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The Dukono tragedy is about gaps in safety, not reckless hikers
Social media has popularised many destinations in Indonesia, but the safety infrastructure has not kept pace.
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Rescuers carry the body of a victim of Mount Dukono Volcano eruption in North Halmahera, Indonesia, on May 9.
PHOTO: EPA
M. Guntur Cobobi
On the morning of May 8, Dukono, a volcano in Galela, North Halmahera, erupted. Twenty hikers were on its slopes when it did – nine of them Singaporean nationals, 11 Indonesian. Three did not make it down. The bodies of the two Singaporeans were found two days later, buried under volcanic ash and crushed by boulders, approximately 50m from the summit. International media covered the story widely. I am a resident who grew up at the foot of this mountain, and I read all of that coverage with a feeling I find difficult to put into words.
It was not grief that I read about. What dominated the comment sections across platforms, including Singapore-based media, was blame. The hikers were called reckless, irresponsible, even foolish. That easy narrative misses a great deal. This piece is my attempt to offer what the news did not.
