brother-in-law told someone looking for an Australian boarder, that Dahlan was actually a sort of prince. He was accepted without a backward glance and the fact that a prince washed the dishes was a source of great pride.
Back to Cut. Thirty years later, we had a letter from Dahlan suggesting that his daughter Cut (she did have another name, Magfirah) come and spend a month with us and it was only because we were so dear to him, that he would entrust her to us.
We arranged to have her met at the plane and taken to the Wodonga train and thus it was that we met a very cold, very apprehensive Cut in the middle of June 1995. Half an hour later she was at her new home in Tallangatta.
We had Nasi Goreng for dinner and then added an extra blanket or two to her bed.
The next day we were off to our Op. Shop to purchase several warm jumpers. That night we taught Cut to play Rummy which she really enjoyed – no obligation to continually get her English right and a chance to show her competitive spirit. It wasn’t the last game of Rummy that we had.
It was the second last day of the school holidays so we visited a couple of friends with daughters who would be in Cut’s class to introduce her and ask them to keep a lookout for her. School returned and I walked over with Cut and we found her classroom. The school had been very flexible and were happy to have her when she wasn’t elsewhere. She came home excited and reported that she’d had lunch with Bethany.
Don and I were teaching weekly Indonesian classes at a couple of primary schools and we took Cut along once or twice, much to the joy of the students. I was also teaching at the army barracks and enjoyed taking her there on one occasion.
We visited the Guides who met over the road, the Indonesian who taught language at the high school and other families who were keen to make friends. We visited the bush and Ettamogah Sanctuary with emus and kangaroos. We went to the snow at Falls Creek and made a snowman and threw snowballs.
The next day we were off to our Op. Shop to purchase several warm jumpers. That night we taught Cut to play Rummy which she really enjoyed – no obligation to continually get her English right and a chance to show her competitive spirit. It wasn’t the last game of Rummy that we had.
It was the second last day of the school holidays so we visited a couple of friends with daughters who would be in Cut’s class to introduce her and ask them to keep a lookout for her. School returned and I walked over with Cut and we found her classroom. The school had been very flexible and were happy to have her when she wasn’t elsewhere. She came home excited and reported that she’d had lunch with Bethany.
Don and I were teaching weekly Indonesian classes at a couple of primary schools and we took Cut along once or twice, much to the joy of the students. I was also teaching at the army barracks and enjoyed taking her there on one occasion.
We visited the Guides who met over the road, the Indonesian who taught language at the high school and other families who were keen to make friends. We visited the bush and Ettamogah Sanctuary with emus and kangaroos. We went to the snow at Falls Creek and made a snowman and threw snowballs.
We went shopping in Albury and lunched at McDonalds. As we were about to eat, Cut asked, “What about the prayer?” At home we always said grace but hadn’t thought to extend that to Maccas. But we did that day! Cut was a good Muslim and wanted to be sure we were keeping up with our Christian obligations.
We cooked together, Australian and Indonesian food and drove over to our daughter’s at Yarrawonga to celebrate Cut’s 16th. birthday. She tried her hand at tennis and watched a couple of Stephen King movies, as long as we stayed in the room because they were too scary if she alone.
July came and we drove to Melbourne. The plane left at 11.30 p.m. but by then the new Cut could cope with anything.
Carmyl Winkler
February 2023
We cooked together, Australian and Indonesian food and drove over to our daughter’s at Yarrawonga to celebrate Cut’s 16th. birthday. She tried her hand at tennis and watched a couple of Stephen King movies, as long as we stayed in the room because they were too scary if she alone.
July came and we drove to Melbourne. The plane left at 11.30 p.m. but by then the new Cut could cope with anything.
Carmyl Winkler
February 2023
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