Fikri’s Cries: Endless Sorrow amid Smog

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Thick smoke obscures firefighters as they combat a peatland fire on Tuesday (17/9/2019) at Merbau village in Bunut district, Pelalawan regency, Riau. The joint firefighting team continues to combat wildfires in the province.

For those living far away from forest and peatland fires, the disaster may be nothing more than photographs or images on a TV screen. For those living amid the smog, it is something much more sinister. For these people, the fires are a source of sorrow.

The mother could not hold back her tears upon seeing blood trickling down from her son’s eyes. “It hurts, Mom,” said Sari Apriani, recalling the cries of her 7-year-old son Fikri. A doctor at a hospital in Jambi then daubed Fikri’s eyes with medicine and covered them with a wet bandage.

Since a massive forest fire seized Fikri’s village in West Muara Sabak, East Tanjung Jabung, locals had been complaining about the air. It was around then that Fikri began complaining about eyesore.

At the time, he was still going to school. Amid the thick smog, he and his friends continued their learning activities as usual.

Three days later, Fikri’s eyesore became unbearable. Sari then took Fikri to a local clinic. The doctor said Fikri was suffering from conjunctivitis, or irritation caused by inflammation of the membrane on his inner eyelid and eye surface. “The doctor said exposure to smog could lead to the irritation,” Sari said.

The irritation got worse. Fikri was then taken to Jambi city for intensive care. There, he often cried from the unbearable pain. His eyes watered profusely and then blood began to drip. At one point, Fikri even became blind.

The doctor then decided to daub Fikri’s eyes with medicine and cover them with a wet bandage. After a week, his condition improved. “However, the doctor prohibited Fikri from returning to the village while smog was still thick,” said Sari, who currently lives in a relative’s home in Jambi.

The smog from forest and peatland fires has created many victims. Other than Fikri, thousands of others have suffered from acute respiratory track syndrome (ISPA) in Jambi, Riau, Palangkaraya, Pontianak and Palembang.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Members of the joint firefighting team tackle the smoking peatlands of Merbau village in Bunut district, Pelalawan regency, Riau, Tuesday (17/9/2019). Completely extinguishing peatland and forest fires so they do not reignite requires prolonged and careful efforts.

Jambi Health Agency data shows that the number of ISPA cases increased from 7,142 in June 2019 to 9,316 in July. The most cases were throughout August until 10 September, namely 11,251 cases.

The fires have also claimed two lives in Batanghari regency. Both died while fighting the fires.

There have never been any free healthcare services or shelters for locals

Astuti, a resident of Kandis Dendang, East Tanjung Jabung, said people in her town had suffered through seven fires in nearby private oil palm plantations in the past 10 years. Throughout these years, locals have been neglected.

“There have never been any free healthcare services or shelters for locals,” Astuti said.

IQ Air Visual application shows poor air quality in several regions. At 6:30 p.m., the air health indicator read 305 in Jambi and 312 in Palembang – these are dangerous levels for human lungs. In Palangkaraya, it was even worse: 612.

A 2015 report titled “Behind the Smog Tragedy” issued by the Asia Foundation and Perkumpulan Skala cited the extremely dangerous health effects for people directly exposed to smog particles.

Meanwhile, 2015 data by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) showed that forest fires and smog had claimed 24 lives. The number of ISPA sufferers reached more than 600,000 and around 60 million people were exposed to the smog.

In late 2015, the Health Ministry surveyed diseases related to forest fires and smog. Apart from 10,133 ISPA cases, there were also 311 cases of pneumonia, 415 cases of asthma, 698 cases of eye irritation and 1,850 cases of skin irritation.

The World Bank estimated that up to Rp 2.1 trillion (US$149.12 million) was spent to fund health services during the forest fires and smog.

These reports revealed that no one wanted to live in smog-affected regions. However, many were forced to stay. Only those who are financially capable can temporarily leave Sumatra or Kalimantan.

This year’s forest fires are deemed as bad as those of 2015. This is despite continuous firefighting efforts by land and by air for the last month.

Hunting for rainclouds

On Tuesday, raincloud seeders spent hours over Riau looking for clouds they could use for weather modification. Weather engineering is part of the government’s effort to curb forest fires.

We have done everything we can. We have sprayed the forest with water. We have deployed more people, up to 5,600. Prayers [for rain] have been recited.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said forest fires had expanded to such an extent that they were hard to deal with. In Riau, the BNPB record shows that 49,256 hectares of forest and peatland caught fire on Monday (16/9/2019). Riau is the province with the most massive forest fire in Sumatra.

“We have done everything we can. We have sprayed the forest with water. We have deployed more people, up to 5,600. Prayers [for rain] have been recited,” President Jokowi said at the apron of the Roesmin Noerjadin airbase in Riau on Tuesday.

Raincloud hunters have a key role. They are Air Force pilots, scientists at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and weather forecasters at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

They split tasks. BPPT scientists provided salt (NACl) mixed with cabosil to prevent the salt from clotting. The Air Force pilots prepare the plane to seed salt on clouds.

The government launched its weather modification efforts on 19 February. Recently, a Hercules C-130 plane from the 31 Air Squadron of Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma airbase was flown by Major Candra Danangjaya to Riau, bringing eight tons of salt.

As the aircraft flew over Palembang, the crew became busy. To Kompas, Candra explained that it was difficult to steer a cloud-seeding aircraft on top of clouds.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Two local residents use buckets to pour water on the smoking peatlands of Merbau village in Bunut district, Pelalawan regency, Riau, Tuesday (17/9/2019). Completely extinguishing peatland and forest fires so they do not reignite requires prolonged and careful efforts.

Above the clouds, the aircraft’s speed must be adjusted to be no more than 180 knots. “Coordination with the cargo crew must be effective. One mistake and the cloud-seeding will be in vain,” he said. The Hercules aircraft flight was just one example in the fight against smog.

Continuous hard work is being done for the sake of clean air. Hopefully, there will no more sorrow as Fikri had to go through.