Living on the Poisonous Stream


The residents of Permisan village near the Porong river in East Java have been harvesting fish from their ponds for generations, but since an environmental disaster at the Lapindo Brantas gas mining site in May 2006, the area has been suffering from vast eruptions of volcanic mud, which have buried nearby villages and displaced thousands of people.

Whilst Permisan is not in the immediate vicinity of the mud flow, it does rely on the local river water to replenish its fish ponds, and since the company has been using the river to deposit the excess mud from the disaster zone, the fishermen have noticed that their fish harvests are getting smaller and less frequent.

In this video, the residents of the community filmed their own story to demonstrate that their rights to livelihood have been violated and to request the acknowledgement of this by those responsible, and their assistance to help the community to manage their resources more effectively to ensure the sustainability of their local economy and way of life.


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