In today’s fast-paced information landscape, the voices of grassroots communities often go unheard and receive little attention. Their experiences tell important stories about how life unfolds, the challenges they face, and the ongoing struggles to uphold their rights and living spaces. From this awareness, Enter Nusantara launched the AkarBerkabar program.
AkarBerkabar is an alternative media platform designed to amplify the voices of marginalized local communities, particularly those whose rights have long been overlooked by the government. The program serves as a space for sharing stories, knowledge, and reflections on social, environmental, and civil society issues across various regions in Indonesia.
The primary objective of AkarBerkabar is to foster critical public awareness and encourage concrete actions toward social and environmental justice. Through this publication, Enter Nusantara believes that change can begin by listening to, understanding, and amplifying the voices that are often overlooked.
Through the AkarBerkabar program, Enter Nusantara has now held eight discussion forums directly with communities whose rights have long been marginalized by those in power. AkarBerkabar has raised issues from the people of Pari Island, Tambak Bayan, Bara-Baraya, Dago Elos, Jailolo, and Pundenrejo. Most recently, on July 28, 2025, together with Solidaritas Padarincang Melawan and BarengWarga, we engaged in a direct discussion with the residents of Kampung Cibetus, Padarincang, who are currently struggling against threats to their living space and fundamental rights.
Behind the rice fields and mountain air that should be a source of life, the residents of Kampung Cibetus, Curug Goong Village, Padarincang Subdistrict, Serang Regency, must face a bitter life because they are confronted with threats to their health, safety, and right to life. These threats stem from the industrial-scale chicken farming activities of PT Sinar Ternak Sejahtera, a subsidiary of the food giant Charoen Pokphand.
Since 2013, residents have been plagued by the harmful effects of poultry waste, including the daily stench, water pollution, and an increase in cases of respiratory infections (ISPA) and skin diseases, particularly among children. Residents have consistently complained about the poultry farm waste’s ongoing threat to their health. However, instead of receiving solutions to the reports and complaints they have submitted, the voices of Cibetus residents have been silenced through intimidation and criminalization, particularly by the Banten Provincial Police.
The climax occurred in February 2025, when police officers arrested 16 Cibetus residents in an inhumane manner: from midnight raids and pointing guns at them, to torture in detention rooms-including kicking, beating, and even electrocuting one of the Cibetus residents. Women and children are also victims of trauma as a result of these repressive actions. Some residents are still detained for this unjust action, while others have chosen to fleet their homes because they no longer feel safe in their own village.
The struggle of Cibetus residents is not merely about rejecting the company or defending their land. It is a form of resistance against the bureaucratic capitalist system that continues to marginalize the people for the benefit of thea few. Residents continue to reject all offers made by the company, especially monetary compensation. Because they are aware that what they need is a healthy environment, free from diseases caused by environmental damage.
During the Akar Berkabar Vol. 8 discussion held by Enter Nusantara on July 28, 2025, alongside Solidaritas Padarincang Melawan and BarengWarga, the residents of Cibetus reaffirmed their hopes: to restore security, obtain legal justice, build legal knowledge at the community level, and recover the economic conditions devastated by the criminalization of the primary breadwinners of their families.
Thus, solidarity is key to supporting and assisting the residents of Cibetus and ensuring that information and updates about their situation can be disseminated widely. No victory can be won alone; true victory requires the collective efforts of millions of people. Solidarity for the residents of Cibetus is not merely moral support; it is about standing with those whose rights to life are being forcibly taken away today.
The story of Cibetus mirrors the unresolved environmental conflicts in many regions across Indonesia, where the people’s courage to defend their right to live is often met with repression and acts of violence by authorities. The voices of this resistance must continue to be amplified so they do not drown out amidst the clamor of oligarchic interests.
Thus, AkarBerkabar serves as a bridge to connect and act as a medium of information to depict the space of resistance and hope. It becomes a platform where the stories of the people’s struggles are not lost but resonate more widely and inspire the emergence of larger movements for a just and sustainable Indonesia.
AkarBerkabar will continue to address the concerns of citizens, amplify their struggles, and strengthen solidarity. Stay tuned for the next installment of AkarBerkabar!
