The key facts
- Fires destroyed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September (Nusantara Atlas; the government has neither confirmed nor refuted the figure).
- Six firefighters killed: five in East Java last week, one in South Kalimantan on October 21.
- Smoke caused illness in hundreds of thousands of people and school closures in Malaysia and East Timor.
Prayers for rain in East Java
On Thursday, October 22, schoolchildren in the Indonesian province of East Java took part in prayers for rain, organized after a call by the governor, as fires devastate several districts and conservation areas, including Mount Bromo and the Baluran National Park. In the province's Islamic schools, people sought a 'solution from the heavens': teacher Mohamad Jatim from Surabaya told AFP that religion offers a way to solve the drought problem and expressed optimism. In Malang, about 250 students of a vocational school prayed together with teachers; principal Lucia Andriani noted that due to the prolonged absence of rain, the country has many cases of acute respiratory infections.
Scale of the disaster and casualties
According to the deforestation monitoring service Nusantara Atlas, from January to September fires destroyed more than 1.9 million hectares of forests and peatlands; the government has neither confirmed nor refuted this figure. The haze has worsened the health of hundreds of thousands of people in Indonesia and reached Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor and the Philippines, causing school closures in Malaysia and East Timor. Last week, five firefighters died in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, poisoned by smoke and fire. On Wednesday, a 51-year-old volunteer from the Mahatir Mohammad Zain foundation died in South Kalimantan; he fell ill with a feeling of chest tightness while fighting a fire in Barito Kuala district; the foundation called his death a reminder of the risks to volunteers.
Reaction and protests
The crisis has sparked protests against what demonstrators see as the authorities' slow response, as well as a lawsuit against President Prabowo Subianto and other officials in West Kalimantan. On Thursday, about a dozen demonstrators gathered outside the Chinese embassy in Jakarta, demanding 'solidarity' with Indonesia from importers of Indonesian palm oil and products of the mining and forestry industries. Malang resident Ahmad Saifuddin, who took part in the prayers, told AFP: 'Why does almost everyone try to solve these calamities with logic? Why not try to find a solution from the heavens?'
