Subud Paper Refuses To Fold Editor Staves Off Computer Viruses, Relentless Deadlines
The sign on the door last week was kind but firm: “Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are very busy today! Please do not hang out here unless you can help. … We love you all but we are swamped!”
It’s been a crazy week and a half for the staff of gee wa, the official newspaper of the 10th annual Subud World Congress. It was supposed to be published daily, but computer viruses and other glitches have resulted in only two issues.
No one’s crying, though. When the paper does come out, Subud members get it all - from a schedule of workshops to articles about Subud chairman Muchtar Martins standing naked last year before the national assembly.
“We’re the voice of all the people here,” said gee wa editor Michael Menduno. “This is a vehicle for the entire congress.”
Gee wa, a transliteration of the Indonesian word “jiwa,” means “the soul” or “that which will not die.” Culture and newspapers are like that, Menduno said.
This is the first time Subud members have attempted to put out a newspaper during the conference. At the last conference in Colombia, all people had were mimeographed copies of daily events.
The challenge right now for gee wa, staff members say, is representing the diverse voices represented at the congress.
The story on Martins, for example, was especially controversial when Subud members read it early last week. Some were concerned about Subud’s image, Menduno said. They didn’t want people “to get the impression that this is some kind of sex group.”
Menduno also wanted to take photos of the latihan, an exercise in which men and women gather in separate rooms, close their eyes and experience God. But many Subud members, including the organizers, refused to let him write a story.
“Subud has been shy in the past,” Menduno said. “But we’re in a new era of openness.
“Each issue, we get into some trouble, but I like that. If we’re not, we’re not doing our job. … People want the truth.”
The 45-year-old editor hasn’t slept much since the congress started. Nor has he left the small, computer-filled room near the ticket booths of the Ag Trade Center. Except for meals, a few hours’ sleep and a regular cigarette break, the former publisher of Aqua Corps, a scuba diving magazine, spends at least 14 hours a day working on the 12-page newspaper. Along with a volunteer staff of 12, he edits stories, designs pages and battles an infected computer system.
As a result, staff members say they’ve learned to endure new levels of stress and the meaning of deadline.
“It has expanded my boundaries,” said Menduno, who doesn’t get paid for editing the newspaper. “There’s no worrying or wasted negative energy.”
The atmosphere around the newspaper may be a reflection of Menduno’s personality. He’s a tall, lanky man with glasses and wild blond hair. With dramatic gestures, he talks about his life, his work, his passion for writing.
He joined Subud when he was 17 and living in Chicago. He had a crush on a girl whose family belonged to Subud, he said.
Perhaps typical of his nature, Menduno moved to Spokane from Key West, Fla., earlier this year on a whim, just to help put out the 3,000-circulation newspaper.
“I had this feeling I should do this,” said Menduno, a divorced father of four who received a master’s degree from Stanford in algebraic topology, the study of shapes. “I had a feeling there would be growth, a kind of blessing.”
He has no regrets. Although the paper hasn’t come out on a daily basis, he and staff members have been swamped with material from Subud members who write essays about their experiences.
It’s been rewarding, said Pearl Foster of Spokane, who’s worked in the gee wa office from day one.
“The significance of the event compelled me to do what I could to make sure the communication of the event was clear and meaningful,” she said.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo