Disaster Volunteers Fight Powerlessness

Passing through thick mud, climbing damaged, uphill roads and walking for hours. All of the endeavors were conducted by local volunteers at the location of the flash floods and landslides in Bogor regency, West Java.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

People cross a makeshift bridge suspended over the rapidly flowing Ciberang River on 26 Jan. 2020 in Banjarsari village, Lebakgedong, Lebak, Banten. The Ciberang River overflowed on 1 Jan. 2020, causing a flash flood that destroyed the bridge connecting the kampongs of Ciladaeun and Muara, and a landslide that buried a nearby area that remains inaccessible to vehicles.

Some of the volunteers were also the victims of the disaster. For the sake of humanity, Sunarno ,37, for example, did not want to remain silent and do nothing. In fact, Sunarno was one of the victims of the landslide that swept through Nyomplong hamlet in Kiarapandak village, Sukajaya district, Bogor, on Jan. 1.

The hamlet, located on the hillside slopes, can no longer be occupied. All residents, including Sunarno and his family, sought refuge in a safer place in Pasir Walang II hamlet, Harkatjaya village, Sukajaya district.