Holding On Until Finally Collapsing

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Smog from forest and land fires shrouds the city of Pekanbaru in Riau on Thursday (19/9/2019). The high density of the haze led to poor visibility. Most of the people doing outdoor activities were forced to use masks. Schools in the city have been temporarily closed.

Who can stand being exposed to haze for months? However, stories of people helping one another always emerge amid the difficulties. Some are battling on, while others have thrown in the towel.

On Thursday morning (19/9/2019), 40-year-old Aprie Husin Rahu got back to his job as a mobile oxygen service driver. Aprie, who is a farmer, should have been resting, as he had just been released from the local emergency room the previous day after being treated for a respiratory disorder – a condition he developed from driving around Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan.

“I just push myself. I’m feeling better. I have to drive around town and distribute oxygen and these masks,” said Aprie, who also heads the volunteer corps of the Palangkaraya City Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC).

Aprie’s phone rang. Someone was requesting oxygen amid the haze from the forest and peatland fires in Palangkaraya. He headed to Jl. G Obos XIV in Menteng subdistrict.

Six firefighters were already at the location, putting out a fire. Among them was Maslani, 54, who was lying down at the end of an alley, holding his head.

Aprie approached him and helped him to the mobile oxygen unit, where Palangkaraya Muhammadiyah Islamic Hospital health officer Inayati Muharini and MDMC volunteers Kautsar Ismail, 19, and Widya Triyadi, 22, were waiting.

Inayati first checked Maslani’s blood pressure. The result was surprising. Maslani’s systolic pressure was extremely high at 215 mmHg. Maslani was given medicines and mung bean juice.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Syarifudin, 67, who suffers from a respiratory disorder due to thick haze is given oxygen at Petala Bumi Regional Hospital in Pekanbaru, Riau, Thursday (19/9/2019). The smog from forest and land fires saw many residents suffer respiratory infections. A number of hospitals and health posts have been specially equipped to help people exposed to the thick haze.

Aprie then readied his car and guided Maslani inside, where there was a 1-cubic-meter oxygen tank and hose. The car’s trunk held several boxes containing masks, vitamins, supplements, boxed milk and mung bean juice.

Maslani drifted off for almost 15 minutes, lying down on a car seat. His blackened and wrinkled hands rested on his stomach.

Afterwards, Maslani was instructed to go home. Five other members of the firefighting team, including policemen and military personnel, were waiting for the mobile oxygen service. After taking care of everyone, Aprie drove to another location.

“Sometimes I get requests for pregnant women, babies or elderly people,” he said.

Unfortunately, Palangkaraya only has one mobile oxygen service, which operates from morning to early evening. Aprie is sometimes overwhelmed by the demand.

The high demand for oxygen is not without reason. Many drug stores exploited the haze to sell portable oxygen tanks at high prices. Usually, one 500 cc tank of oxygen costs Rp 40,000 (US$2.84). As the forest and peatland fires continued to rage, this increased to Rp 75,000 per tank.

Furthermore, the oxygen room at puskesmas (community health centers) was combined with other health services, so that patients who needed oxygen had to share the space with other patients.

These were some of the reasons why the Central Kalimantan Women’s Solidarity (SP Kalteng) group decided to create their own oxygen tank using an aquarium aerator. “Patients feel comfortable using it but it is prohibited by the government, as it has yet to undergo clinical testing,” said SP Kalteng chair Margaretha Winda F. Tarigan.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Residents suffering from respiratory disorders due to thick haze are given oxygen at Petala Bumi Regional Hospital in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Thursday (19/9/2019). The smog from forest and land fires saw many residents suffer respiratory infections. A number of hospitals and health posts have been specially equipped to help people exposed to the thick haze.

Palangkaraya, nicknamed the “Beautiful City”, is in dire condition. The local government has declared a haze emergency due to the forest fires. Data from the Central Kalimantan Disaster Mitigation Control and Operation Center shows that the air over Palangkaraya contained particulates (PM 10) at 1,939 micrograms (mcg) per cubic meter, far beyond the upper normal limit of 150 mcg per cubic meter. This is extremely hazardous to the health.

“Children are suffering from acute respiratory infection [ARI]. They are the most vulnerable,” said Endang Sri Lestari, the head of disaster management at the Central Kalimantan Health Agency.

The agency’s data shows that 22,000 people had been diagnosed with ARI due to the forest and peatland fires that have raged from July to September. Palangkaraya has the greatest number of ARI patients, at 6,000 patients.

Resign

Thousands of other people in haze-affected regions are also suffering from ARI. The people of West Kalimantan are exposed to haze almost every year.

There is no place for people to hide during haze season. Most are simply resigned to the situation.

Aulia Apriani, 12, looked frail as she entered the examination room at a puskesmas in Pontianak. Aulia had been suffering from shortness of breath, fever and flu for three days because of the haze.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

Thick haze caused by forest and land fires in Riau engulfs Kualanamu Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, on Thursday (19/9/2019). The haze has disrupted flights in North Sumatra but has not yet disrupted people’s daily activities in the area.

“My daughter has shortness of breath and her eyes hurt. The haze gets into our house from gaps in the walls,” said her mother Misrawati, 30. Her 1-year-old, Noval, had been coughing for three days. “It is difficult for him to sleep at night. I hope the haze will disperse soon,” said Noval’s grandmother Hasanah, 46.

These victims should not be left struggling to find solutions on their own. The government has a duty to help them.