‘Nowhere, everywhere and anywhere’: Tari Lang on exile and Indonesia in 1965

Tari Lang was 14 when the political turmoil of 1965 shattered her family and changed the course of her life. In My Neighbour, The Dictator: Coming of Age in the Shadow of Indonesia’s 1965 Military Coup, she combines personal memoir with Indonesia’s turbulent history, recounting the arrest and imprisonment of her parents, years of uncertainty and political activism and her eventual settlement in the United Kingdom at 18 to pursue a career in international business and reputation management.

Ahead of her appearance at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF), Tari reflects on the events that shaped her life and her views on Indonesia, past and present, in a conversation with journalist and novelist Eric Buvelot.