Fight for rice at Buru Island indonesian gold mine
Bertarung demi nasi di tambang emas Pulau Buru indonesia
The gold mine of Gunung Botak is the place where the villagers of Kayeli, Buru Island, Maluku, earn a living and look forward to a beautiful future. However, when I visited the area, what was seen was the arid landscape and barren trees.
The condition is not unusual for Mahani, one of about 12 gold miners who daily earn a fortune on Bald Mountain.
"There are clean water, some are not, there are falling rocks, then there is a very high hill, there is a rock falling on people, it is tall, very tall, road people are also difficult because if it rains, it is slippery," Mahani said.
Victims who fall by landslides may suffer broken legs, arms or even worse, Mahani explained.
Tambang emas Gunung Botak adalah tempat warga Desa Kayeli, Pulau Buru, Maluku, mencari nafkah dan menaruh harapan untuk masa depan yang indah. Namun, ketika saya mengunjungi daerah itu, yang terlihat adalah pemandangan gersang dan pohon-pohon tandus.
Kondisi itu bukan hal aneh bagi Mahani, salah seorang dari sekitar 12 penambang emas yang sehari-harinya mengais rejeki di Gunung Botak.
"Ada air yang bersih, ada yang tidak. Ada batu-batu jatuh. Lalu ada bukit tinggi sekali. Ada batu jatuh kena orang. Gunung itu tinggi, tinggi sekali. Orang jalan juga sulit karena kalau hujan, licin," ungkap Mahani.
Korban yang jatuh karena longsor bisa menderita patah kaki, tangan atau bahkan lebih parah lagi, jelas Mahani.
Died at the mine
Meninggal di tambang
"There are people who die, and within a week or two, two or three people can die from the soil, landslides because of the rain, the soil is dug, the landslide," Mahani said.
Image caption Mountain Bald is very high and difficult terrain often swallow victims
In addition to causing casualties due to harsh natural conditions, Bald Mountain also raises casualties due to seizure of gold among residents.
However, despite knowing the bad effects of the gold mine, Mahani and thousands of other residents still want to gain the precious metal.
"Because of this kind of work, miners can buy a car, have a drum, there is a house that can change (renovated) .The children can also go to school, so this miner is difficult, but still our efforts for children to go to school, Mahani added
"Ada orang yang meninggal. Dalam seminggu atau dua hari, bisa ada yang meninggal dua sampai tiga orang karena tertimbun dengan tanah,longsor. Karena waktu hujan, tanah digali, longsor," kata Mahani.
Image caption Gunung Botak sangat tinggi dan medan yang sulit kerap menelan korban
Selain menimbulkan korban jiwa karena kondisi alamnya yang keras, Gunung Botak juga memunculkan korban jiwa akibat perebutan emas antar warga.
Namun, meski sudah mengetahui dampak buruk tambang emas, Mahani dan ribuan warga lainnya masih ingin mendulang logam mulia tersebut.
"Karena kerja seperti ini, penambang bisa beli mobil, punya tromol, ada rumah yang bisa berubah (direnovasi). Anak-anak juga bisa sekolah. Jadi penambang ini biar susah, tetapi tetap usaha kita agar anak-anak bisa sekolah, kuliah," tambah Mahani
The danger of mercury
Bahaya merkuri
Real gold mining also has other impacts, which can only be discovered a few years later.
Yuyun Ismawati, environmental activist from Balifokus explained that to be able to extract the required gold mercury or commonly known as mercury.
When gold is burned to produce the color of the luster known to the public, mercury is also in the air, explains Yuyun.
"This mercury vapor is linger (still lagging) in the air about 1.5 years, when it rains, it will be washed down and deposited in fields, water, soil, so it goes down, but there is still the rest in the air," Yuyun said.
Penambangan emas sebenarnya juga memiliki dampak lain, yang baru dapat diketahui beberapa tahun kemudian.
Yuyun Ismawati, pegiat lingkungan dari Balifokus menjelaskan bahwa untuk dapat mengekstrak emas dibutuhkan merkuri atau yang lazim dikenal dengan air raksa.
Ketika emas dibakar untuk menghasilkan warna kilau yang dikenal masyarakat, merkuri juga ada di udara, jelas Yuyun.
"Uap merkuri ini linger (masih tertinggal) di udara sekitar 1,5 tahun. Waktu hujan turun, dia akan terbasuh lalu terdeposisi di sawah, air, tanah, jadi turun. Tetapi masih ada sisanya di udara," ungkap Yuyun.
Baby defects
Bayi cacat
This mercury effect, according to Yuyun, is very bad for pregnant women.
"Many babies are born with disabilities, that's a lot of cases, then in Kalimantan we can see, especially Central Kalimantan there is a village whose babies or their children are all their lips cleft.In Lombok there are two-year-old tremors," said Yuyun.
However, individuals with healthy physical condition should be alert to mercury because it can cause high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea and even stroke.
For mercury not to be used in gold mining, environmentalist Ahmad Ashov Birry from Greenpeace gave the solution.
"First, substitution of the material itself, and secondly, if there is no substitute, there must be substitution in the process, then the third, substitution on the material," Ahmad said.
Efek merkuri ini, menurut Yuyun, sangat buruk bagi wanita hamil.
"Banyak bayi lahir cacat, itu sudah banyak kasusnya. Kemudian di Kalimantan kita bisa lihat, terutama Kalimantan Tengah ada satu kampung yang bayinya atau anak-anaknya semua bibir mereka sumbing. Di Lombok ada anak umur dua tahun tremor," kata Yuyun.
Walau demikian, individu yang kondisi fisiknya sehat pun harus waspada terhadap merkuri karena dapat menyebabkan darah tinggi, pusing, rasa mual bahkan stroke.
Agar merkuri tidak digunakan dalam penambangan emas, pegiat lingkungan Ahmad Ashov Birry dari Greenpeace memberi solusi.
"Pertama, substitusi dari bahan itu sendiri. Kedua, apabila bila tidak ada penggantiya, harus dicari substitusi pada proses. Lalu yang ketiga, substitusi pada materialnya," ujar Ahmad.
Solutions from the government
Solusi dari pemerintah
But how to overcome the negative impacts of traditional gold mining such as landslides, wretched miners, and conflicts between miners?
Image caption The government expects people to have an awareness to protect the environment
Deputy Environmental Pollution of the Ministry of Environment, Karliansyah, revealed.
"There are rules that require the government to allocate certain areas for the mining areas of the people, where the government can come in, help its environmental assessment, and then help control its environmental impact, including its waste, but we have seen that many areas are exploited by the so-called community, "said Karliansyah.
Therefore, Karliansyah hopes the public has an awareness that the gold mines they dig are not solely for their survival, but also for the environment of all habitats.
Namun bagaimana mengatasi dampak negatif penambangan emas tradisional seperti longsor, penambang yang celaka, dan konflik antar penambang?
Image caption Pemerintah berharap masyarakat memiliki kesadaran untuk menjaga lingkungan
Deputi Pencemaran Lingkungan Hidup Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup, Karliansyah, mengungkapkan.
"Ada aturan main yang mengharuskan pemerintah untuk mengalokasikan wilayah tertentu untuk wilayah pertambangan rakyat. Di sini pemerintah bisa masuk, bisa membantu kajian lingkungannya, kemudian membantu pengendalian dampak lingkungannya, termasuk limbahnya. Tapi yang kita lihat selama ini kan, banyak wilayah-wilayah yang dieksploitasi oleh yang menamakan dirinya masyarakat," kata Karliansyah.
Oleh karenanya, Karliansyah berharap masyarakat memiliki kesadaran bahwa tambang emas yang mereka gali bukan semata-mata untuk kelangsungan hidup mereka, namun juga untuk lingkungan semua habitat.
Best Regard
