{"id":4345,"date":"2022-02-03T17:49:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T17:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aiccusa.org\/?p=4345"},"modified":"2026-04-08T17:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:51:55","slug":"the-warehouse-is-emptied","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aiccusa.org\/?p=4345","title":{"rendered":"The Warehouse is Emptied"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 2021<\/strong><\/h3>\n

THE WAREHOUSE IS EMPTIED<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the end of July, at the height of the Delta variant\u2019s impact, I learned that the City of NY had offered over 250 tons of surplus COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment( PPE) and medical supplies to the Republic of Indonesia, most of it stored in a Pennsylvania warehouse. It was up to Indonesia to arrange for the shipping. I vowed as an American and a New Yorker to find a way to empty the warehouse. I had seen the Indonesian community in Queens hand out meals to front-line workers outside NY hospitals during the horrible days in March and April 2020. My \u201cgotong royong\u201d (Indonesian for working together) kicked in. Over the next few months, working in collaboration with colleagues at the US-ASEAN Business Council, the Global Task Force for Pandemic Relief (organized by the US Chamber of Commerce) and the Indonesian Consulate General in NY as well as our members, a way was found. I am thankful my colleagues at these organizations immediately joined me in recognizing the importance of shipping everything even when it seemed at the outset to be an impossible task.<\/p>\n

We began with free air shipments of ventilators, specimen collection kits, swabs and N95 masks in August and September on flights provided by Fedex and UPS with the balance of masks, kits, and hospital gowns sent by ocean cargo in November and December sponsored by Freeport-McMoRan. Some of the equipment arrived during the worst period of the Delta variant and some is arriving now when caseloads are down. However, the threat of a New Year and Omicron surge remains high and its clear NY City\u2019s donated equipment has backstopped Indonesia\u2019s existing inventories and has helped to save lives. This is what we accomplished:<\/p>\n

Over $7.2 million of unused personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased in 2020 by the City of New York was donated to the foundation of the Ministry for State-Owned Enterprises for distribution to hospitals across the Indonesia utilizing the logistical support of Indonesia\u2019s military. This includes:
\n176 ventilators and accessories
\nOver 1 million specimen collection kits
\nOver 1.3 million swabs
\nOver 1.9 million N95 masks
\nOver 1.6 million disposable gowns
\nTotal of 262 tons shipped in 46 40-foot containers.<\/p>\n

At a December 6 ceremony at the Indonesian Consulate in NY, the Government of Indonesia thanked the following companies and organizations: American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, US-ASEAN Business Council, US Chamber of Commerce, Fed Ex, UPS, Deloitte, Gojek, and Freeport-McMoRan. I was honored to be asked to give a few remarks on behalf of these wonderful partners. I said it was fitting that NY came to Indonesia\u2019s aid in a time of need given how much each has helped define the identity of the other.
\nIn 1664 the Dutch ended a war with England –and looking to consolidate their holdings in the East Indies and monopolize the valuable trade in nutmeg -known as the \u201crefrigerant of Europe\u201d- they traded Run Island held by the English for the island of Manhattan. New Amsterdam became NY. Perhaps we can thank Indonesia that we don\u2019t speak Dutch.<\/p>\n

In 1897 Standard Vacuum of NY(Stanvac)\u2014later known as Mobil Oil– begins producing oil and kerosene in Sumatra
\nIn response to Ford\u2019s invention of the Model T, America\u2019s need for rubber grows exponentially and by the 1920\u2019s the US Rubber Company (Uniroyal) and Goodyear have established large estates in colonial Indonesia. By 1930 NY-based traders are supplying America\u2019s appetite for rubber, pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, tea, coffee, botanical flavorings, and essential oils, much of it from colonial Indonesia.
\nBetween 1945-49 NYers help lobby the US government, which was initially reticent, to recognize Indonesia\u2019s declaration of independence and raise money for the new Republic.<\/p>\n

In the 1960\u2019s NY-based mining firms Freeport and International Nickel (INCO) are among the first investors after Indonesia passes a key investment law with contract of work provisions drafted in part by the NY law firm of Delson & Gordon. Another NY firm representing the Republic of Indonesia, White & Case, negotiates key international loans and commercial agreements.
\nIn 1967, following the instability of 1965, NY firms such as Continental Grain, Cargill, and American Trade Sales make emergency shipments of rice to an impoverished Indonesia.<\/p>\n

In the 1980\u2019s and 1990\u2019s NY artists such as composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich write ground-breaking music inspired by the gamelan orchestras of Java and Bali and Tony award winner Julie Taymor creates Broadway shows, such as the Lion King, incorporating the use of masks and shadow puppets based on her time in Indonesia.
\nWhen the great Recession of 2008 hollows out Wall Street, Indonesia\u2019s high yielding sovereign bonds become a profitable safe haven.<\/p>\n

We may have emptied the warehouse but the \u201cgotong royong\u201d between NY (America) and Indonesia remains.<\/p>\n

(These views are the author\u2019s and may not reflect those of AICC or its members.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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