Artisans make jewelry from the remnants of war

Warief Djajanto Basorie ,  Contributor ,  Ternate   |  Sat, 01/10/2009 10:20 AM  |  Potpourri

Woodrow G. Rivers, 3402 99 23 T42-43A. The name and serial number are imprinted on a rectangular, thumb-size tin plate identifying a U.S. serviceman who saw combat in Morotai during World War II.

Craftsman Indi Bayan holds up ID tags of US soldiers found on the beaches of Morotai Island. Fathun Kharie, also a craftsman, wears a bracelet made from besi putih. (JP/Warief Djajanto Basorie)

Indi Bayan, 30, a native of Morotai island in what is now in eastern Indonesia's North Maluku province, showed four more "dog tags". They bore the names and serial numbers of Alexander Wilson, Norman Nolette, John G. Moss Jr. and D.F. Terwilliger.

The soldiers were probably attached to the 136th Infantry Regiment that fought the 20-day Battle of Morotai that ended Jan. 14, 1945. Forty-six Americans and 870 Japanese were killed in action. An earlier assault force had already taken the island's southern plain in September 1944.

Forces under the command of Gen. Douglas McArthur captured the oval-shaped 1,800-square-kilometer island to serve as a staging base to launch operations on the Philippines, then still under Japanese occupation in the Pacific War. Air strips were immediately built for the B-24 bombers of the U.S. Thirteenth Air Force.

The remnants of this war have now found a different use. Indi Bayan and fellow Morotai islander Sidik Kharie sell accessories made from besi putih (tin plate, or white iron) in the central market area of Ternate, the provincial capital.

Two rows of pushcarts along the shop front, one on each side of Jalan Busori, offer an array of bracelets, earrings, necklaces and tasbih, Muslim rosary beads used to extol God. All are made from war-era white iron gathered from Morotai.

The accessories are generally priced in the Rp 50,000 - Rp 100,000 range.

"We get the besi putih from the remains of the airplanes and other military hardware abandoned by the Americans. We find the U.S. Army ID chains on Morotai's beaches," Indi says.

Sidik Kharie shows some of the accessories made from besi putih (tin plate, or white iron) in the central market area of Ternate, North Maluku. (JP/Warief Djajanto Basorie)

Sidik, 40, says the metal is now harder to get because the warplanes have been nearly completely stripped of it.

White iron even has special properties: It is rust resistant and can reportedly cure skin infections. Heat the metal and press it on the infected skin, and the infection will disappear, Sidik insists, although not too convincingly.

Most of the accessories are crafted in metal shops in Morotai and sold in Ternate, an overnight journey by land through Halmahera island and by sea across the Morotai Strait.

The Ternate traders, most of whom come from Morotai, have their own toolkits made up of iron files, chisels, mini-anvils and grindstones for made-to-order engravings.

They formed a cooperative in 2001 called the Koperasi Makanano, which means "the Mutual Hope Cooperative" in the Morotai language.

Sidik, who heads the cooperative, says it helps craftspeople get working tools, business loans and a share of the work in meeting large orders.

One recent big order, worth Rp 40 million (US$3,800), came from an accessories dealer in Surabaya.

But the white iron trade needs help, especially from the local government, Sidik says, asking for two things: easy access to business credit and promotion at national trade exhibitions such as the annual Jakarta Fair.

Taib Wali, secretary at the Ternate City Trade Office, admits efforts to promote the industry have been minimal. In 2008, the Ternate city government participated at an investment fair in Yogyakarta but did not take part in the Jakarta Fair, where a major hall is the venue for exhibiting products from regions across the archipelago.

As for business loans, Anwar Kenci, the officer in charge for loan facilities at the Ternate City Cooperatives and Small Businesses Service, says the city government provides micro credit in amounts of up to Rp 5 million at 8 percent interest.

Sidik, however, says he is not aware of these loans. Most of the loans for operational costs come from his cooperative's save-and-loan scheme, he says.

Under the scheme, artisans get help in acquiring tools. They pay their debts by bartering their wares, he explains.

"We want to market our products abroad," Sidik says of his long-term vision for the white iron business. The authentic World War II dog tags with a neck chain would be a fetching item.

And how much is a U.S. Army ID chain? Indi Bayan's asking price is Rp 250,000.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.