Students’ Dreams Refuse to be Buried
A Mount Agung child evacuee praying before attending an emergency school in an evacuation center in GOR Swacepura, Klungkung, Bali on Oct. 3. To make sure they don’t miss any lessons due to the evacuation, the children go to an emergency school set up by the local education agency and volunteers.
Risma Yulianti, 14, has just finished praying. She took off her prayer gown and put on her blue-and-white school uniform. She was ready. Her enthusiasm has never abated, even though she has been living in an evacuation center for the past few weeks.
Since the status of Mount Agung was raised to its highest alert level, Risma has been living in Banjar Lebah of Semarapura Kangin district, Klungkung, Bali.
“For now, I go to SMPN 1 Bebandem for school. The distance from here is around 20 kilometers, or about half an hour by motorbike,” she said.
Risma is one of 921 students at SMPN 2 Selat junior high school. This year, she is in ninth grade. After Mt Agung’s alert level was raised to Awas (warning) status on Sept. 22, all of the SMPN 2 Selat students had to leave the familiarity of their classrooms.
SMPN 2 Selat lies within the 9-kilometer danger zone, which is likely to be impacted by a Mt Agung eruption. Risma not only had to leave her school, has also her home. Risma lives and studies at the evacuation center. In the last two weeks, she has changed schools a few times.
“I have changed schools four times. Initially, [I spent] two days at SMPN 1 Semarapura, then moved to SMPN 6 Denpasar, also for two days, only one day at SMPN 1 Sideman, and finally, at SMPN 1 Bebandem,” said Risma, who is from Griyana Kangin, North Duda village in Selat district, Karangasem regency.
She lives at the evacuation center along with 253 other Griyana Kangin residents. At precisely 12:30 p.m. Eastern Indonesia Time, she would hop on her automatic motorcycle. The ride to school is full of twists and turns along a road that travels up- and downhill. By the time she arrives at SMPN 1 Bebandem, the field around the school is already packed. Some of the local students are getting ready to go home, while evacuee students are getting ready to start school at 1:00 p.m.
Staying Enthusiastic
SMPN 2 Selat principal I Wayan Mustara said his students had been going to school at SMPN 1 Bebandem for a week. However, not all 921 students attended.
The students are scattered across several locations. Some have evacuates with their parents to a relative’s house in other areas of Bali, and some even outside of Bali.
SNMPN 1 Bebandem principal I Gusti Lanang Weda warmly greeted the arrival of the evacuee students. The classrooms are kept open until the afternoon. The teachers of SMPN 2 Selat have also been given a special room of their own.
Weda said that even though they lived in restricted conditions, the evacuee students still needed to go to school and their teachers still needed to teach. The dreams of the students should not be hindered by Mt Agung’s status.
“There are always evacuee students who come here every day. Although it’s not much, we provide chairs and desks,” said Weda.
The situation was evident when a grade IX class began. Five new students did not get a seat in class on their first day. One of them stood, leaning against the back wall. Another shared a seat with another student. The 16 desks in the classroom were occupied by 48 students.
Did this dampen their spirits? Of course not. Ni Luh Utari Puspita Devi, 15, is the most enthusiastic student. Devi, who has always been ranked among the top three in her class, actively answered questions as social science teacher Ida Ayu Puspawati, 47, taught at the head of the class.
“I am also an evacuee. With my extended family, I live in a dormitory room in Tandibeng, around 2 kilometers from the school,” said Devi from Amerta Bhuana, Selat district.
Living in the cramped conditions of the dorm room was not a problem. She still made time to study amid the pile of belongings the family had brought with them when they evacuated.
“In a year, I will graduate from junior high school. It would be a shame it I didn’t continue it. There are many big dreams I want to achieve,” she said.
The enthusiasm of Devi and the other students was evident when their teacher asked a question about the potential eruption of Mt Agung. “What would be the consequence if Mt Agung really did erupt?” asked Puspawati.
“Evacuate. Difficulty going to school,” answered the students boisterously.
“But what will be the impact? Anyone know?” said Puspawati.
This time, the students were quiet. Puspawati did not run out of ideas. She continued with another question. “Who is from Sebudi?”
Sebudi is one of the centers of excavation mine site C, and what Karangasem is known for. The mined sand is the remnants of the 1963 Mt Agung eruption. The mine is expected to contribute Rp 78 billion to Karangasem’s total regional revenue of Rp 233 billion this year.
A student raised her hand, but she was still unsure about the answer to the teacher’s question. “You will be a millionaire. If Mt Agung erupts, your area will have lots of sand to sell,” she said.
“However, that is in the future. For now, just evacuate. Don’t forget to wear a mask, a long-sleeved shirt and stay in a tent or a house if Agung erupts,” she added.
Puspawati said that she never tired of teaching this kind of knowledge to her students. The resident of Warga Griya Duda, Selat district, who is also an evacuee, does not want her students to forget that Mt Agung could erupt at any time. She wanted to make sure that the many people who did not know the history of the 1963 eruption would not have a repeat experience.
“As a young generation who might live at the foot of Mt Agung, they must be prepared,” said Puspawati.
In the corner of the class, Risma nodded her head slowly, listening to her teacher. The explanation appeared to calm her. She now knew that Mt Agung would not be active forever. She has big dreams.
“I want to be a policewoman. When I evacuated, I saw many [police] helping us. Hopefully by continuing school, my dreams will be realized,” she said.
Despite the potential of volcanic ash fall from a Mt Agung eruption, their dreams will not be buried alive. They will, slowly but surely, live more wisely with their experience of the disaster. Their dreams will also continue to grow, slowly but surely, at the foot of the mountain.
