One afternoon, heavy rain fell on my city. I was lying in bed, scrolling through TikTok, and before I knew it, hours had passed as I browsed through the For Your Page. Yes, I was a brain-rotted freshman. My eyes felt tired, but my mind was empty. Then TikTok displayed a piece of content that made me freeze. A massive flood in Sumatra, Indonesia. The death toll reached 442 people. My reflex when seeing content like that was to repost it, copy the link, and then continue scrolling as if nothing had happened. Then, a few moments later, a second piece of content appeared, depicting how bad the conditions were there. Mud, scattered tree trunks, a brutal evacuation process. It was crazy. I finally thought, why is it that not many people know about a disaster this big?
That was when I opened my search bar and found out what was really happening in Sumatra. Flash floods, high mudslides, power outages, and network access disruptions. Of course, it was difficult for the community to ask for help from the media at that time. According to Tempo news reports, this disaster struck various regions in Sumatra simultaneously in late November 2025. The affected areas ranged from North Sumatra, West Sumatra, to Aceh. A total of 442 people were killed, with 402 others still missing. Heartbreaking. We were both experienced the rain, but the difference is that I was safe, relaxing and playing with my phone in my room, while they were suffering in the mud without any lighting or network access. Sooner or later, their food and clean water supplies will run out without assistance from the wider public.
Is this merely a natural disaster? Or a disaster of capitalism? One piece of content that passed by afterwards made me pause and think. According to Walhi's (Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia) records, around 1.4 million hectares of forest in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra have been deforested due to the activities of 631 companies. Looking at the details, in North Sumatra, the areas within the Batang Toru Ecosystem have been hit the hardest because they are located in the Bukit Barisan range, which has experienced deforestation of 72,938 hectares due to the operations of 18 companies from 2016 to 2024. Meanwhile, in Aceh, there are 954 watersheds covering an area of 53,824 hectares, 60% of which are located in forest areas and 20% of which are in critical condition. A similar situation occurs in other watersheds in the same region. From 2016 to 2022, 43% of watersheds have lost their forest cover, leaving only 57% remaining. This means that in the last 10 years, the condition of watersheds in Aceh has deteriorated significantly. Then in West Sumatra, one of the important administrative watersheds in the city of Padang, the 12,802-hectare Aia Dingin watershed, which functions as a major ecological buffer for the population, has also been severely degraded due to human activity from 2001 to 2024. With widespread deforestation and inappropriate management, the ecological functions of forests that previously maintained environmental balance, provided life support systems, and protected the land from natural disasters are no longer functioning properly.
This narrative made me wonder, how is the government responsible for addressing this issue? Strangely, the companies listed already hold permits from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Among others, these include mining permits, business use rights (Hak Guna Usaha/HGU) for oil palm plantation, forest utilization business permits (Perizinan Berusaha Pemanfaatan Hutan/PBPH), geothermal permits, as well as hydroelectric power plant (Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Air/PLTA) and micro-hydroelectric power plant (Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Minihidro/PLTM) permits. Seeing this, Walhi urged the government to immediately investigate the corporations responsible for large-scale deforestation in Sumatra. If this is not followed up immediately, ecological disasters will continue to spread and occur more frequently in the future as a result of climate policies that are not ambitious and are not based on human rights. In fact, it is likely to encourage large-scale emissions from energy projects. Walhi calls for an immediate transition to fair energy, based on environmental protection and community rights, as a way to prevent greater ecological destruction in Indonesia.
A white flag flies over Sumatra, a sign that the people are overwhelmed. As I write this essay, casualties continue to mount. According to Tempo, as of December 19, 2025, the death toll has reached 1,068, with 190 people reported missing and 7,000 others injured. Our brothers and sisters in Sumatera are still struggling to get access to communication networks, electricity, and even basic necessities such as food and proper shelter. Of course, this is something that the elite up there will never experience. The floods will not come to corporate offices, nor will they come to the homes of officials who sleep on soft mattresses with air conditioner. But the floods have swallowed up the homes of ordinary people, destroyed farmers' land, robbed the hopes of children who still have a future, and taken the lives of many innocent people. Honestly, my heart aches, this is truly unfair. My energy is drained by the facts of greedy deforestation. This reflects how capitalism and an economic system that prioritizes profit over human life can be deadly. This disaster is not a law of nature, but an irresponsible political decision.
But in my International Economics class, my lecturer once said, "If you want development to progress, there are environments that must be sacrificed." The classic Trade-off idea, economics vs the environment. Sacrificing one benefit for another. Then I thought, who actually gets the benefit here? Of course, on paper, growth looks successful. GDP grew by 5%, Indonesian palm oil exports became dominant, and foreign investors came in. But behind that, 1,068 people died. Many ordinary people were sacrificed, forests were cleared, farmers lost their land, communities lost their livelihoods, and worst of all, lives were lost. The only ones who profited from this development were the corporations that held the permits for these activities and the elites who received commissions. Meanwhile, it is the people who must pay the bitter price for their greed. This is not merely a Trade-off, but exploitation. The so-called Green Growth solution is nothing but an illusion when 1,068 lives are sacrificed for corporate profits.
Me, a first-semester student who is brain-rotted, have no power other than the classic tricks of reposting, copying links, and sharing campaigns on Instagram stories. I feel like I have no effect whatsoever, and may even be considered just a follower. Seeing how miserable my brothers and sisters in Sumatra are makes me itch and unwilling to stay silent. I feel like what I have done will not bring about any change. Until finally, I decided to write. To write down what’s on my mind, to express what I feel as a student with no power to influence this massive disaster. It might not change anything, but at least I can voice my thoughts through writing.
But who would be interested reading the thoughts of a brain-rotted freshman? Perhaps no one. Maybe by the time this article is published, the news of the disaster in Sumatra will have disappeared, buried under the hustle and bustle of the new year eve. No one cares. But at least I am writing this to prove that lazy young people who only know how to repost and scroll are also aware and cannot be fooled in the name of capitalism. Capitalism destroys the environment, capitalism kills many lives. And this isn't just about the disaster in Sumatra, but about how long we can endure under the pressure of a system that exploits us, then leaves us to bear the 'natural consequences,' while those responsible live comfortably up there.
References :
"The Sumatra Disaster Becomes the Worst Ecological Tragedy in the Last 35 Years"
"Infographic: Floods and Landslides in Sumatra"
"BNPB: Death Toll from Sumatra Disaster Reaches 1,068"
"80 Percent of Sumatra Floods Triggered by Environmental Damage"
"Walhi West Sumatra: The Floods Are an Ecological Crisis, Not Just a Natural Disaster"
Walhi (Indonesian Forum for the Environment)
"Legalization of Ecological Disasters in West Sumatra, Aceh, and North Sumatra and Demands for State and Corporate Accountability"
"Legalization of Ecological Disasters in Sumatra and Demands for State and Corporate Accountability"
