‘We have to surrender’: Indonesia’s mining boom is hurting its communities

Where fishers could once catch fish to sell or feed their families, the water is now filled with runoff sediment from mining activities, and no fish are to be found.

The crystal blue waters that once surrounded Kabaena are murky brown now, and the octopi and colorful fish that locals used to catch nearby to eat and sell have fled. The lush seaweed they used to harvest is gone. And parents who grew up swimming happily in the Flores Sea now warn their children to stay out of the water for fear of itchy rashes or skin lesions.