{"id":94860,"date":"2026-10-22T12:55:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T04:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=94860"},"modified":"2026-10-22T12:55:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T04:55:03","slug":"haze-crisis-art-humour-and-shelters-in-south-east-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=94860","title":{"rendered":"Haze crisis: art, humour and shelters in South-east Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary article-summary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">JAKARTA \u2013 In a forested area outside Palembang, a dancer dressed in Aesan Paksangko, the intricate ceremonial attire of South Sumatra, performs the tari tanggai, a traditional welcome dance. The scene shifts abruptly: she now stands amid charred trees. She reaches for a full-face gas mask and continues her dance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The scene is part of a performance art project titled Tarian Kehancuran Budaya (The Dance of Cultural Destruction) by the Palembang-based art collective Jaga Api, which has gone viral on Indonesian social media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Pebri Yansyah, 33, a visual artist and member of Jaga Api, told The Straits Times: \u201cIn South Sumatra, it feels like the fires keep happening every year. So the idea that I had was: Is the haze our culture now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DeXbqlNz4xm\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">As smoke from fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan once more<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/asia\/se-asia\/a-decade-after-indonesias-worst-fires-the-haze-is-back-why-does-the-problem-still-persist?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\"> spreads across South-east Asia<\/span><\/a>, driving up respiratory illnesses, causing school closures and disrupting flights, individuals are responding with more than just complaints.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/life\/making-light-of-the-haze-10-memes-to-get-singaporeans-laughing-through-the-pollution?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">creating memes<\/span><\/a> and works of art to implementing practical measures such as providing masks and healthcare, people both within and outside Indonesia are coming up with various ways to express their concern and show solidarity.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">Laughing and dancing through the smoke<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">For many, the initial response has been humour. In Singapore and Malaysia, content creators and netizens have taken aim at the Indonesian government\u2019s handling of the haze crisis in various ways.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singaporean content creator Calvin Chua, for example, posted a video repeatedly asking \u201cWho do we fine?\u201d for the smoke enveloping many parts of the island.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DejUwYbPN1J\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Malaysian content <!-- -->creator<!-- --> @isawkwardguy, who routinely makes videos poking fun at the friendly rivalry between South-east Asian countries, made a video mocking Indonesian government spokesman Syahganda Nainggolan\u2019s claim that the country also sends oxygen to Malaysia. \u201cThank you for the oxygen,\u201d he says sarcastically.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DeY929byTlm\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Instead of taking offence, many Indonesians joined in. \u201cFine our government, you have the people\u2019s blessing,\u201d one reply to <!-- -->Chua\u2019s<!-- --> post read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">For Jaga Api, social media turned out to be an unexpected amplifier. The group drew inspiration from Tarian Kehancuran Budaya, a 2024 painting by Pebri, which was part of a series of works featuring masks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">They adapted it into a performance, video and photo series, which was shot on Sept 7. The group premiered the video at a public forum in Palembang in October, where civil society groups encouraged them to post the work online.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The response surprised them. \u201cWe used local symbols from South Sumatra, so we thought only people from South Sumatra would relate,\u201d Pebri said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Instead, it spread across Indonesia, garnering tens of thousands of likes and drawing the attention of popular Indonesian social media aggregators such as USS Feed and Cretivox.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cArt may not be the solution, but it can be an inspiration for the solution,\u201d Pebri said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The work has inspired at least one other group: in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, Zwageri Generation \u2013 the youth division of non-profit conservation organisation YIARI \u2013 has choreographed and performed its own dance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Photographs posted by the group on Oct 17 show young dancers, mostly in their late teens, in traditional Dayak clothing, gas masks and rubber boots dancing on burnt peatland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThe ground was actually still warm when we got there,\u201d Dieka Pertiwi, education and awareness manager at YIARI, told ST.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"landscape inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/aa761da65495a80ae2aef6eeebd19f61e19ecb3e23cc8e993c6684433a2a14f6?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/aa761da65495a80ae2aef6eeebd19f61e19ecb3e23cc8e993c6684433a2a14f6?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/aa761da65495a80ae2aef6eeebd19f61e19ecb3e23cc8e993c6684433a2a14f6?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/aa761da65495a80ae2aef6eeebd19f61e19ecb3e23cc8e993c6684433a2a14f6\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/aa761da65495a80ae2aef6eeebd19f61e19ecb3e23cc8e993c6684433a2a14f6\" alt=\"Members of Zwageri Generation performing a traditional Dayak dance while wearing gas masks and rubber boots on burnt out peatland in Ketapang, West Kalimantan.\" class=\"aspect-landscape flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover landscape article-landscape mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 pt-08 pb-16\">\n<p class=\"inline text-secondary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">Members of Zwageri Generation performing a traditional Dayak dance while wearing gas masks and rubber boots on burnt peatland in Ketapang, West Kalimantan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline text-tertiary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\"> <!-- -->PHOTO: YIARI-ZWAGERI GENERATION<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Dieka said Zwageri Generation had been inspired by Jaga Api\u2019s posts and wanted to do something similar. \u201cSadly, it was so easy to find a place to do the shoot. The location was just a kilometre away from the YIARI office, and there was burnt peatland everywhere you looked,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The dancers were performing Ma\u2019alap Senggayung, a ritual practised by the Dayak Pesaguan people to seek blessings from their ancestors for a fruitful harvest during the tree-flowering season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWhat are we going to pray for when the trees are already gone?\u201d Dieka said. \u201cThis is our way of raising this issue in a way that resonates more with others, instead of directly criticising those in power.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">Breathing room<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Farther east in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, the Ranu Welum Foundation \u2013 an indigenous youth movement \u2013 is taking a more practical approach by setting up shelters for residents to find temporary refuge from the haze.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Sarasi Silvester Sinurat, Ranu Welum\u2019s managing director, told ST: \u201cMost people in Kalimantan live in wooden houses, which makes it hard to keep out the smoke. That\u2019s where the idea of haze shelters came from.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The foundation, whose name means \u201cwater of life\u201d in Dayak, began in 2014 as a group of university students making short videos on current affairs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">During the 2015 haze crisis, members of the group met Singapore-based media company Big Red Button, which <!-- -->visited<!-- --> Palangkaraya to hand out N95 masks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singaporean Wally Tham, who runs Big Red Button, said he had watched years of heated online comments achieve little and wanted to see the problem up close. \u201cIf we weren\u2019t so angry, what would we actually learn and see?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The partnership grew into haze-safe shelters: permanent buildings equipped with air filtration, health workers, oxygen tanks and medicine. The first three opened in Palangkaraya in 2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Today, 26 operate across Central, West and South Kalimantan, run with partner organisations that provide their facilities and staff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The shelters are free and open to anyone during the day and have served more than 3,000 people this fire season.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"default inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/c0bc9ba3bbf0b7c3765b87b46e1c74429d4a6d85fc5529e1a7e897b5e1752bfa?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/c0bc9ba3bbf0b7c3765b87b46e1c74429d4a6d85fc5529e1a7e897b5e1752bfa?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/c0bc9ba3bbf0b7c3765b87b46e1c74429d4a6d85fc5529e1a7e897b5e1752bfa?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/c0bc9ba3bbf0b7c3765b87b46e1c74429d4a6d85fc5529e1a7e897b5e1752bfa\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/c0bc9ba3bbf0b7c3765b87b46e1c74429d4a6d85fc5529e1a7e897b5e1752bfa\" alt=\"Residents in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, at a haze shelter run by the Ranu Welum foundation.\" class=\"aspect-default flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover default article-default mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 pt-08 pb-16\">\n<p class=\"inline text-secondary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">Residents in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, at a haze shelter run by the Ranu Welum Foundation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline text-tertiary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\"> <!-- -->PHOTO: RANU WELUM<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cMost people who come to a shelter complain of coughing or shortness of breath,\u201d Sarasi said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cMany come because they can\u2019t afford to go to a conventional health facility. They might have a BPJS (national health insurance) account, but it hasn\u2019t been activated yet, or they haven\u2019t updated it to their current address.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The foundation also provides financial support for patients who need treatment, as it did for a toddler in Palangkaraya a few weeks ago. \u201cWe helped get her admitted to hospital; she hadn\u2019t been able to sleep for three days because of the smoke,\u201d Sarasi said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Besides the haze shelters, Tham is working with Ranu Welum to provide better equipment to volunteer firefighters, who form most of Central Kalimantan\u2019s firefighting force and often have to put out fires with makeshift tools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The shelters also allow the firefighters to concentrate on work, he added. \u201cKnowing that the wives and children are safe allows the firefighters to focus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">For those located far from the fires, the groups suggest several ways to help. Sarasi said Ranu Welum welcomes donations of masks, vitamins and air purifiers, as well as volunteers with medical training.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tham<!-- -->, meanwhile, urged Singaporeans to look up Indonesian activists on social media and find out more about what is happening in areas hardest hit by the fires. \u201cThe degree of suffering there is much higher than what Singaporeans experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Pebri from Jaga Api shared a similar sentiment. \u201cWe all have a role to play,\u201d he said. \u201cOur hope is for the general public to gain greater awareness about these issues and continue to help voice them, so that we can push those in power to act.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/asia\/se-asia\/from-dance-to-clean-air-shelters-how-south-east-asians-are-turning-haze-anger-into-action\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JAKARTA \u2013 In a forested area outside Palembang, a dancer dressed in Aesan Paksangko, the intricate ceremonial attire of South Sumatra, performs the tari tanggai,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}