While I went alone to New York to celebrate my 32 years, my father dropped me off at Orly and said "Be careful anyway" ... The image of the Bronx had struck again. But if the father's recommendation was well received, I have always been cautious and not venture out only when my instinct and my advance information informed me that the risks are limited. As far as the heart of Jakarta, I found myself alone with the dockers ...

(The port of Sunda Kelapa of Bugis, Jakarta - video in the story below)

It is barely 9:00 am and for over an hour the team is working around the man to shoot some footage for the first few minutes of our film. We are in the commercial port of Sunda Kelapa, in a neighborhood of the Indonesian capital overcrowded, shaking us like flies around Bugis, large wooden boats with rounded sides. On the platform with a white hot burning sun, the trucks are increasing at a rate of pace of unloading goods from all regions of the country: woods of Borneo, Sumatra rice, flour from who knows where ... Essences wood floating in the air, mixed with sweat and sour pineapple juice vendor.

With a small Olympus camera I play the trigger slowly, attaching myself to understand the life that transpires between the boats and the dock, essentially interfering between canvas bags bulging and freshly sawn wood planks. Mountains high pyramid of plates along the dock, waiting to be loaded onto trucks that then return to another destination, another transportation to a scheduled end in the form of furniture sold under a Swedish brand, or at best in one of the many shops in Bali for tourists off. Borneo's forests burn these purchases of Westerners in search of exotic ... I see first hand a fortnight later.

From the start, backed by Thierry Robinet, our excellent guide perfectly up practicing a language is not Javanese, Indonesians we first observe quietly and without a smile. Luke Marescot, our director, knows how to be discreet and followed Jean-Baptiste Benoit, our brave engineer, mixing gradually with continual ballet of these men who climb aboard before falling while carrying a bag of a board. On shore foremen are silent, let them do ...

Then the man decides to board to interview if possible one of the captains. In light team, and with the support of Thierry, who translates the request, it is often easy to get invited in situations closer to the reality of everyday people that we're filming. While palaver exchange, we expect the master's permission for a ship that has just been accused, I digress a little to follow the work of men who care for the one I interests me is to paint the hull of a ship, suspended one meter above the level of the stagnant water on a wooden plank supported by two ropes. Scaffolding fortune ...

Another Indonesian then attracts my attention, wearing a pointed hat Chinese way of a pub 30 years, a smile splitting his face from one ear to another, trying to initiate conversation. Only, it is difficult, but I find that smiling is a universal language and the best of sesame. He asks for me to be reminded to order by one of his colleagues, he then quickly climbs aboard his boat and goes great with friendly greetings while pushing his bamboo pole for advance his boat ...

When I look back, I'm alone!

No worries, I know that my colleagues are in the corner. But I am slightly annoyed at not knowing where they are because I'm supposed to shoot each scene of shooting, including not to miss important meetings between Francis and the local population. I look so where they get through, sail a boat to another, traveling between a truck and then the other ... but nothing, nada! More team.

And finally, do not displease me ... Alone at last, more discreet, and free to take pictures I want without the master's eye over my shoulder. Those of you who were once apprentices understand ...

I notify when a group of men, and I think gently smiling forward, respect shoulder. I strive to capture the human gesture, their ritual, hypnotic slow dance in a ballet without end, leading the bowels of the boat to the bottom of the dump truck gaping, insatiable gourmet appellant to be loaded, overloaded. Each dock rushed to the assault of a thin beam of about ten inches wide, instead of just one foot. Halfway up, she bends just below their fifty or sixty pounds of muscle dry facts and sweat more when they return to spoof boards and then throw the bags into the truck.

The men say nothing in front of my presence, better, they start to give me shots to do! A colleague showed me his full effort, another means to me a bag which ripped the wrath of ... foreman Then I saw a small malignant LCD on the back of the camera and enjoys seeing his friends fixed, color. I then scroll through the images: he exclaims, laughing, calls one of them and in less time than it takes to say, a dozen men crowded around me in a Cluster agitated collapsed with laughter!

The foreman approached, glancing over my shoulder, away. Then back. He looks at each photo without comment, smiling, and shook his head. With a nod to me means the dump truck and I do not need more to climb aboard and set up my tripod: savvy this time on the video control, I shoot some footage of the work of these men, scattered a gesture and order of the foreman found their rhythmic cadence ... boat, boom, truck, boat, boom, truck, boat, ...

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But when the first bucket is full, the plates are then found refuge in that which I occupy and the tripod can not stand the vibrations caused by the wood carried along by my side. Thank Area ("terimah kasi ...") and back down the truck. A man makes me so sign up in the boat!

I hesitated a moment, torn between wanting to know what awful is happening on board and the thin beam that I must climb to board: about twenty yards to go, the vertical beam on a bobble on top of greenish water, trash Natural million floating debris or not, and which does in no bath, spontaneous or precipitated ... The idea of an unfortunate dive, camera around his neck, does not inspire me much.

The man insists, however, and motioned me he will guide me. I'm all alone in a port of Jakarta, a stranger to me to follow him on board a boat laden with goods, and I no longer hesitate: I am!

I walked up the three wooden steps that allow access to the concrete wall that supports the beam gray and I seized the hand of the brave who undertakes, barefoot in front of me. One step, two steps, and I'm above water. Unable to retreat, he must go forward! Especially as the fellow train on a pace that allows no hesitation: he almost jumps on the beam, or is it our cumulative weight that makes it bend that way, almost making us bounce back like those old drawings animated board when playing yoyo! ... Watch my video above and you will understand. Ten meters, the beam climbs now to attack the boat and the last ten meters to escalate like to climb to reach the summit, but the beam under shakes ...

I finally jumped on board ... and discovers that the crew is working around the man in conversation with a sailor.

I took a few photos and then just walk away not to distract the attention of men on board who suddenly are more interested in the blonde out of nowhere at the blond giant who asks questions reflects a third ...

But eventually the boat dock unless the interested: here are extracted from the cargo hold spewing its contents onto the shoulders of men, and we caulking, it cleans it fat, I guess ... travel by this boat by those seamen who found their families far away, at the option of transfer orders made by hierarchies in Singapore or elsewhere.

Very quickly, I motioned to my guide that I would come down to earth. Another rushes, they bicker for a moment and the second wins the game! Had I been the issue of a beer at the end of the day? ... The idea amuses me. What is less fun to get involved this time on a beam bobble but still need to get on a slope of 20%. It may seem minimal, drive away from your desk, but one that, not so long spent half his life in your situation and on the heels of 8 cm, there is not jump, "... But I can not spend the rest of my life on board and we must get started, all the rest of the team is preparing to do the same. Believe it or not, the outward journey seemed less risky than the return trip!

Arriving on the platform I am greeted by my new friends who rushed me to reach out and help me jump the meter still separates me from the mainland. Then under the 40 ° prevailing here, I come away from my camera and still plays a little with them, under the knowing eye of the foreman who says nothing and drives away even the courtesy to a few minutes, leaving his men blow ... I want to do some portraits, in the midst of laughter and questioning too happy to share this moment of life with total strangers who, perhaps, will tell their families tonight careful, they have been the subject of the curiosity of a small group of French people who "do" the TV ...

They shared laughs, despite the acute awareness of the lives of these men, remains one of my best memories of Indonesia.

This article contains the keywords: Asia , Jakarta , Indonesia Travel

This article was published March 4, 2008 at 8 h 30 min in the category Asia . Follow the RSS comments.