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JAKARTA – A primary school teacher’s final message to her mother before she died amid thick haze in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, has touched hearts as the country continues to grapple with a forest and land fire crisis.
Lisna, a teacher at Sekolah Dasar Negeri Tanjung Pagar 3 in Banjarmasin, reportedly suffered from shortness of breath and chest pain on the night of Sept 26 before she was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“Please take care of my child,” was Lisna’s final message to her mother, Marhamah, as her condition deteriorated.
Marhamah said her daughter, who had a history of asthma, began complaining of chest pain at around 9pm local time after appearing healthy throughout the day.
She tried to help Lisna using a nebuliser, but her breathing difficulties did not subside, prompting the family to rush her to Ansari Saleh Hospital in Banjarmasin.
However, Lisna was pronounced dead before she could undergo further medical examinations.
Marhamah said her daughter’s asthma attacks had become more frequent during the haze period, forcing her to use a nebuliser almost daily compared with once a month previously.
The school’s headmaster, Zainal Abidin Asmari, confirmed that Lisna had informed him about her asthma on Sept 21 and was advised to stay home from work.
However, he could not confirm whether the haze was the direct cause of the teacher’s death.
In a separate incident in Palembang, South Sumatra, an e-hailing driver, Hardiansyah, 41, also died on Oct 2 after experiencing breathing difficulties.
His wife, Rika Yunita Sari, 39, said her husband, who had a history of asthma, experienced breathing difficulties shortly after waking up and was taken to hospital.
Hardiansyah was pronounced dead at around 8.30am local time after receiving medical attention.
Rika claimed that worsening haze conditions had caused her husband to cough frequently and struggle to breathe, but he continued working to support his family.
However, South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru stressed that the deaths could not be directly attributed to the haze without medical confirmation.
The crisis also drew the attention of Hollywood star and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, who claimed in an Instagram post that more than five million people had been affected by smoke from forest fires in Indonesia.
Environmental authorities’ data showed that the air pollution index in Palembang reached 832 on Oct 6, a level considered hazardous to health.
Meanwhile, a study published in the journal Environmental Health in 2022 estimated that exposure to forest fire smoke in Sumatra and Kalimantan contributed to approximately 33,100 premature adult deaths and 2,900 infant deaths annually.
These figures were based on modelling estimates rather than actual recorded deaths.
To date, Indonesian authorities have not released official figures for deaths confirmed to have been caused by the haze. – Agency
