Back home in Indonesia, Justto Lasoo enjoyed writing love stories. But since he moved to Taiwan five years ago to work as a welder in a factory, his subject of choice took a dramatic turn.
Last month, Lasoo won the top prize at the Taiwan Literary Award for Migrants (移民工文學獎) for his short story, Nyanyian Ombak (The Song of Waves), which details the struggles and harsh working conditions of an Indonesian worker on a Taiwanese fishing boat and the relationship with his employer. His story, along with other winners and submissions, was published a few weeks ago in an anthology, Sail (航).
Most of the short story is based on true events. Lasoo was visiting friends who worked the docks at Hsinchu’s Nanliao Harbor (南寮漁港) when he decided to delve deeper into their hardships for future writing material.
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
“I asked them about their working conditions, if they have any problems,” Lasoo says. “While I’m unable to help them [improve their conditions], I can help them tell their stories.”
“Why do so many migrant workers run away?” he asks. “The employer and the recruitment agency are also at fault, it’s not all our problem. I hope that many people can read my work and understand the issue further.”
Lasoo says he submited The Song of Waves because he feels that it is a lesser known part of the migrant worker experience.
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
“People see the ones working in homes or taking care of the elderly,” Lasoo says. “But not many know about this. [The fishing boat workers] also endure more hardships and problems. I sympathize with them.”
FROM NEWS TO LITERATURE
Chang Cheng (張正), founder of the award, runs the Southeast Asian bookstore Brilliant Time (燦爛時光) in New Taipei City’s Chungho District (中和) along with his wife Liao Yun-chang (廖雲章), an associate managing editor for CommonWealth Magazine.
Chang says the award began when he founded Four Way Voice (四方報), a monthly newspaper serving Southeast Asian immigrants. After receiving an overwhelming number of literary submissions from these migrants, Chang and Liao decided to have them translated into Chinese and published in a book, which garnered the notice of several prominent literary figures who eventually suggested that they start a literary award.
“A literary award sounds more prestigious than just having your work published in a newspaper or book,” Chang says. “I want to raise the social status of these migrants. How would you feel if your domestic helper won a literary award, while you haven’t even read a book this year?”
Chang admits that he cares more about the social impact of this award rather than the cultural.
“Of course, the writing can’t be too poor, but literary value is not the main goal,” he says. “I’m not a literary expert anyway.”
In addition, these pieces provide a viewpoint on Taiwan that regular Taiwanese will never experience, Chang says, citing another winning piece by Dao Tieu My, a Vietnamese bride who is currently serving time for burning the family house down and causing two deaths.
“We want Taiwanese to hear the voices of these migrants,” Liao says. “The stranger living in your house is not someone who just cooks and cleans. They also have thoughts and observations about Taiwanese society.”
All entries must be submitted in the migrant’s native language so the writers can fully express their thoughts. A panel of native-language judges make the first round of selections, which are translated into Chinese and passed on to the final judges, who usually consist of publishers, scholars, writers and non-governmental organization workers.
“We remind the [final] judges to be lenient on the writing because it is translated,” Chang says. “But the judges still have their preferences. Some don’t like overly religious stories; others don’t like it when they heap too much praise on Taiwan.”
Liao says that Lasoo’s piece is exceptional because he not only did original research on the conditions of migrant workers outside of his regular circle, but he also considered both Indonesian and Taiwanese perspectives.
“Even among Indonesians, there are divisions among races and social backgrounds,” Liao says. “I feel that Lasoo’s work has a humane spirit to it … such as the Taiwanese employer, he’s not just a straightforward bad guy. He’s a complex character. Lasoo is able to transcend race and nationality and show this kind of care and concern not only to his own people, but also to Taiwanese.”
STORIES BY AND OF THE OTHER
Lasoo’s love for reading and writing was already apparent as a child growing up in Central Java. He had already devoured all the books in his school library by the fourth grade, and since his family could not afford books he would frequently visit his friends’ houses to read. He later worked in a bank for several years before turning to raising chickens. Unfortunately, when his flock was wiped out during an avian influenza outbreak, he had to leave his wife behind and head to Taiwan.
Despite working 12-hour days in Taiwan, Lasoo has found time to publish two Indonesian-language books — a full-length novel about an Indonesian woman who moves to Taiwan for a better life, and a collection of 15 fictional and non-fictional stories about various migrant workers. His third book is in the works and is based on letters he exchanged with an Indonesian inmate in a Taiwanese prison.
“I can’t tell you what he did, otherwise you won’t read the book,” he laughs.
While Lasoo continues to write about others, he says he prefers not to write about his own experiences.
“Of course, each job comes with its problems. But other migrant workers face far more hardships than I do,” he says, noting that the biggest issue is employers not giving workers any days off.
The Song of Waves is Lasoo’s only piece that has been translated into Chinese so far, but he hopes that with his newfound publicity, the Taiwanese public will also have a chance to read his other works.
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