We can build a system that protects life instead of capital. A return to community, enoughness, and ecological belonging.

The Wai Ihu Foundation is committed to preserving Indigenous languages and cultures, and the natural environment in which those communities live. In doing so, I hope to help improve the living conditions of the people themselves.

But the forest fires and the destruction of Indigenous communities' living environment show how closely all of this is connected. How can I focus only on language and culture when the speakers are at risk of losing their land, and with it their culture?

I was studying the grammar of Ambonese Malay, looked up, and saw the forests burning on Ambon and Seram.

Someone asked me: "Are you politically neutral?" I answered: "No, not when it comes to the well-being of people and nature. There I clearly take a side: for protection, and for the chance to speak one's own language and live one's own culture."

When the land is burning, nobody asks about your political leanings. We put out the fire together, government, communities, and volunteers, and we help people and animals. Afterwards, we can examine the causes with an open mind and work together to prevent it from happening again.

A strong democracy is one in which everyone can voice their concerns and leaders are willing to listen. Voicing concerns is not an attack, but an expression of care for our shared homeland.

That is why I ask sincerely: what guarantees and cooperation do we need so that people are heard in decisions about their land? And how do we protect the health of those now living under a blanket of smoke?

Still, I believe that together, government, scientists, media, and communities, we can find a way. What step is needed first?

As a publisher, Wai Ihu will continue to publish books on Ambonese Malay and advocate for the preservation of Moluccan culture and nature, so that Moluccan society continues to flourish and grow.

Lise Yan Sui de Fretes