Recent blog posts

VISA FOR INDONESIA

FOR AUSTRIAN RESIDENCY ARTISTS

The office hours of the Passport and Visa Office in the embassy in Vienna are:

Monday to Thursday:
09:00 - 12:00 (to apply for a visa)
13:30 - 16:00 (to pick up the visa)

Friday:
09:00 - 12:00 (to apply for a visa)
14:30 - 16:00 (to pick up the visa)

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
Consular Section
Gustav Tschermakgasse 5-7
A-1180 Vienna, Austria
Phone : (+431) 476 23-16 or 19

Children are dying from respiratory ailments as haze blankets Sumatra

An elementary school student in Riau, an epicenter of Indonesia's haze crisis, died of respiratory failure last week. Two other children, aged 15 and 2, passed away in Jambi.
The Health Ministry logged more than 10,000 cases of respiratory infection as of September 4.

At a housing complex in Riau, an epicenter of Indonesia’s haze crisis, Muklis shows a picture of his little daughter, seated before a piano and peering into the camera.

She passed away last week, as forest fires blanketed the region in noxious smog.

How Indonesia’s gigantic fires are making global warming worse

UPDATE: Emissions from Indonesian fires have continued to rise since this article was published and now are estimated to be roughly equal to Japan’s annual carbon dioxide emissions. See here.

Experts say that along with dramatic global coral bleaching, thousands of fires across Indonesia represents the next sign of an intensifying global El Niño event. And the consequences, in this case, could affect the entire globe’s atmosphere.

Poisoned Arrows

Poisoned Arrows
An investigative journey through the forbidden lands of West Papua

Green Books, 2003
Originally published by Michael Joseph, 1989

Indonesian politicians in the provincial parliament sat in silence wearing face masks

Indonesia's measure of pollution recorded air in Palangkarya at more than 10 times the level regarded as dangerous on Tuesday.
Schools in the Central Kalimantan capital were closed again on Tuesday.
Politicians in the provincial parliament sat in silence wearing face masks after smoke entered the building.

Further respiratory fatalities around Indonesia looked certain on Tuesday as toxic pollution from hinterland fires and underground hotspots again sent breathable air far beyond levels deemed dangerous to health.

Jokowi pledges Indonesia peatland ‘revitalization’ to stop the burning

President Jokowi and minister Luhut Pandjaitan have made increasingly robust pledges over the last week.
The governor of East Java told Mongabay he had instructed officials to get on top of fires burning in areas hit by drought. Jambi Mayor Syarif Fasha said all health centers would be open 24 hours a day and equipped with oxygen cylinders that can be used or 20 minutes free of charge.

#EvakuasiKami, or EvacuateUs, is the latest haze-related to topic

#EvakuasiKami, or EvacuateUs, is the latest haze-related to topic to trend on Indonesian Twitter amid the country's haze crisis.

Pekanbaru has reopened shelters in the city in a desperate bid to provide some respite from the smoke.
Local officials are specifically calling on parents to bring infants and young children to three 24-hour centers in Riau province..

Schools in the Central Kalimantan capital were closed

Indonesia's measure of pollution recorded air in Palangkarya at more than 10 times the level regarded as dangerous on Tuesday. Schools in the Central Kalimantan capital were closed again on Tuesday.
Politicians in the provincial parliament sat in silence wearing face masks after smoke entered the building.

Further respiratory fatalities around Indonesia looked certain on Tuesday as toxic pollution from hinterland fires and underground hotspots again sent breathable air far beyond levels deemed dangerous to health.

AIR QUALITY AND EARLY-LIFE MORTALITY: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA'S WILDFIRES

NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES

AIR QUALITY AND EARLY-LIFE MORTALITY: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA'S WILDFIRES
Seema Jayachandran
Working Paper 14011 http://www.nber.org/papers/w14011

NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
May 2008

Indonesia is burning. So why is the world looking away?

In the greatest environmental disaster of the 21st Century (so far), Indonesia has been blotted out by smoke. And the media.

By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 30th October 2015