No Life is Worth Any Amount of Money

DOK POLDA ACEH

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It was already 1 a.m. early on Thursday (26/4/2018) and Halimah, 70, was growing increasingly restless. Her grandson Fatahillah, 12, had yet to return home. She was very worried that something had happened to him.

Halimah then asked Fatahillah’s mother Murniati, 37, to go with her to a nearby shop. Who knows, perhaps Fatahillah was somehow still there, playing with his friends in the dead of night. As it turned out, he was not there. After asking her neighbors, Halimah found out that her grandson had been seen going to the location of a crude oil spill in Pasir Putih village, Rantau Peureulak district, East Aceh regency, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Halimah lives in Bhom Lama village, which neighbors Pasir Putih. She and Murniati then walked to the oil spill location, just 500 meters away. Upon arrival, she saw there were many people at the illegal oil drilling site. Some of them were moving the oil to small jerry cans. The oil spill from the illegal drilling site inundated the surrounding houses. The inundation was 10 centimeters deep.

In the dead of night, Halimah shouted her grandson’s name. However, Fatahillah did not show up. She saw the oil spill and walked into it to try to find him.

Suddenly, fire blazed from the far end of the oil spill and it reached Halimah not a moment later. Her old and frail body got caught in it. Darkness hindered her vision as she tried to escape the fire that surrounded her. “Only after I entered a pond was the fire was extinguished,” Halimah said at the Zubir Mahmud regional general hospital in East Aceh later on Thursday. Halimah suffered from 60 percent burns. She was in intensive care.

Her daughter Murniati and grandson Fatahillah were also caught in the blaze. Both were found lying on the ground and suffering from severe burns at the location of the explosion. They are now being treated at the Zainoel Abidin general hospital in Banda Aceh.

As of Thursday night, 22 had died and another 37 suffered from severe burns from the explosion and subsequent fire. Zubir Mahmud hospital director Edi Gunawan said in East Aceh that most of the victims suffered from up to 70 percent burns. Some were already beyond help as they had sustained damage to their internal organs due to hot smoke inhalation.

The large number of victims overwhelmed hospitals in East Aceh and Langsa municipality. As of Thursday afternoon, three victims have been referred to the Haji Adam Malik general hospital in Medan, North Sumatra. Two of them, Muhamamd Rafi, 39, and Zainal Abidin, 36, had died. Another victim, 19-year-old Heri Herliza, is in critical condition with 80 percent burns.

Livelihood

Oil drilling had been a source of livelihood for many people in Rantau Peureulak district in East Aceh regency for years. Oil drilling and processing are done without any regard to safety standards. Oil wells are found everywhere, even in people’s homes.

Zainal’s wife Julia, 40, said that her family was hit hard by the accident. Like many other families in his village, Zainal’s has relied on illegal oil drilling for income for the past five years. “We have six children. I don’t know what to do,” Julia said.

Julia said that her husband chose to work in illegal oil drilling amid job scarcity. Her husband usually works at night, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day. Drilling in done randomly until oil is found. “Sometimes he worked for days without getting any money as no oil was found. My husband only got his share of money when they found oil,” he said.

Julia said she did not know whether the oil drilling was legal or not. Zainal was only an oil driller. The drilling technique is terribly simple, similar to drilling a water well. However, drilling for oil requires the workers to go much deeper. Money from the oil is split between workers, land owners and equipment owners.

Peureulak resident Ery Asrianda, 30, said that illegal oil drilling was a public secret in Peureulak. Oil wells can be found everywhere, including in homes, plantations and hills. “Even house flooring can be drilled just to get oil,” Ery said. Unprocessed oil can be sold at between Rp 500,000 (US$36) and Rp 700,000 per drum.

Some locals process their oil first before selling. “The processing is also very traditional. Oil is put into drums and cooked with firewood. Three years ago, oil drums exploded during this cooking process. Four workers died,” Ery said.

According to him, locals sell their oil to middlemen, who will later transport the oil to North Sumatra. The oil is then used to make asphalt or fuel for small factories.

Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBA) chief Teuku Ahmad Dadek said that most victims were locals who watched the process and took the spilled oil. The source of the fire was still being investigated.

East Aceh Deputy Regent Syahrul bin Syamaun said that the illegal oil well explosion should serve as a lesson. No life is worth any amount of money.