Sweet Home Obama [FEBRUARY 15th 2008]

The Obama Bar. Obama's Kitchen. The Barrack.

More names came up in my head as I disembarked again. I wanted to find the house in Menteng where Obama had lived, when he was around 10 years old. The most crazy ideas often work out best, and to open a bar in the house where Obama grew up, was certainly worthwhile investigating. In the period from 1967 to 1972, Barrack –or Barry as he was called then -, his white American mother Ann and his Indonesian stephfather Lolo Soetoro, occupied an old Dutch house on Jalan Dempo, in the Matraman area.

When I finally reached Jalan Dempo, it started raining heavily. I quickly sought shelter in a small, half open building near a crossing. Two smoking locals calmly looked at me while I shrugged the rain of my clothes. 'Cari apa mister?' (What are your looking for?), the youngest of the two wanted to know. 'I am looking for the house where Obama once lived', I enthousiastically replied, not realising that this one sentence would not get me anywhere. 'Obama who!?', the older man replied in confusion. The younger lad deeply inhaled his cigarette and stepped closer to the roadside, still under the cover of the roof. 'That's probably the Arab guy living there!' He pointed at a house accros the road. The old man shook his head and laughed. 'The Arab guy is dead already!', he told his mate. I tried to explain who Obama was, but they looked at me like if I was a complete idiot. And probably they were right. 'But the president is Bush, right?', they both repeated a few times. They started laughing. 'The future US president is black, has an Arab name and lived in Jalan Dempo!? Yeah, sure, mister.' 'Maybe mister is looking for Gus Dur his house? Gus Dur lived here. There, around the corner!' He pointed to a corner next to a huge mosque. Now I had to laugh. Gus Dur and Obama had grown up together in the same Menteng street!? Yeah, sure, bapak. I decided to continue my search on the other side of the street, where a docter had turned another colonial house into a dental clinic. From here the doctor immediately re-directed me to the house next door, No.2. The original number 2 was hidden behind an extension that functioned as a small restaurant-bar and internet cafe. The owner, a middle aged guy, spoke Dutch. His brother had married a Dutch lady and lived in Moordrecht. He wanted to talk about Moordrecht. I wanted to talk about Obama.

Yes, he vaguely knew who Obama was. If an african kid, called Barry Soeroto, had ever lived in his house? He had no idea. More family members showed up. There had been a number of Dutch families living in the area, but that was years ago. Then, suddenly, the wife of the restaurant owner shrieked while pointing at the Jakarta Post that I had with me. She pointed at the picture of young mother Ann, holding Barry in balance on a iron fence. 'That gate! The gate!' The whole family bent over the table and looked closer at the picture. 'Oh yah!' another mother enthousiastically called out. 'We have changed that fence a while ago, but that is the one we had in front of the house here!' Her finger pointed to the road side. Wow! I felt excited, but even though these people were certain it was the same fence, I was a bit skeptical because the paper stated that the picture was from his Hawaiian period. I wandered off again, passing three huge old trees in front of Jalan Dempo no. 2 and past a big green mosque. Then, around the corner, there was indeed the old house of Indonesia's ex-president Gus Dur or Wahid! At hundred meters from Obama his old house! Gus Dur his staff advised me to check with their neighbour, the last Dutch person still living in the area. I rang the bell. It was a large two storied house, at least a hundred years old. An old but gracious woman slowly walked towards the gate. She must have been in her seventees, but she made a remarkable charismatic impression on me. Defenitely from noble descent, I thought. She invited me and we had a friendly chat. She had been living in the same old house for over 40 years but her Indonesian husband (an ex-general according to the neighbours) had died many years ago. No, she could not recall Barry Soetoro nor his American mother.

Shouldn't I give up and focuss on other, more important things? There is still this old lady in Pelabuhan Ratu who wants to show me where her deceased brother has hidden 13 bars of gold from the Japanese in World War 2. There is a delay in construction of BuGils Bali as PLN is in no hurry to remove an electricity pole from the spot where the bar should be. I need to finish Bule Gila 2. My daughter wants me to pick her up from school. I need to loose weight. I need to....

I drove back to Kemang, leaving many confused people behind me in Dempo, including the lonely old Dutch lady, who would have loved to talk a bit more about the old days and Dutch food and things.... She tried, with more tea, some cookies and old photos. But no. I had failed and wanted to go back. The only persons who can help me to locate the exact house are probably Barrack himself or his half sister, who now lives on Hawaii.

Where was your home, Obama? Your Sweet Home Obama, Obama....
Bartele