It's a harrowing Indonesian truth that what happened in Sampit could be repeated tomorrow in scores of other places in the sprawling archipelago. Most immediately, it could spread to other parts of Kalimantan where the same communal tensions are simmering, notably in the oil-rich region of Balikpapan in the eastern part of the state. For now, the killing appears to have halted and life is gradually returning to normal in Palangkaraya. Yet fear is still very much in the air. It's almost impossible to find a car in the city that doesn't fly a red ribbon or piece of cloth from its antenna or wing mirror, a sign of loyalty to the Dayak cause.
Neighborhoods remain blocked by makeshift barricades of logs and stones.
It's a question that Kma Usop, a Dayak cultural leader and a professor at Palangkaraya University, strains to answer, his words pouring out in an emotional stream as he lights an unending series of Pall Mall cigarettes. The Dayaks are in a panic, they are feeling marginalized. They have been provoked for many years. The Madurese are violent. They fight in the markets and in the farms.