There couldn't be a greater chasm in lifestyle differences between Bali and Lombok, despite it being only a 25 minute plane ride apart. Joining Madison Stewart on her Australian Geographic documentary, I witnessed a complex story of consumerism, poverty and environmental destruction. There seems to be no right and wrong because the issue is not black and white. We joined a shark fishing boat, Pratama, named after the first son of our captain Odi and took to sea. We witnessed sharks being finned in large quantities on land. We were the first foreign visitors to our captains tiny fishing island village that houses 1400 people, a place of dilapidated shacks, but beautifully welcoming people. Odi opened his simple home to us and his family graciously fed us more than I can imagine they would ever eat. What was apparent is that systematic and entrenched poverty leaves those affected with little freedom and few choices. Freedom of choice should be a human right, but in reality it manifests as a privilege for what is actually a minority of humans on Earth.
I am looking forward to sharing more personal images at a later date as a larger collection of my developing understanding and experiences in Indonesia.
Thanks to the amazing team Madison Stewart, Perrin James, Sean Samer, Kristy Lee Hillas, Mark Hwang and Fiona Lee.
Follow Madison Stewart on Instagram @sharkgirlmadison to stay tuned to the story.
