Nama Saya Ari Ersandi (dia), Rambut saya pendek dan berwarna hitam, kulit kecoklatan dan mata sedikit sipit dan hidung pesek. Selama 33 tahun saya berada pada kondisi iklim yang darurat.
My name is Ari Ersandi, pronoun he. I have a short and black hair, brown skin and slightly slanted eyes and snout nose. I come from Indonesia and I have lived a through climate emergency around 33 years.
My name is Jeannie Park. My pronoun is she. I have medium short dark hair light skin Asian / Korean American so its Asian eyes slightly slanted. I'm coming from Indonesia and I have lived through the climate emergency for 53 years. Today is Tuesday the sixth of September 2022. And it is about 20 after 5 o'clock.
Jeannie translates for Ari.
I live in Lampung which is one of the provinces and Indonesia my place of residence is in an area that is surrounded by coconut and corn plantations. In Bandar Lampung (the capital city), there are several major rivers in the area called the Belau River, the Kuripan River, the Way Seputih River, the Way Sekampung River, that flows through the province of Lampung
So, regards to of where I grew up, I was born in the village of Ujan Mas, which the majority of the people are farmers with a very simple life. The location of the village is far from the city, which is the area is surrounded by various plantations such as coffee, pepper, and rubber. Every morning we hear the sounds of animals such as monkeys, birds, and of course other farm animals such as the chickens, goats and cows. However now much has changed. Plantations are now bare and have become residential land and the air is no longer fresh due to the pollution from the mining trucks. The banks of the river have become rock and sand and become mining areas. And the river that was once clear has now become polluted and cloudy due to household waste, and from different factories that surround the area. And many people will have moved on to the city in search of other jobs.
In regards of where are you in Indonesia and how do you feel is your climate emergency? So I am an artist and currently living in Lampung, I feel that the climate emergency is a huge concern, because many people don't seem to be too concerned about it the weather has changed. It's not only about the change of weather, but also that the climate emergency has influenced and cause different impacts on two elements which is the nature and of course people. I feel more sure that somehow nature has a way of healing itself from those conditions. Because of that, I would like to see the changes or the impact that it has on humanity itself.
Some of the things that I've noticed that has changed in humanity, it's really not about the effects of, say, weather, but how it has changed our rhythm as a person. It’s much faster or more of an instant attitude, even what we eat or drink or other products that we see or purchase - that kind of consumption has changed how we engage ourselves in life. So with technology, and how it's so advanced and making everything much more convenient, however, it does also cause a certain distance, we're suddenly disconnected with engaging with other people, there's no chance to develop meaning with what we do. So in some sense, we lost our ability to try and measure something that is meaningful. I feel that what we need to do is just start simply, and kind of regain that relationship with nature, spend more time in the garden, find ways where we can strengthen our care for our surrounding nature and our environment.
The climate emergency feel real to me is like… It was between the year 2018 and 2019, when I was in East Kalimantan, and I was looking at one of the largest rivers there, it's called the Mahakam River. Of course, it was very dirty. And at that time, there was suddenly huge flooding that was four metres high. And at that time, I realised that the land is unable to absorb the water from the rain which is causing the floods. So this is already telling us that we are not supporting the necessary infrastructure that the land itself is no longer to function how it usually does.
Regarding if there's others around me who are conscious about the climate emergency... not so much, they're more aware about global warming, which is only one element of say, the climate emergency, and they're not really conscious of the impact that it has on us as human beings. So what's actually quite funny is that these people, quite often they're complaining about how hot it is, and why is the water so dirty? And why is there a lack of different things? Or why is there trash everywhere? But at the same time not consciously aware that they are also contributing to what's happening in our climate as we need to be more active in educating. Help people be aware of actions such as this project, hopefully people will be much more sensitive of what's happening.
Regarding my feelings about the future, yeah, with the current conditions, I feel that in our future, we will lose so many different places that we hold valuable or deep meaning in our memories, places that use to enable us to feel connected with each other or connected in sense where a certain communities and environments within the communities or say the city has connected us. And so this is where I feel. Yeah, it would be a great loss.
Why acting on climate emergency is important to you? It's quite simple. In my opinion, it is important because I have people that I really care about that are important to me. And of course, I hope that they can also enjoy a life that is safe and comfortable, and who doesn't have to constantly worry about the threats of the climate emergency? Ideally, we would like to offer a life where everybody feels comfortable and happy with nature.
Get well soon (recover), for me, for you, us, them and my earth.
Semoga lekas sembuh untuk aku, kamu, kita, mereka dan bumiku.