Try the Rainbow Warrior

I Made Agus Suwesnawa, 38, uses his artistic talent for a special purpose. He also directly involved in environmental activities. He has been a volunteer on a famous Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, for 18 years.

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I Made Agus Suwesnawa

In joining the Rainbow Warrior, I Made Agus Suwesnawa usually called Gus Wes, first strengthened his own commitment and then invited many people in the world to preserve the cosmology of the universe. He was fortunate to be able to travel the world, stopping off at islands in all parts of the world. Gus Wes was aware that speaking out about environmental sustainability did not have to mean loud protest.

"I chose the path of art, which tends to be quiet. But, trying as much as possible, the work can provide energy for change. It may not be much, but there is still some dynamic, "said the man from Nagara, Jembrana regency in Bali, whom I met in Denpasar in early January 2020.

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Incidentally, he was on a holiday from the peace ship that month. Gus Wes then shared the story about the peace mission Greenpeace\'s ship is on. One thing he had not expected was to get the chance to set foot on both the North Pole and the South Pole. The two poles of the earth made him even more aware of the dangers of global warming. "The ship can more easily enter the ice zones [today] because the ice is melting," said Gus Wes. His experience of the Earth\'s poles ignited his awareness of human greed. "We have to be wiser as human beings. Climate change is caused by your behavior, too," he said.

The first Rainbow Warrior volunteer from Indonesia was born near Bali’s western coast. He enjoyed the atmosphere of the sea every day. Gus Wes was curious. He wanted to read the various signs nature sends. Humans often fail to acknowledge changes in natural cycles, which can be interpreted as signals from nature that humans need to change their patterns of behavior.

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I Made Agus Suwesnawa

He studied the hypothesis about changes in natural cycles through his thesis for a master’s degree in cultural studies from the Department of Cultural Sciences, Udayana University, in 2014. Gus Wes chose the title "Cosmological Myths and the Struggle of Fishermen’s Life in Perancak Village" in Jembrana regency.

Gus Wes conducted a year of research to answer the following questions: How do fishing seasons correlate with life around the coast and what are the signals nature shows? Coastal signs, according to Gus Wes’s research, can send a message about natural conditions. His conclusion was that fishermen struggle with uncertainty because traditional signs to indicate the fishing season as in cosmology were no longer accurate.

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The next implication, according to Gus West, is that the cosmological myth that offers an orderly arrangement and structured worldview, as a result of human behavior, is no longer organized. The fish harvest season in the fourth month (Sasih Kapat) in the traditional Balinese calculation is no longer accurate, because weather cycles are changing as a result of climate change.

Gus Wes started volunteering with Greenpeace in 2002 and joined the Rainbow Warrior crew in 2014. He joined in Singapore, where the ship was undergoing maintenance. His first journey after that took the crew from Australia via New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to Bali.

KOMPAS/AYU SULISTYOWATI

I Made Agus Suwesnawa

At the time, he was a member of the ship’s crew. Greenpeace has three ships, with crews of 16 to 22 people each. The two other ships are the Arctic Sunrise and the Esperanza.

Gus Wes\'s main tasks were logistics, such as handling ship documents. However, as a member of a crew with an environmental mission, he also must understand and join environmental activism. One of the initial actions he joined was blockading coal bulk carriers in Newcastle, Australia. They also blockaded GMO soybean carriers from Argentina to the "Kangaroo country".

"There are times when ideas of action are wild and not easy to understand. For this reason, art has become a necessary medium for written and visual communication. I was also the one who prepared it, such as cartoons and posters, "he said.

All these valuable experiences have shaped him in driving home critical messages through the path of art. To him, art has the power to pinch policies that support the environment and the economy. The narrative need not always be taken to the streets or shouted out loud. The silent route can be an alternative way to invite others to love the Earth and the universe. "That’s all you have to do, but do it properly," he advised.

I Made Agus Suwesnawa

Born: May 24, 1981

Education: -Bachelor degree in fine arts from ISI Denpasar, master’s degree in cultural studies from Udayana University