BY RACHEL EVANS
Herb Feith, renowned Indonesianist and community activist, and my uncle, died tragically in a train accident on November 15. Herb will be missed by people all over the world who he touched with his compassion, intellect and goodwill.
A life-long scholar, but more so a lifelong activist who struggled for human rights and peace, Herb's death has robbed the world of a thoughtful mind and giving spirit.
Herb, born in Vienna, came to Australia with his parents as refugees, fleeing the Nazi occupation and repression. He studied political science at Melbourne University and obtained a position in the Ministry of Information in the newly independent Indonesia, under popular leader Sukarno. In the job for two years Herb received an average Indonesian salary, on a par with his Indonesian workmates.
His example inspired the Australian Volunteers International, whose new graduates worked alongside Indonesian civil servants and helped develop the new Indonesia under Sukarno.
The scheme still runs today, with the Overseas Service Bureau (OSB) sending thousands of Australians to work in Third World countries to develop cross-cultural and political links. The bike shed in Melbourne's OSB office is aptly named after Herb — he was always riding his bike everywhere.
Marrying Betty in 1954, Herb was offered a position at Cornell University and wrote a classic book on Indonesian politics and history, The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia.
Back in Australia, Herb was appointed a lecturer in politics at Monash University, where he developed the study of modern Indonesia and was one of the founders of the Monash Centre of South-east Asian Studies.
Herb's academic achievements were not his greatest gift to the world. It was his activism, compassion and genuine thirst for teaching that most marked him.
Herb housed many Indonesian asylum seekers who faced persecution under Suharto. He got my family to hide an Indonesian student being chased by the Australian immigration department in the middle of a small rural Victorian town. My grandmother and other family members where frequently asked to house political prisoners who Herb was helping.
In association with Amnesty International, Herb worked hard to free Indonesian political prisoners from Suharto's jails. He initiated the magazine Inside Indonesia, to keep people informed of events in Indonesia. It is a mark of his stature within Indonesia that at least four Indonesian newspapers reported his sudden death.
In his later life he devoted more time to campaign work: going to East Timor to help with the elections in 1999 where his courageous acts placed his life in jeopardy. He also campaigned for refugee rights and around West Papuan independence.
Herb's genuine optimism for change was an inspiration. He would attend many rallies, making his own placards and congratulating organisers for their fine work.
Humble, and living a modest life, Herb touched many people with his generosity and fierce optimism. His loss is a blow to the peace and justice movements and has left the world a less colourful place.
From Green Left Weekly, November 28, 2001.
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