Monday, September 28, 2009 10:45:54 AM
Journey to UN Head Quarter, NY
6th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nation, August 2009
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United Nations (UN) Youth Program is one of annual programs organized by the UN Headquarter (HQ). I was one of the students (and alumni) of LabSchool Jakarta and Al Azhar Kebayoran High School, invited to visit and gather at the room where the leaders of nations and the world selected people assembly, conveying the people, or represent the voice of the world. There would be the place of awesome gathering of youth leaders from around the world. Here is the memorable story of the historical journey.
Thursday, July 29, 2009
The journey to the UN HQ began with the first flight: Jakarta-Doha-New York with Qatar Airways. The flight leaving Sukarno-Hatta Airport (Chengkareng-Jakarta) on July 29, 10.25 PM (local time), and scheduled will be arrived in Doha by July 30, 08.10 AM (local time). Without knowing, our flight stopped by at Changi Airport (Singapore), and we should go through the security check procedures. We got surprised because there was neither flight route stated at the e-ticket nor the itinerary for Jakarta-Doha-JFK that we would transit at Changi Airport. There we were in transit for 90 minutes, before continued flew to Doha, Qatar. We began to wear breath mask to prevent infected by any hot issues diseases (bird flu, swine flu).
We arrived in Doha about 05.15 AM (local time), for 3 hours transit. At the airport, I saw lots of TKI (Tenaga Kerja Indonesia/ Indonesian workers) who work in Qatar and want to go back home for a vacation or ending their work contract. We spent our time by walked around, windows shopping, at the airport duty free shops. Flight to JFK Airport (New York) was at 08.10 AM (local time).
New York, here I come!
We finally arrived at JFK Airport after 12 hours flight. We arrived at 5:00 PM. I was glad because I could not stand it for a walk. I was bored enough for the 25 hours flight . . . but of course I still was very exited .
After went through the custom procedure, we were picked up by a bus, heading our inn, Chelsea International Hotel. We would stay there for a while before following the Annual Youth Assembly (AYA) at the UN HQ. We had enough time for preparation and trips to New York and Washington DC, before the AYA event. The trip to Chelsea Int. Hotel from JFK airport spent about 30 minutes. Having arrived at the hotel, we put our belongings to the hotel rooms. I showered and straightened all the things I brought. One hour later, we all gathered in front of the hotel. We would go to Times Square. Well, we finally were having fun time for a walk.
To reach Times Square, we should walk as far 20 blocks away. We were so happy and excited that we did not feel tired after 25 hours flight, hmmm . . . amazing. When we got the Times Square, we took many photos as much ecstasy in our mind. There were bustling with people walking. So many places filled with sparkling lights. After satisfy exploring Times Square, we then had a walk to the "New York Times" and NY Post Office. NY Post Office has a shaped of an ancient building. At the high wall, the building is carved with words with the mean: despite the rain, typhoons, storms, fires, etc. blocking in front, we keep deliver the request. Around 12 PM we returned back to the hotel for a rest.
Friday, July 30, 2009
Hours 9 AM we were getting ready to go for the "Empire State Building". We reached to the top floor, which is about floor 100. There we can see almost all the buildings, bridges, parks and others around New York City. Next, we went to the "National History of America". There were various kinds of history, like the animals, humans, and kinds of technologies. The most interesting to me is the replicate of many varieties of dinosaurs. For your information, we entered the free entrance because we visited the museum at 4:30 PM. The museum gives free entrance from 4:30 PM – 6.00 PM. About 6.00 PM we done with looking around, and went back to the hotel.
When we reached the hotel, it was unexpected rain, because it was summer. I think that is one of the global warming effects: the weather is a bit unpredictable, it was unusual. Unexpected things may happen unpredictably, as our experienced, rain in summer. Therefore, we must reduce things that can cause global warming, such as driving cars with bad emissions, littering, etc. I think we should move, begin to adopt the American way, driving hybrid cars. Here in the USA, there are lots of hybrid cars such as: Toyota Prius, Camry, etc. In addition to cleaner dump gas emissions, it also reduces consuming of gasoline. We know that oil is now scarce and expensive.
Saturday, July 31, 2009
We would like to go to the Statue of Liberty. First, we used subway to the dock, and then switched to a ship to reach the statue. The statue is located in a small island. An the park around the dock where we queued aboard for a ship, there were many people who dressed and action figure like Superman, Spiderman, etc., offering themselves for having photos with them, and pleased to give some small changes.
It took couples of minutes for the ship to reach the island where the Statue of Liberty stands in the middle of the island. I enjoyed the short voyage. On the open area of the ship, I get pleasure from the summer wind blowing gently. When the ship arrived at the island, there were lots of people already there. The statue is surrounded by a park where the people may go around, take picture and enjoy the air.
Completion in visiting the Statue of Liberty, we went to the place where there used to be World Trade Center building stood. When we got there, unfortunately we were unable to enter the area because there were built a subway station. Finally we decided to continue our journey to Wall Street, the place where more popular building New York Stock Exchange located. We had some pictures there. We also took pictures in front of Trump Building, owned by Billionaire Donald Trump.
After walked around and had some pictures there, we went to the "Grand Central", the central train station of New York City. The building has stood since about 100 years ago. The building is still standing strongly in a good condition. We also took some photographs and enjoyed the beauty of the architecture. Next, we continued to go to “Central Park”, a very popular wide area park in the middle of New York City. Many movies we can see take scene around the park. As we sat there, we saw so many squirrels here and there, some were eating nuts. There is also a horse wagon that may bring you to get around the park. Many people do sports such as cycling, roller blade, skateboarding, and jogging. Many also were just sitting or lying down enjoying the fresh air in Central Park. We spent about 3 hours to relax and walked around the park, before went back to the hotel for rest.
Monday, September 28, 2009 10:41:38 AM
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sunday morning, we were getting ready to go to Washington DC, to visit the World Bank and some other places. Indonesian delegation of the World Bank invited us to visit. We would stay in Washington DC for couple of days only, so we did not carry all our belongings. We went there by AMTRAK, American National Train. The ticket price is about US$ 100, relatively expensive to us. The trip to Washington DC is about 4 hours. As many of them are our first experience, the trip was really interesting experience. During the trip, we took same pictures from the train windows, many interesting view different from our home town. The architecture of buildings and houses, the environment surrounding the housings, the scenic, all are different from those in Indonesia, and all are interesting to us.
When we arrived at the final station, we get out and took many pictures around the station. The architecture of the station is so beautiful. Its roof form likes a train car roof form. A few minutes later, we went to the Harrington Hotel, the place where we would stay during in the city. To Harrington Hotel we should have a walk as far as 10 blocks, quite far away for a walk from the train station. When we got there we put our stuff, had a shower, and has a rest.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The next morning, we leaved for the World Bank office. Indonesian delegation of the World Bank was waiting for us. When we reached the place, we immediately carried off into the conference room. The Indonesian delegation for the World Bank will present us about the World Bank. There were also attendees from members of the IMF. They were Indonesian delegation as member of the IMF, who also gave presentation to us about IMF.
The person who presents about the World Bank was Mr. M. Al-Arif, who serves as an External Affairs of the World Bank. He explained that one of the systems of the World Bank is asking countries, as member of the World Bank, to place fund in the form of taxes. The fund collected will be lent to countries that need it, or those that financially are not capable. When economic of the countries grow and successfully pass the difficulties, the country will return the fund gradually to the World Bank. World Bank was founded after the WW II.
One 1 hour after the presentation, I and my friend Adwin were invited by the IMF delegation to visit the IMF building. Adwin was a delegation from Indonesia too, student of Al-Azhar Kebayoran High School. He is son of Sri Mulyani, the Minister of Economy of Indonesia. Sri Mulyani used to be work for the IMF. To enter the IMF office was very difficult; the security check is very tight. At the end of the security check procedure, they made an ID-Card for each of us as approved visitors to enter the office. We walked through the office rooms. We also visited offices of the IMF members from Asian, such as: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
After the visit, Adwin and I went back to the World Bank to reunite with our group. We would continue our journey to the VOA (Voice of America) office. At 4 PM, we arrived. We met VOA staff, as representatives of the VOA Indonesia. They explained us about the VOA programs, and how the news was processed in the United States and broadcasted to Indonesia. Surprisingly, I and a friend of mind (a girl also from the LabSchool) were selected to be interviewed for the VOA news. The interview was broadcasted on 102.2 FM Radio Prambors Jakarta. They interviewed us about programs of our trip and our objective to NYC, which was to follow the AYA.
When the night time of Washington came, we walk to the Monument along the mall. Some pictures of course went along with the trip to these historical places. Three hours later we returned to the Harrington Hotel to have deep sleep.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Early in the morning, at 06.30 AM, Washington DC time, we leaved the hotel toward White House, office of the President of the USA. This is one of the most recommended places in NYC for tourism, domestic or international, to visit. We explore the environment surround the building, enjoyed the air and sigh seeing along the street around. We also saw the Lincoln Memorial and Smithsonian. We returned back to New York at 9 AM, for AYA programs. We went back there again with AMTRAK Train. Arriving in New York, we picked up our goods at Chelsea Int. Hotel, and leaved for Pace University. We would stay at Pace University Dorm during following the AYA programs.
Checked in time at 4 PM to the Dorm, we filled in some form. Each of us received an access card for the Dorm. We then went to our rooms which were on the 15th floor. To reach the 15th floor we had to take elevator (lift) the 4th floor first, and moved to another elevator for the 15 floors. There was a guard Dorm at the floor where we should exchange the elevator.
The Days at UN HQ
The first day visiting the UN, we all were very excited and getting ready soon. We were told from the UN staff to have Dress code in Business Casual. My group leaved the Dorm at 6:30 PM toward the UN HQ by subway. To get into the UN office, we have to follow very tight security check procedure, such as took off all metal elements. The goods were scanned and we walked through kind of scanner gate. There were thigh rules applied to everyone, such as: one must wear one’s badge visibly at all times through the programs, and no replacement would be issued. If one lost the badge, then one can not continue following the participation for the assembly programs. All delegates arrive at least 30 minutes in advance prior the sessions start.
At the night, our group of LabSchool Jakarta High school, exercise Saman dance, for the next day performance. We prepared for the customs too. We had our exercise at the Pace University Park.
Tuesday, August 5, 2009
The next morning, we had our breakfast in the UN Cafeteria. After breakfast we headed to the Conference Room 4, where the opening ceremony would be held there. When we got there we sat in the place equipped with earphones and microphone. Here is the place where people from around the world are gathered. At this moment, gathered youth from around the world: India, China, Korea, Indonesia, Canada, Africa, Europe etc.
The event opened with a Musical Opening of piano played by a blind young man who came from China. Next, Patrick Sciarratta as an Executive Director of Friendship Ambassadors Foundation had a speech. The following, also mad a speech was Dr. Elaine Valdov as an Executive Director of the International Institute for a Culture of Peace. They both became Conference Co-Chair of this meeting which discussed about the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) for 3 days.
After the speech, we are given 5 options to select a topic would be discussed in each different room. I chose a topic of "Education and Youth Initiatives". In this forum, we talked about development strategies for promoting education and the impact of youth initiatives in International Development. There was also recognition of a community called WISER (Women Institute Education Research). This community held on Muhuru Bay, Kenya. The community is only for ladies, age around 16 to 26 years old. They created secondary school for girls. They have motivation to stop early married and girl's empowerment. To get more information about this community, please ask to tony@wisergirls.org
We had our lunch at 12:00 PM. Then we met Indonesian ambassador of the UN, Mr. Martini. Next we follow the conference again, I selected a topic: "Poverty and Hunger". Here we discussed about important issues and identify initiatives related to poverty and hunger around the world. The participants from Sudan said that poverty and hunger is a big problem there. Getting food there is extremely hard.
Completion of the topic discussion, we returned to the Conference Room 4, for another speech, presentation, and discussion with the topic of “BE THE CHANGE: Making difference Around the World ". The Speakers were Michelle Guerette and Jason Roger, Olympic Athlete, Right to Play Athlete Ambassadors.
The last topic for today before closing is "MDG Success Stories from Africa". The speakers are Harriate Williams as an International Development Consultant, Elizabeth Ormondi as a founder of Africa Project 53, Abu Bakar Sidik as a founder of African Science Foundation and the National Youth President, United African Congress and the last guy is Abby Bello as a Treasurer of Citywide (NY) Council on High Schools.
We went through al the programs above, and return to the dorm exhaustedly. By the night, we exercised Saman Dance (traditional dance from Aceh) in the park of Pace University. We practiced in preparation for our tomorrow performance at UN. After practice, I went out to buy some drink and food. A few minutes later I returned to the dorm. Arriving at the dorm elevator, I met the dorm guardian on duty. I asked him whether he had his dinner already.
He was surprised with my question, and said my concern to him was carefulness. So, we chatted a few minutes. He named Gerald, said that he rarely met people like me. He was touched deeply by my question.
In Indonesia, asking for such question to someone you know, may just be as a normal caring. But to someone in other side of the world, it could be an extraordinary caring. The lesson about this is we should care to others, no matter who they are. Small attention to us may be a huge attention to someone needs it. Sometime nowadays, caring is so hardly ever. So, please do care, well-behaved, admire, recognize, and respect to others.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
We leaved for the UN early morning. The event started at 9:00 AM. I went into the conference room 4, discuss about "THE MDG TEACH-IN". The speaker was Ramu Damodaran as a Deputy Director of Outreach Division, Department of Public Information of the UN. He told us about the targets of the UN MDGs (Millennium Development Goals). He also explained the detail programs such as Reduce HIV Aids disease, Malaria Disease, Sanitation, Partnership Development and many more. We need communications using internet to know the highlights or awareness to the hot issues.
Next forum has the topic of “Hunger & Poverty, Education, Women Empowerment & Gender Equality and Children's Health”. The most fun was when the topic of the Children's Health, the speaker was Paul Mikov, the UN World Vision International UN Representative. Participants were invited to play a game called "Game Tight". We must find a partner, and I became acquainted with a participant named Rahul. Rahul is a student from Princeton University who came from India. After knowing each other with the partner, Paul Mikov led to play the game. The game was we had to close our palm tightly, and our partner had to open it.
Just before noon we headed to the cafeteria for Lunch break. Then, our group getting ready for Saman dance. We would perform the dance at the UN Lobby, so all of the UN delegation, staff and visitors might se our performance.
Interesting experience, when we changed our clothes in the toilet room, someone who looked an Arabian went into the bathroom, and suddenly talked Indonesian to us, wondering whether we would perform a dance. We all were surprised how he could speak Indonesia (with a bit strange accent and vocabulary), while I still responded him with English. He was actually from Bangladesh, and sometime a go lived in Malaysia.
SAMAN Dance
Time, 12.30 PM sharp, we headed to the UN Lobby. We prayed first for the performance, and were getting ready for the dance. Many people, from around the world, gathered there, have been waiting for our performance. I was so nervous.
The performance began. Well, the crowd watched our Saman Dance excitedly. Funny part, in the middle of the dance, when the dance just pause a moment for the dancer to move to any another movement, the crowd were clapping and thought the dance was ended, but we continued with another move, and the claps louder. Upon completion the dance, it was big applause for us. When we came together to give thanks, suddenly there are people from Japan, Africa and the USA asked us to take a picture with them. Well, we seemed to be actress .. he .. he .. he .. he .. We were so please with the performance.
After the performance, I returned to Conference Room 8, to joint the discussion about “Environmental Sustainability”. We explored important issues related to the environment and its sustainability.
In the evening, 6.30 PM, my teacher, 3 friends of our group, and my self, went to an event "CULTURAL NIGHT & Light Dinner". This special event was held at the Church of the Holy Family Auditorium, about 3 blocks away from the UN building. There were some cultural performances from China, USA, and South Korea. The event was opened with a performance by a couple, husband and wife, singing while playing the piano. The following was appearance from China, began with a performance by a young blind man who was singing while playing the piano. Some other Chinese performance were playing traditional music instrument similar to violin. The next performance was a hip-hop dance from Japan.
In the middle of the show, I had a chance to get acquainted with some friends from South Korea and Canada. We talked about our culture respectively. They were amazed with our performance in the afternoon, the Saman dance. My new friends from Canada named David and Stephen. They were very enthusiastic about watching this show Cultural Night. I told him about Indonesia, but he knew only Bali. I told him that not only Bali has the beautiful culture but other provinces as well as where I live, Jakarta. We also talked about favorite foods and drink. David likes drinking soft drinks. I told him that the price of soft drinks in Indonesia is about IDR 5,000 or US$ 0.50 compared to the United States is $ 1.50. He was very surprised to hear, and said he could not imagine if it happened here. He might be drinking soft drinks 3 times a day. Ha..ha..ha...
As I watched the show, someone came to me. He introduced himself, Bush from Nigeria. He was amazed at all with all the performances along the night. The event closed with a performance from South Korea, which is South Korea traditional dance, playing with traditional fan.
At the night, we had Indian food for our dinner. It was lamb meat with various spices, and Mandhi and Briyani Rice. They all really yummy! Those are all my favorite foods because I have Indian descent, and my family like Indian food. In my family, Indian food often serves at special events.
After having some pictures with new friends for our memory, I met Rahul again. He told me that he amazes Sri Mulyani for her great: she was young enough when working for the IMF. I was amazed how Rahul knows many about her. Unsurprisingly, Rahul had a time worked for a project in Indonesia. I told him that her son, named Adwin, also one of the delegation from Indonesia for Al-Azhar Kebayoran High School. I promise to introduce Adwin to Rahul. By the end of the event, we went back to the dorm located at Pace University.
When I got there, I entered my room. Soon after having cleaned up, I rushed to the TV room. There were already assembling delegates from South Korea. They celebrated for their performance. Coincidently, they were stayed in the same floor with delegates from Indonesia. Then we talked about Indonesian and South Korea. Me and my friends from Indonesia also talked about Korean movie we've seen. I also told them that I have a car made by Hyundai of Korea, and many car and other household in Indonesia made in South Korea. They were very surprised and also very happy. After 2 hours talking, they went back into their room for a big rest. While I still continued to watch TV, suddenly someone came from behind me, brought a towel to have a shower. We introduced each other and talked. His named is Victor, originally from Puerto Rico. He is a member of the Friendship Ambassador. If you want to know more about Friendship Ambassador, send email to victor.box@faf.org.
Monday, September 28, 2009 10:31:52 AM
Thursday, August 7, 2009
Today I attended a conference with a topic: "YOUTH IN ACTION”. Charles Fisher, the Director and Founder of Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council, was the speaker for “HIP HOP MDG CAMPAIGN". The next, the conference talked about "Celebrating INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY-2009 with the UN Program on Youth". We could conclude from the meeting that it is imperative that youth embrace the challenge of sustainability in its fullness as we help Pave the way forward through the 21st century and beyond. Youth action, inclusion, and our participation are keys to developing today's world for the generations of today and tomorrow, and central to a sustainable existence.
When we had our lunch break, I met David and Stephen again, Canadian delegates. We talked about our hobbies, learning systems in our schools, and daily living. They live at the state of Canada which speak English, and also have a foreign language lesson in class such as French. They said it was a difficult lesson, while in other state of Canada people speech French. Stephen was amazed; to him I speak English very well. He was also impressed because I can speak foreign language other than my native language, Indonesian. He said that he could not speak any language other than their home countries, as their mother tongue too, but I believe they will speak French well. That is why we -Indonesian people- should feel great. Hhmm ..
Stephen has the same hobbies with me, playing basketball. We talked a lot about basketball. He said that living cost in Canada is high, and more in New York.
When I had done for the lunch, I met Rahul again. I finally might introduce Rahul to Adwin, son of Sri Mulyani. Rahul was so happy, and he talked a lot to Adwin. Rahul said that he was amazed at Adwin’s mother. He asked Adwin some questions about her mother.
Then, we were back into the conference room 4, for the next meeting.
At this turn, we the topics was about disarmament: "Youth Engagement in Disarmament and Non-Proliferation for Peace and Development". We talked about understanding disarmament current issues and learn what the UN does at this vital area. The meeting disclosed examination how weapons of mass destruction, small arms, and landmines can impact the implementation of the MDGs. Following the meeting was an opportunity for me to learn how youth engagement in this field is crucial for a better world.
After finished with the conference, the group from Indonesia followed the UN tour. We walked through the area surrounded. We saw objects which are used by any UN troops to protect the countries that experienced the war, people who need emergency shelter, supplies and others. We also saw several gifts from various countries to the UN. We also see a statue brought from Japan, about thing affected by the impact of allied bombing in Nagasaki, 1945. There are also some photographs, evidence of impact of the bomb on Nagasaki, showing a very tragic and pathetic situation. There is also a photograph of disarmament to children in Iraq, etc. The most fun about the tour was visiting the UN conference hall, used for meetings of people various representatives from around the world. At the end, there was a closing ceremony speech by Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. Mr. Arun is a founder of the Constitutional Court Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence.
Then we went out of the Conference.
Before leaving, I took myself to see the exhibition of photographs from around the world organized by PLAN. The participants come from Indonesia, UK, Russia, etc. When watching the pictures, a woman approached me, and she offered a free book themed disarmament. Finally I accepted and thank for the book. We introduced our self to each other. Her name was Vera Mehta. She was the Coordinator of the International Day of Outreach Project Information Branch Office for Disarmament Affairs of the UN. We have a lot of talk about disarmament, and she also promised me to give information about the UN. If you want to get some information about disarmament or anything else about the UN, please ask to mehtav@un.org.
Farewell
We were getting ready for the Farewell Dinner. This is the sad part, because the night the last night of the Annual Youth Assembly. There special event, Farewell Dinner at 7:00 p.m.
Farewell dinner was held at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant, located in the China Town area. The restaurant was far away from the UN HQ. We had Chinese food. We met some other delegates participated in this AYA, and also introduce to each others who I had not a chance to know yet. Most of them are Chinese and Canadian. We had some pictures for our memory. At this moment, we had exchange gifts. I also met my new close friend, David and Stephen. They said that we should keep in touch. I gave them key chains as gift, and finally had some photographs.
I met new friends from Uzbekistan, 2 ladies whose age about 17 years old. We had exchange gift. They gave me a key chain and a guide book for a trip to Uzbekistan. I also met with Rahul. I gave them a puppet-shaped key chain. Rahul was very grateful, he was also very respectful the gift I gave him. When he saw the key ring, he commented that this puppet carving was similar to that in deep Africa. Rahul said that we should keep in touch. At this time, It was really sad take a part with them. Shortly after, my group from Indonesia went back to the Dormitory.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Today is our last day in New York. At 9 AM, we checked out from the dormitory. When I checked out, I took picture with 2 brothers who work at the dormitory registration. I am very grateful to him for having toke care of me and my friends when we stayed there, the dormitory of Pace University.
We would leave for the flight at 11 PM, and so had enough time to spend for a walk around the city. Before leaving, I walked around the Pace University area. There is a book of remembrance for the death of all the students and alumni from Pace University who were victims of the collapse of the WTC on September 11, 2001.
We decided to put our belonging at the dorm while going around while had a walk around the city. Some of our group went to Times Square, while I and some others went to Rockefeller. I walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, its only about 200 meters away from Pace University. At 7 PM we hurried off to JFK Airport. When we got there we were immediately boarding. At 11 PM sharp, we left NYC. C U next time ....
My hope
I am so happy have a chance for the experience. Thank you very much for all the support from PLAN, Indonesia, so I got an unforgettable memory from my journey to UN HQ, New York, and Washington DC. Lot’s of new experience and lessons I believe will influence my future.
I am so happy have a chance to follow 6th Annual Youth Assembly at the UN HQ.
I hope, all the experience and lessons will be useful for me, for people around, for my country, and for the world.
I will use it to make people around getting better at various areas: education, social live, global communication, global warming, etc. Things may begin from small to change the huge.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:46:41 AM
Waktu kukecil, duduk di ruang kelas sekolah dasar, sering mendengarkan cerita membanggakan dari bapak/Ibu guru tentang betapa indah dan kayanya Negeri Indonesia. Letaknya yang strategis: diantara dua benua (Asia & Australia) dan dua samudra (Pasific Ocean & Indian Ocean), dan tepat di garis khatulistiwa.
Beriklim tropis, tempat tumbuhnya hutan tropis yang hijau (green forest, rain forest) sepanjang tahun, sehingga menjadi andalan dengan sebutan paru-paru dunia, karena dari hutan hijau sinilah konon Oksigen (O2) dunia terbesar di-supply.
Seiring dengan bertambahnya umurku, bertambah tinggi grade kelasku. ternyata penebangan hutan hijau itu juga tumbuh subur dan terus bertambah luas & intens, baik yang tidak resmi (liar) maupun dengan seijin pihak yang berwenang. Konon ada aturan yang diterapkan: tebang pilih, pengijauan kembali, bahkan reboisasi, tetapi yang kita lihat semakin luas permukaan bumi Indonesia digunduli. Walau tindakan recovery (menhijaukan kembali) ini dikumandangkan, namun yang kita lihat laju penggundulannya lebih tinggi dari penghijauannya. Kini ia menjadi perhatian dunia.
Bukan hanya hutan tropis di Indonesia, hutan tropis di Bazilia, dan hutan hujan lainnya di belahan bumi lainnya, kini menjadi perhatian serius para pemerhati lingkungan hidup.
Para analis bahkan menghitung laju penggundulan hutan perhari-nya dengan menyetarakan dengan sekian kali luas lapangan bola, untuk mengilustrasikan dan mempermudah orang awam, seberapa luas percepatan penggundulan itu terjadi.
Kini sampai pada generasi kita yang mulai merasakan dampaknya: di musim hujan mudah terjadi banjir (makin sering); musim kemarau terasa lebih panjang, lahan tandus semakin bertambah; perilaku iklim semakin sulit di prediksi; topan dan badai dengan nama baru, bermunculan di kawasan Pacific; diberitakan suhu rata-rata dibeberapa belahan dunia lebih tinggi dari beberapa decade sebelumnya; terus bertambah luas daratan es di kutub utara yang mencair; permukaan air laut diberitakan lebih tinggi dari decade sebelumnya; dikhawatirkan oleh sejumlah ahli, dalam beberapa puluh tahun mendatang jika situasi ini tidak ada perubahan, sejumlah pulau bahkan akan tenggelam.
Nah,.. apa yang ditunggu lagi? Mari mulai selamatkan bumi.
1 orang menanam 1 pohon, dimana saja anda suka. Jika anda senang, dan saya sangat yakin anda akan senang, sambil menantikan 1 pohon itu tumbuh melampaui anda, 1 pohon baru berikutnya merindukan anda untuk tumbuh, dan tangan anda merindukan nyamannya bermain tanah dan air, seraya menegakkan berdirinya pohon baru. Catatan sejarah pribadi anda akan sangat anda banggakan sebagai warisan istimewa ketika generasi baru nanti tersenyum seraya mengucapkan beribu terima kasih.
(m.h.h)
My Opera
