Villagers on the island of Sumatra recently killed a male Sumatran tiger. They then skinned the animal and hung its body from the ceiling of the village hall. Some in the Indonesian press have called the incident “barbaric.”  Did the villagers not know that tigers are a critically endangered species?… Read more

A report from the World Bank recently discussed the opportunities that Indonesians have to work abroad. Currently, approximately 7% of the Indonesian population is a migrant worker. In 2016, the nine million Indonesians who worked abroad sent home approximately the equivalent of 9 billion USD, which has contributed significantly to… Read more

In a landmark ruling made in early November, Indonesian’s Constitutional Court allowed for Indonesians to register as penhayat kepercayaan, or native-faith adherents for the first time.  All Indonesians are required to register as followers of one of the official religions. This registration appears on their identity cards. The six official… Read more

Dadang Sunendar, the head of language development for the Culture and Education Ministry recently stated that 139 local Indonesian languages are on the brink of extinction. With 707 languages, Indonesia has the second largest number of languages in the world. Only Papua New Guinea has more, with 839. There are… Read more

Adit grew up in a home with a Muslim father and a Catholic mother in Indonesia. His Catholic grandparents often babysat him when he was little, and they told him stories about Jesus, which he liked. But his father hired a Quran tutor so she could learn how to recite… Read more

On Friday, October 16, a mob attacked several churches in Aceh Singkil and burned them down. The mob said that the churches did not have the proper permits to exist. Now, authorities in Aceh are shutting down several churches this week. Authorities have contacted church leaders, and at least 6… Read more

On Wednesday, satellite imagery picked up over 600 fire hot spots across Sumatra, with the worst areas being the Jambi, South Sumatra, and Riau provinces. The fires in Jambi are so bad that they have had to close schools. Another big concern in Jambi is that fires are threatening oil… Read more

On Sunday, a Trigana Air Service plane crashed into a mountain in Papua. The plane was going from Jayapura to Oksibil. There were 44 adults, 5 children, and 5 crew on-board, and none of them lived. The plane also had $470,000 that was going to help with a village assistance… Read more

For the third day in a row, flights have been cancelled going to and from Bali. On July 9, Garuda tweeted that the airports in Bali, Lombok, Jember, and Banyuwangi were being closed due to ash. Mount Ruang has been erupting for several days now. The volcano is near Banyuwangi,… Read more

The fasting month of Ramadan began this week. Every country has its own unique food and rituals to celebrate. In Indonesia, because there are so many people groups, Ramadan is celebrated differently throughout the country. The Javanese welcome Ramadan with nyadran. In this ritual, friends and family visit the graves… Read more

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees have flooded into Aceh, Indonesia, as well as Malaysia. Thousands of others are believed to still be out at sea. Those on the ground say conditions are improving, but more assistance is needed as they aren’t just meeting immediate… Read more

On Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 12:35 a.m., eight men were executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking. Indonesia has received worldwide criticism for these convictions, as all but one of the men were foreigners whose countries requested clemency, and Indonesia refused. The relationship between Australia and Indonesia is particularly strained.… Read more

Sixty years ago, the historic first Asia-Africa Conference took place in Bandung, Indonesia. On this sixtieth anniversary, Indonesia invited 109 world leaders to the conference. As of April 16, 77 countries have representatives coming to the Asia-Africa Conference. There are also 34 heads of states attending the anniversary. The conference… Read more

On April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora on Sumbawa Island erupted. It shot volcanic material 27 miles into the sky, caused tsunamis, buried villages, and killed tens of thousands of people. On April 10 and 11 of this year, there will be several events to commemorate the disaster, calling it “Tambora… Read more

On Saturday, March 28, a hill in Tegal Panjang, in the Sukabumi area of West Java, collapsed. The landslide buried 11 houses, causing 300 people to flee for their lives. The landslide also buried the road that goes through the village. Soldiers, volunteers, and policemen searched for missing people under… Read more

World leaders from Australia, Brazil, and France have contacted Indonesian President Jokowi to ask him to not execute the 11 convicts on death row scheduled to go before a firing squad sometime this week. All of these countries have citizens scheduled to be executed, and yet Jokowi has denied clemency.… Read more

Over the past few years, persecution against religious minorities has risen. Ahmadi Muslims have been refused places to bury their dead, church congregations have had their church buildings torn down, and Shia Muslims have been chased out of their own villages. But they are finding hope in the new president,… Read more

In September, Indonesia’s old parliament passed a law ending local elections to choose mayors, provincial governors, and district heads. Instead, local parliaments were given the power to choose them. Many people condemned Indonesia for this, saying that this was a backwards step for democracy. On Tuesday, Indonesia’s new parliament formally… Read more