T

he tribal community leader of the nomadic Orang Rimba in Jambi, Temenggung Marituha, has blamed forest conversion as the cause of the food shortage they are currently suffering that has lead to the deaths of 11 tribespeople from starvation.

'€œThe forest has changed because of concession areas belonging to companies granted industrial forest permits (HTI) and business land use rights (HGU). Where will we seek prey animals and tubers to eat?'€ Marituha, who heads 73 families, said on Friday.

He also said he hopes the forest would not be damaged any more as they need it for customary rituals, such as deliveries.

Marituha urged the government to protect their way of life. '€œIf possible, the government should provide us with land to grow rubber, so we can make a decent living,'€ said Marituha.

Marituha'€™s group is currently surviving along the Kemang River in the Bathin XXIV district in the Batanghari regency, Jambi. They previously lived along the Terap River in the Bukit Duabelas National Park (TNBD), but they were forced to move outside the TNBD when the river water they consumed became contaminated by industrial waste.

Marituha also urged the government to provide them with immunizations so that they would be immune from diseases.

'€œI hope with immunization, the Orang Rimba residents would no longer die of the diseases,'€ said Marituha.

Separately, Warsi Indonesian Conservation Community (KKI Warsi) program manager Robert Aritonang said most of the Orang Rimba tribespeople suffered from hepatitis, malaria and tuberculosis.

'€œIt is natural if they die as they suffer from malnutrition and their physical condition is weak,'€ said Robert.

Consequently, he has urged the relevant parties to jointly address the issue.

Currently, around 1,600 Orang Rimba residents are found in TNBD, 1,500 of them live along the Trans Sumatra Highway and 400 along the border between Jambi and Riau provinces.

The Social Ministry is currently probing the deaths of the 11 Orang Rimba residents in TNBD in the past two months. KKI Warsi has also approached Orang Rimba leaders to provide assistance.

The head of the Institutional Cooperation, Evaluation and Report division at the Social Ministry, La Ode Taufik Nuryadin, said his office had provided food assistance to the families of the victims and is currently seeking a solution to prevent further deaths.

'€œThey died of food shortage,'€ La Ode said in Jambi on Friday.

Despite that, he added, his office was unable to meet all the groups because they were currently wandering, so the office would tally the number of Orang Rimba residents living in TNBD.

'€œWe must know their total number,'€ said La Ode

On Thursday, the Jambi Social, Manpower and Transmigration Office confirmed that it was currently probing into the deaths of the 11 members of the Orang Rimba tribal community in the TNBD.