In Miri I somehow (I don’t wanna go into details not to write a word too much) landed in the middle of local opposition & environmental activists. I’ve learned that they recently gained support from the UN. They told me a lot about the history of Sarawak (the province of Malaysia that, along with Sabah used to be a more autonomous state, was then incorporated into Malaysia and there actually – according to my new friends – the environmental problems began).
The deforestation has severe impacts. Not only on environment. Also, on people. Especially, on the local tribes living here. One of the aspect is that groups of timber workers from all over the world come here to work in the forest, and, let’s put it this way – they are not always decent people. There are ex-prisoners among them, there are criminals from Europe who hide here – that kind of people. And once they’re in the jungle, meet the local tribes they act pretty much as invaders from the old times. To put it clear – there are rapes on local women. And, according to what I’ve been told, it happens notoriously. It’s a serious problem as well as a truly delicate issue. The tribe leaders are trying to do something against this situation, but the government seems to be blind. And the situation has to be handled very delicately, not only because of the women who have been violated but also because of the children whose fathers are those ‘workers’.
“The children have white skin, blue eyes. They don’t look like us, but they are ours, we have to protect them” – my new friends explained. I was listening to everything they said and I suddenly understood that there are parts of the world where nothing has changed. Where still, the conquistadors rule - if they have money and/ or some country that backs them.
And the government apparently does really nothing to protect the forest and the tribes of Borneo. The problem is also that the indigenous groups are not that numerous (one of my new friends – the leader of one of the tribes said that his tribe nowadays counts about 1000 ppl) – so even if there is a so called ‘democracy’ they cannot effectively advocate for their cause. In addition, they don't have money to hire a lawyer even if they wanted to go to court...
Some hope comes now with the engagement of the UN. There are elections planned for this year apparently. The Sarawak people have now a radio that broadcasts from London (Radio Sarawak). I could listen to the broadcast (though didn’t understand a word) on a roof of one of the buildings together with the activists. They also do a lot of field work, go to the villages, explain the situation, are involved as social workers. Also, they donate radios to the local people, so they will be able to listen to the independent Radio Sarawak.
“People in long-houses (these are traditional homes where several families live), they have no electricity, no clear water, no education. Thus, the government can manipulate them easily.” – one of the activists explained.
“The most important thing is education. Only with education we can accomplish something.” – the other added. I couldn’t agree more. I also believe that the key to solving most of the problems is education. With education comes critical thinking, ability to analyze and make comparisons. However, there are still powerful groups in the world which don’t want people to think critically. And unfortunately for this beautiful land and its people, those groups seem to be pretty influential in Malaysia…
An example: the national park Mulu – locals not allowed to go into the park (well, they can go in, would have to pay for a ticket like a regular visitor). If they enter without a ticket, the police arrests them. And the land for the park was just taken away from the tribes (“nationalization”…). I’ve learned that the “Mulu-Case” will be on trial next week. I keep my fingers crossed for the local people. I tried to look for the other part of the story – I mean the government’s opinion. Well, apparently, the activists and opposition is just labeled as ‘the communists’. They are no communists though. I talked to them. I could see they’re desperate and sometimes almost giving up on hope that change could ever be possible with peaceful methods and dialogue, but their views are far from being communist. For instance, they’re not against free market economy, they just want a sustainable development for their country.
I know I’m being emotional here and that’s no objective report. But I don’t really care. I am furious that such things still happen. I could experience this sensation many times on my travels. Always, when I see the injustice of this world. Will we one day be able to solve the problems?
I wish I could do something to help. Maybe the UN will. There is a real and urgent need for international mediations here, between the indigenous people of Sarawak and Sabah and the government of Malaysia. Otherwise, we will all lose something important, something that we cannot win back once it’s lost. Because, my dear Friends, Borneo with its biodiversity as well as the cultural richness undoubtedly is an important part of the heritage of the whole mankind.
The deforestation has severe impacts. Not only on environment. Also, on people. Especially, on the local tribes living here. One of the aspect is that groups of timber workers from all over the world come here to work in the forest, and, let’s put it this way – they are not always decent people. There are ex-prisoners among them, there are criminals from Europe who hide here – that kind of people. And once they’re in the jungle, meet the local tribes they act pretty much as invaders from the old times. To put it clear – there are rapes on local women. And, according to what I’ve been told, it happens notoriously. It’s a serious problem as well as a truly delicate issue. The tribe leaders are trying to do something against this situation, but the government seems to be blind. And the situation has to be handled very delicately, not only because of the women who have been violated but also because of the children whose fathers are those ‘workers’.
“The children have white skin, blue eyes. They don’t look like us, but they are ours, we have to protect them” – my new friends explained. I was listening to everything they said and I suddenly understood that there are parts of the world where nothing has changed. Where still, the conquistadors rule - if they have money and/ or some country that backs them.
And the government apparently does really nothing to protect the forest and the tribes of Borneo. The problem is also that the indigenous groups are not that numerous (one of my new friends – the leader of one of the tribes said that his tribe nowadays counts about 1000 ppl) – so even if there is a so called ‘democracy’ they cannot effectively advocate for their cause. In addition, they don't have money to hire a lawyer even if they wanted to go to court...
Some hope comes now with the engagement of the UN. There are elections planned for this year apparently. The Sarawak people have now a radio that broadcasts from London (Radio Sarawak). I could listen to the broadcast (though didn’t understand a word) on a roof of one of the buildings together with the activists. They also do a lot of field work, go to the villages, explain the situation, are involved as social workers. Also, they donate radios to the local people, so they will be able to listen to the independent Radio Sarawak.
“People in long-houses (these are traditional homes where several families live), they have no electricity, no clear water, no education. Thus, the government can manipulate them easily.” – one of the activists explained.
“The most important thing is education. Only with education we can accomplish something.” – the other added. I couldn’t agree more. I also believe that the key to solving most of the problems is education. With education comes critical thinking, ability to analyze and make comparisons. However, there are still powerful groups in the world which don’t want people to think critically. And unfortunately for this beautiful land and its people, those groups seem to be pretty influential in Malaysia…
An example: the national park Mulu – locals not allowed to go into the park (well, they can go in, would have to pay for a ticket like a regular visitor). If they enter without a ticket, the police arrests them. And the land for the park was just taken away from the tribes (“nationalization”…). I’ve learned that the “Mulu-Case” will be on trial next week. I keep my fingers crossed for the local people. I tried to look for the other part of the story – I mean the government’s opinion. Well, apparently, the activists and opposition is just labeled as ‘the communists’. They are no communists though. I talked to them. I could see they’re desperate and sometimes almost giving up on hope that change could ever be possible with peaceful methods and dialogue, but their views are far from being communist. For instance, they’re not against free market economy, they just want a sustainable development for their country.
I know I’m being emotional here and that’s no objective report. But I don’t really care. I am furious that such things still happen. I could experience this sensation many times on my travels. Always, when I see the injustice of this world. Will we one day be able to solve the problems?
I wish I could do something to help. Maybe the UN will. There is a real and urgent need for international mediations here, between the indigenous people of Sarawak and Sabah and the government of Malaysia. Otherwise, we will all lose something important, something that we cannot win back once it’s lost. Because, my dear Friends, Borneo with its biodiversity as well as the cultural richness undoubtedly is an important part of the heritage of the whole mankind.
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