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Rignolda Djamaluddin: Fighting for fishermen
(JP/Syamsul Huda M
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(JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari) (JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari)
(JP/Syamsul Huda M. Suhari)
A middle aged man was repairing a boat while putting a bottle of glue, a saw, a hammer and nails on a stone. Clad in a sleeveless jersey and shorts as his hair was blown by a gentle breeze, at first glance the man looked like an ordinary fisherman.
The man is Rignolda Djamaluddin, a lecturer at the School of Fishery and Marine Science, Sam Ratulangi, Manado, North Sulawesi, commonly referred to as Mijnheer Oda. Mijnheer , a Dutch word meaning Mister (Mr.), is used by local people to address a male teacher.
But the holder of a doctorate from the University of Queensland, Australia, is better known as an environmental activist. His high academic degree in no way limits his activity to a routine of delivering lectures indoors.
Directly involved in fieldwork while allowing his skin to get scorched in the sun, Mijnheer Oda mingles closely with coastal community members, particularly those whose lives are threatened by various forms of environmental destruction.
He rose to fame during the case of sea contamination in Buyat Bay, Minahasa, North Sulawesi, in 2004. Oda was one of the few environmental activists consistently conducting advocacy and opposing PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a mining company that was alleged to have caused pollution in the bay, followed by the death of several residents due to an unidentified disease.
This case led to the trial of Oda, in which the subsidiary of Newmont Gold Company accused him of defamation, which led to big losses for the company. The managing director of an environmental non-governmental organization in North Sulawesi was found guilty and subsequently subjected to a fine worth US$750,000. The Supreme Court, however, granted his appeal and the gold mining firm finally had to close down.
Now Oda spends most of his days in a house on stilts with a thatched roof, standing solidly in the coastal zone of Manado City. The place is known by the name of Daseng Panglima. Daseng is the local term for the fishermen's transit and meeting area, while panglima is the old name of the coast in Manado.
For Oda, Daseng Panglima is not a mere place of passage, but rather a base of traditional fishermen's resistance against arbitrary power. It happened in 2009, when the Manado city government reclaimed the coast to boost the regional economy.
Oda was motivated when local fishermen complained about the matter. They were almost helpless as the shore and the adjacent sea, where they earned their living, were being converted into a shopping center.
Along with some activists, Mijnheer Oda again launched an advocacy initiative, assisting fishermen in voicing their rejection. 'There were many sad stories, as fishermen's mooring ropes were often cut by security personel, as well as being driven away on top of the internal conflict between them regarding the reclamation,' he related.
Oda and local fishermen were also soliciting public support by raising the issue of flood threats that could have been a result from the reclamation, while demanding an open space to be retained as a conversion-free area accessible by fishermen.
The outcome was the area of Daseng Panglima, the only open space left amid the rows of malls and supermarkets. 'This area is part of the spatial layout of the open space reserved as a free zone for fishermen,' Oda pointed out.
Legally, the area that is almost completely surrounded by shopping centers was properly validated as a place for fishermen through its registration with the district court in 2010 and has since been under the protection of the National Human Rights Commission.
'Behind the coastal reclamation carried out by the city administration, there have been rights violations affecting traditional fishermen,' he noted. Therefore, Oda also questioned the slogan, 'Manado, Ecotourism City', so far communicated by the government as a regional identity.
'Up to this point the problem of waste polluting the marine park of Bunaken hasn't been solved yet, while reclamation in various places continues without heeding the fate of fishermen despite Manado's coastal city status,' he said.
Instead of treating the sea as a vital asset for the future, according to him, the city administration is causing damage to the marine ecosystem for the sake of economic growth targets. In his view, the reclamation policy tends to favor a handful of investors and those who possess capital.
In Daseng Panglima, fishermen are continuously being guided in order to improve their living conditions. They have also formed the Association of North Sulawesi Traditional Fishermen (ANTRA), with more than 5,000 members from nearly all parts of the province.
In the association, fishermen are provided with different kinds of knowledge including methods of self advocacy in the face of eviction threats and how to manage the marine ecosystem in a sustainable manner.
Besides, fishermen also learn to maintain their independent economy among others by setting up a credit-savings cooperative. Although Oda has a major role in improving the life of local fishermen, he avoids the position of a central leading figure among them.
'I've tried to avoid it from the beginning. An organization should grow strong as a result of its members' mutual effort and sense of belonging,' explained Mijnheer Oda, hoping that the knowledge already gained by the fishermen would serve as an asset to strengthen their position and eventually help them to become self-reliant.
