Nothing But Grief in Former SE Sulawesi Mining Area

When nickel mining was booming in Hakatutobu village a decade ago, the villagers stopped fishing.

Kompas/Videlis Jemali

Waves of red seawater lap Mandiodo beach on Friday (4/11). Coastal waters in North Konawe regency, Southeast Sulawesi, have turned red from materials at the nickel mining port in Mandiodo village of Molawe district. Research has shown that mining activities and the nickel mining port have caused negative impacts on the villagers’ livelihoods and the local ecosystem.

Mustang, 29, sat on Friday, staring at the seawater beneath his stilt house in Hakatutobu village, located along the coast of Pomalaa district, Kolaka regency, Southeast Sulawesi. For at least eight years, his life has been clouded by uncertainties, just like the polluted sea he was looking at.

The activities of the fishermen in the villages of Kampung Kenanga and Kampung Mustang were relatively muted that Friday afternoon. A small, two-man boat was moored under his house. Young children swam in the reddish sea.