Published on 25 Rajab 1424

Lost in the Political Landscape of a Violent World

By Zaynab El-Fatah

Ancient Tiger proof house needed in the days when many wild tigers roamed Northern Sumatra.

Travelling through the mountains and valleys of Southern Aceh through the magnificent Gunung Leuseur National Park years ago, little did we know that today the wild life species of that same park, which was so well protected then, would now be facing annihilation.

Sumatra has held a fascination for many as it differs from other Indonesian islands in its cultures and its wild life to such an extent that the island seems to be worlds away from Java, which is the ruling island of the Indonesian archipelago.

After marriage with a Sumatran, the question always arose as to why he never said he was from Indonesia. His only response to the thousands times asked questions of where he was from, was a simple, "Sumatra". That bold word said many things to the listeners then with their puzzled expressions and left us wondering if the listeners went home to consult their atlas' as to where on earth Sumatra was. 

We all listened to his many times told stories, bearing a resemblance to myths and legends, of the Sumatran tigers which roamed his homeland in Sumatra. According to these stories, the wild Sumatran tiger would roam around the people's houses at night, which was why he explained, they had built their houses in such a way as to prevent the tiger from jumping up or getting in to devour them all. He would tell of being able to hear them roaming around as a small child. When asked where the tigers were now, none of us can recall receiving an answer to that question. 

On one occasion, the whole family visited the Perth Zoo in Western Australia with him where we saw a large black monkey called a "Siamang". Proudly, he told  of the many thousands of Siamangs which once lived on Samosir Island in Lake Toba. When asked what he meant by once lived there, we received the answer that they were no longer there, but he continued to tell the glowing stories of how once he could hear these loud monkeys making loud throatal noises at night time calling to their mates. Asked where they were now, once again, we do not recall him answering that question either. He was from an ethnic group in North Sumatra which is the province bordering Aceh, where a war presently rages.

When our family visited North Sumatra in 1996, it was certainly clear that no live tigers lived there any more, no Siamangs on Samosir Island and not even a trace of the once thousands of orang hutans. Other species of wild life native to that area, would only be known by locals, such as the trenggiling which we encountered last year trying to steal chicken eggs from where we lived on that island in Sumatra. We were told that they were very rare these days but that did not stop the locals killing it as the chicken eggs were more valuable to them than a strange thing that crawled in and out of the lake.

Old antique wood carvings also revealed a whole array of wild life no longer in existence in Lake Toba, such as a type of crocodile.

However, what was a most astonishing contrast, was when a few years later and deciding to visit neighbouring Aceh, it was revealed that the tiger was there and in reasonable numbers and alhamdulillah it was protected. The numbers were large enough to have eaten a few tourists here and there, as we were informed by one enthusiastic tour guide in Gunung Leuser National Park in Aceh. So we wondered then why just over the border where Muslims lived, so did the tiger. We concluded then with logic and knowledge that the Christians on the North Sumatran side of the border must have eaten or poached that tiger into extinction in that region, whereas clearly Muslims must not have eaten tigers. Later on, as a Muslim of course, we were to find that there was some truth in that as the tiger is haram to eat for Muslims, so maybe it did have some bearing on the tiger still roaming the beautiful rain forests and jungles of Aceh. That was then.

Unfortunately in these times of wars, Aceh's tiger which was down to its last 400 were being hunted and poached to have various body parts sold as aphrodisiacs to Chinese vendors who seem to require a lot of medicinal aphrodisiacs whether it is  from tiger or orang hutan body parts. Tiger skins also are in demand. The war in Aceh province has taken its toll on its wild life including the rare and beautiful birds from the jungles. The Indonesian military are well known for capturing these wild species and going into private business to sell them wherever they are in demand. 

After the war, conservationists may be not only shocked at the human toll in Aceh but also at the huge toll on what remains of the wild life of the Gunung Leuser National Park. Her small elephants, hippos, rare tigers and exotic birds are lost in the political landscape of a violent world.

END

Author: Hj Zaynab El-Fatah
Photographer: Hj S.Abidin
Chief Editor: Hj Nurzaynab El-Fatah
Production: Hj S. Abidin
Published Date: 25 Rajab 1424
Modification Date: 25th January, 2009 / 28 Muharram 1430
Publication ID: 04violentWorld. Lost in the Political Landscape of a Violent World
Copyright: © Victory News Magazine, 2010

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