Paying for past sins

Paying for past sins

For the millions of Indonesians who live in Jakarta and
elsewhere in cities and villages along Java's north coast, the
spells of rain that have started to lessen and shorten with the
approach of March must be bringing a definite sense of relief.

For them, few things that might have happened in the past few
weeks, apart from the death of close friends or relatives, are
likely to erase the memory of the suffering that the floods
inflicted on them.

By any account, the floods, which have washed over many parts
of the northern parts of Java in the past weeks and days, are the
most serious that have occurred on this island in decades. In
Jakarta, the country's capital, tens of thousands of people are
even now still awaiting food relief for them and their children,
and shelter to replace homes that have been destroyed.
Dissatisfaction over the local government's handling of the
disaster is driving some citizens to ponder taking class action
against the authorities they hold responsible.

But grave as the problem may have been in Jakarta, the
Indonesian capital is certainly not the only location that has
suffered from the consequences of what is, in the view of many
analysts and observers, an expression of nature's wrath against
man's ill-treatment of the environment.

From Indramayu, in the Cirebon area of West Java, to Batang,
Pekalongan, Semarang and Juana in northern Central Java, and to
Bondowoso and Situbondo in the east, floodwaters, caused by heavy
rain and excessive sedimentation of riverbeds as a result of
environmental destruction, have brought death and misery to the
population.

Along the north coast of Central Java, floodwaters also
disrupted vital communication links and economic arteries between
towns and cities located within the area and to areas to the east
and west. Towns were isolated and vital railway links between the
important northern Central Java port city of Semarang in Central
Java and the industrial areas and ports around Cirebon and
Jakarta, for example, were rendered unusable for days.

Considering the impact that all this has made on the lives of
millions of Indonesians in the area, it seems no exaggeration to
say that what happened over these past few days amounted to a
tragedy of national dimensions. All the more so, as the
government is currently in no position to extend the assistance
that is needed, and since one cause of the damage was man-made,
and therefore avoidable.

One lesson that the recent tragedy must have made us painfully
aware of is what, in real and tangible terms, environmental
preservation means to our own well-being as human beings.
Admittedly, it may be a bit late to put right the mistakes that
earlier administrations made in this respect, knowingly or
otherwise.

Only now, for example, are the authorities in Jakarta taking a
closer look at questionable construction projects such as the
Pantai Indah Kapuk luxury housing development scheme at Jakarta
Bay. Also, closer attention is only now being given to the
continuing construction of villas in the Puncak mountain resort
area, which was designated a protected water catchment long ago.
Similar cases are known to exist elsewhere, not only in Java.

In any event, given the disastrous consequences of our
mistakes of the past, no time should be lost in carrying out the
corrective measures needed. True, they are much easier said than
done. A lot of factors are involved, including a corrupt
mentality within the bureaucracy and ignorance among the
population. However, we can see no other alternative to getting
the job done.

What better heritage could we leave our children and
grandchildren than a living environment that was healthy and
intact?