Covid-19 Made Them Orphans Overnight, but Dealing with Loss is a Very Long Process
Bintang, what do you recall most about your mom and dad? “Ibu [Mom], her cooking was delicious. I liked ibu’s ayam serundeng [fried chicken with shredded coconut].” “Bapak [Dad], he liked to play with me, playing soccer and going swimming.” A year ago, almost overnight, Bulan, Surya and Bintang, three siblings living in West Java, […]
The Love Stories Uncounted in Covid-19 Statistics
The graveyard of sorrow – that is how people refer to the Macanda public cemetery in Gowa, South Sulawesi, where 1,338 people who died of Covid-19 between 2020 and 2021 were laid to rest. One of them was a 5-day-old child who died in March 2021. Others passed away without their loved ones around, separated […]
For the Sake of Coal, Life Disappears from Wonorejo Village
Wonorejo village in South Kalimantan used to be home to transmigrants from Java whose livelihoods depended on rubber plantations. Miner PT Adaro Energy then systematically bought up the land and drove the residents away. Now Wonorejo is deserted, with a network of coal settling ponds where the village once stood. In 1999, Sulastrinadi, now 62, […]
Indonesia’s Big Banks Claim to be ‘Going Green’ while Financing Coal
Indonesia’s four largest banks made public claims that they were trying to practice “green and sustainable” banking after the 2015 Paris Agreement. However, they continued to provide money to the coal industry, despite reports on how the industry was damaging the environment, displacing people, and harming children. Between 2017 and 2021, Indonesia’s annual coal production […]
For the Sake of Coal, Life Disappears from Wonorejo Village
Wonorejo village in South Kalimantan used to be home to transmigrants from Java whose livelihoods depended on rubber plantations. Miner PT Adaro Energy then systematically bought up the land and drove the residents away. Now Wonorejo is deserted, with a network of coal settling ponds where the village once stood. In 1999, Sulastrinadi, now 62, […]
Indonesia’s Big Banks Claim to be ‘Going Green’ while Financing Coal
Indonesia’s four largest banks made public claims that they were trying to practice “green and sustainable” banking after the 2015 Paris Agreement. However, they continued to provide money to the coal industry, despite reports on how the industry was damaging the environment, displacing people, and harming children. Between 2017 and 2021, Indonesia’s annual coal production […]
‘Are You Rebels?’: Biak Spaceport’s Land Acquisition Carries Dark Past
The people only recently found out the existence of a land release certificate to LAPAN in 2002. In 1982, they thought they only signed the attendance list and agreed to the cost of compensation for crops. Those who refused were branded OPM. A Biak woman, Arina, recounted her memories of dark moments in Biak people’s […]
Displaced by War, Papuan Refugees Face Lingering Dangers
Some 60,000 people have been displaced by fighting between Papuan separatists and the Indonesian military in Nduga Regency. One group of refugees are stranded far from home, without jobs, schools, quality healthcare or any sign of the conflict’s end. EVERY December, Raga Kogoya’s memory returns to the tragic morning in late 2018 when her hometown […]
Mining, Protests and a Young Villager’s Death in Sulawesi
On February 12, a young man was taking part in a seemingly routine protest by the Aliansi Rakyat Petani (Alliance of People’s Farmers) about five kilometers from his home in Tada village in Central Sulawesi. Farmers and other local residents had been organizing almost daily protests since January 2021, demanding the revocation of the license […]
Like Digging a Grave at Sea: Slavery Onboard The Lu Qing Yuan Yu
(This story is based on interviews with Yusman and his wife, Falariyani, as told to Project Multatuli.) I’d never been to work at sea, but when I did go–at the age of 42–that’s when I became familiar with death. For six months and 15 days, I was a crew member aboard the Lu Qing Yuan […]
