Citizenship

https://jakartaglobe.id/news/foreign-de … g_rewarded

This piece took me back a few years to the time I decided that Indonesia was the place for me.

I don't hate the UK, but my visits to Asia showed me how bad the social structure of my old country had become.

Drug crime everywhere, violent drunks getting worse and worse,  and I even witnessed dogging in two town centres.

Six months in Malaysia were an eye opening experience (That's a good country), but my first visit to Indonesia was life changing- literally.

The place is pretty great (maybe not the roads 🤣) but the people are Indonesia's gold. Thailand is supposed to be the land of smiles but they are rank amateurs when compared to Indonesians.

I think it's the people that make Indonesia the amazing place it is, but minimal crime, a terrific society,  hardly any drug crime (except in tourist places like Bali), and sambal help make Indonesia the only country I can truly say I love.

I'd be a liar if I claimed not to miss the rolling Yorkshire countryside, but the odd loss is compensated for a hundred times over when I visit my favourite coffee shops and hang around with local lads. The atmosphere is so calm and relaxing it's hard to imagine being anywhere else.

I read something about a woman who wanted her kids to be anything but Indonesian, but I'm the direct opposite - I deliberately went down a path that would give my kids Indonesian citizenship as I realised this country was the best place for them. They both have the opportunity to get UK passports,  but I really don't want them to.

Getting citizenship is very hard work, but the rewards are stunning.  I sing the national anthem with thanks in my heart for Indonesia and Indonesians.

It sounds soppy, but I mean it.

Thanks you, Indonesia.