By Jonathan Thatcher After the world’s largest ever democratic election in a single day last week, Indonesia’s 20-year-old democracy is looking reassuringly predictable. There was even an indignant post-election sulk by the losing candidate, who claimed, as he did...
An evangelical Christian whisks four men from a remote Indonesian island to Israel, part of a life-long effort to gather the world’s “lost” Jews. (Photo taken on Kisar island in March 2018 by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski) This is a story of serendipity and of remarkable...
By Jonathan Thatcher In the farming village where I stay in Indonesia’s West Java province, Islam is central to daily life. The village has its own religious school, and those who can afford it sign up for the 10-year wait to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. But its...
How Java’s controversial female ruler grew into the job Paul Spencer Sochaczewski taps his vast knowledge of Asia in this, his third short story for News-Decoder. Last year, Sochaczewski entertained us with yarns about the South China Sea and Borneo. In this five-part...
How Java’s controversial female ruler grew into the job Paul Spencer Sochaczewski taps his vast knowledge of Asia in this, his third short story for News-Decoder. Last year, Sochaczewski entertained us with yarns about the South China Sea and Borneo. In this five-part...