GABY RUSLI WRITES — Protests have erupted in cities across Indonesia ever since a new labor law was passed on October 5th, 2020. This new piece of legislation, known as the “omnibus law,” significantly affects Indonesian worker rights. The omnibus law was passed in an attempt to create more jobs…
Full Article INDONESIA: LABORING AGAINST THE NEW LABOR LAW
SIANY GUNAWAN WRITES – In Indonesia, the debate on women’s rights has accelerated in response to political and social challenges. More and more women are being sexually abused and, according to women’s legal counselors, the alleged violence had continued for years. The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded…
Full Article INDONESIA: WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS…AREN’T THEY?
GABY RUSLI WRITES — Beautiful beaches, divine seafood, welcoming people, a wide array of flavors-those are the words I would use to describe Indonesia, my birthplace. I take pride in having lived there most of my life, but at the same time, I grieve the lack of progress in certain…
Full Article INDONESIA: WHY I LEFT THE COUNTRY WHERE I WAS BORN
STUART MULJADI WRITES — Ever since Trump publicly announced to the world back in March that COVID-19 will vanish by April due to “warmer weather,” researchers, data analysts and ‘self- proclaimed’ experts have been trying to answer the question: Does warmer weather halt the spread and development of COVID-19? Weather…
Full Article INDONESIA AND COVID-19: A YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY?
FIONNA ANGELICA WIJAYA WRITES – The ongoing epidemic that is currently spreading across the globe becomes more threatening every single day. The government policy that requires us to be inside the house or apartment has become more challenging for me personally. This is my first time being quarantined during a…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: ‘THE SITUATION IN INDONESIA HAS NOT IMPROVED’
FIONNA WIJAYA WRITES – The worst floods since 2013 swept through Jakarta this January. Jakarta, the political and economic capital of Indonesia, houses the most significant industrial sectors in the country, compelling most of the population to migrate there for economic opportunities. These early 2020 floods claimed over sixty lives…
Full Article SINKING FEELING IN JAKARTA: WILL THE CAPITOL DISAPPEAR BY 2050?
NATASHA VASS WRITES – What happens to your trash once you throw it in the bin? It’s no longer in front of you, so why think about it? For Indonesians, this set of circumstances could not be further from the truth. 85% of the trash produced by Indonesians is…
Full Article INDONESIA: CAN A COUNTRY WASTE ITSELF AWAY? WITH THE HYPOCRITICAL WEST (TRASHER-IN-CHIEF) PILING ON?
GREGORY de GERSDORFF WRITES- All life on planet Earth requires water. Given the risks that come with climate change, one would expect all countries to preserve the world’s increasingly dwindling supply of fresh water. This is not the case with Indonesia, but this should come as no surprise. The country has…
Full Article INDONESIA: CATCHING WAVE AFTER WAVE OF POLLUTION
NATASHA VASS WRITES – Time and time again, we witness the same occurrence: the world’s most pristine environments go up in flames. Indonesian forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan have spread toxic haze to countries across Southeast Asia. Malaysia’s air pollution index (API) reached a gruesome 101-200, forcing the…
Full Article INDONESIA: PALMING OFF TRUE GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
NICOLE ALAVERDIAN WRITES–Asia is starting to focus on its own environmental problems, rather than taking on the West’s metaphorical and literal trash. In recent months, many countries, including Singapore and China, have refused to take more trash imports from the West. China, the biggest consumer of discarded plastics, has now…
Full Article ASIA’S NEW TRASH TALK: STOP DUMPING ON US, WASTEFUL WEST!
TUNGGA BASUKI WRITES– The 2019 Indonesian Presidential elections came to a close on April 17 with a split in opinion within the nation as to who should be the next president, but with incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) winning by a 6% margin. The two candidates running to become president,…
Full Article INDONESIA: BREAKING DOWN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2019
PATRICK POLESHUK WRITES– It’s hard to believe: Yet in times of government-oriented mass murders, targeting of political opponents, and the overall suppression of free speech, lies a miraculously happy country, according to so-called scientific opinion polls. So, amid much human-rights criticism from western allies and the global community alike, why…
Full Article Philippines: Anti-Drug Dragon Duterte as Happiness-Maker
OLIVIA AMEZCUA WRITES– Fisheries, or rather the poor management of fisheries, has generated a multitude of problems, ranging from environmental to economic to health. For Indonesia, a coastal country heavily reliant on the fishing industry, this issue must be addressed with urgency. Among the adverse effects of poorly managed fisheries:…
Full Article Indonesia: Fisheries Regulation and Sustainability Urgently Needed
EMILY CAPOUYA WRITES– This year, the Bali Spirit Festival was to take place March 29- April 5 (2020) in Ubud, the uplands of Bali, Indonesia in stunning lush green rice fields with a river flowing down below. Every year at this time, crowds of people come all around the world…
Full Article BALI, INDONESIA: A GLOBAL CELEBRATION FOR WELLBEING
OLIVIA AMEZCUA WRITES– When one thinks of Indonesia, palm oil might not be the first thought that comes to mind. Many folks remain vastly unaware of both the country’s near-existential ties with the product— and the self-destructive dangers the palm oil industry imposes on this sprawling nation’s environment. Palm oil…
Full Article Indonesia: THE SLIPPERY BUSINESS OF ‘DIRTY’ PALM OIL