36
were treated with dignity and respect. On this particular day with Bot and his wife,
we spent about 12 h going from place to place. Really, it was an amazing experience!
During the day, Bot and I spoke in between stops. At the end of the day, we went
back to where our car was parked. Bot and his wife got in the backseat, and I drove
several miles through the mature forest to an inconspicuous place where I had
picked up Bot and his wife earlier (Fig. 23). I stopped alongside the road and got out
of the car. Sheila stayed in the front seat. Bot and his wife got out of the car; and
without a word, his wife immediately went into the forest. I paid Bot the money
promised (RM80); and as he took the money, Bot asked me to wait, and then he
proceeded to walk into the forest. It was twilight and the end of the day. I could see
no conspicuous trail, but Bot and his wife seemed to know exactly where they were
going. After a while, and about the time we thought about leaving, Bot emerged out
of the forest with a young boy, his son. His son looked to be 14 or 15 years old. The
boy had sneakers on, was dressed in new jeans, a white shirt, and had a new ball cap
on. The boy also had a small duffle bag. He looked just like a “city” boy — but out
of place. The well-dressed boy really took us by surprise. Bot and his boy approached
me as I was standing alongside our vehicle. It was so quiet I could hear myself
breathe. It was a solemn moment. I said nothing and did not know what was going
on. Then Bot started speaking quietly to his boy. He reached into his pocket and
took out the money that I had given him for his day’s work. Bot put the money into
the boy’s hand and proceeded to tell the boy that he was going to go with me and
that I would help get him a job. Ugh! In that moment, a great shock and sadness
overcame me.
During the day, Bot had asked me if I would help his boy get a job. I had said yes.
What I did not realise is that in saying yes, in Bot’s eyes, it meant that I would take
Fig. 22 Orang Asli under a lean-to structure, Pahang, Malaysia, 1974
A. Abee
were treated with dignity and respect. On this particular day with Bot and his wife,
we spent about 12 h going from place to place. Really, it was an amazing experience!
During the day, Bot and I spoke in between stops. At the end of the day, we went
back to where our car was parked. Bot and his wife got in the backseat, and I drove
several miles through the mature forest to an inconspicuous place where I had
picked up Bot and his wife earlier (Fig. 23). I stopped alongside the road and got out
of the car. Sheila stayed in the front seat. Bot and his wife got out of the car; and
without a word, his wife immediately went into the forest. I paid Bot the money
promised (RM80); and as he took the money, Bot asked me to wait, and then he
proceeded to walk into the forest. It was twilight and the end of the day. I could see
no conspicuous trail, but Bot and his wife seemed to know exactly where they were
going. After a while, and about the time we thought about leaving, Bot emerged out
of the forest with a young boy, his son. His son looked to be 14 or 15 years old. The
boy had sneakers on, was dressed in new jeans, a white shirt, and had a new ball cap
on. The boy also had a small duffle bag. He looked just like a “city” boy — but out
of place. The well-dressed boy really took us by surprise. Bot and his boy approached
me as I was standing alongside our vehicle. It was so quiet I could hear myself
breathe. It was a solemn moment. I said nothing and did not know what was going
on. Then Bot started speaking quietly to his boy. He reached into his pocket and
took out the money that I had given him for his day’s work. Bot put the money into
the boy’s hand and proceeded to tell the boy that he was going to go with me and
that I would help get him a job. Ugh! In that moment, a great shock and sadness
overcame me.
During the day, Bot had asked me if I would help his boy get a job. I had said yes.
What I did not realise is that in saying yes, in Bot’s eyes, it meant that I would take
Fig. 22 Orang Asli under a lean-to structure, Pahang, Malaysia, 1974
A. Abee