The tiger features frequently in my family

stories. In f ictional ones and silly jokes in the

f irst place, but also in the true stories our

parents told us. Stories that took place in my

father’s motherland: Indonesia. He grew up on

the island Sumatra, where a million-year-old

rainforest can still be found. This rainforest

that is located in the north is home to a couple

of hundred wild tigers. These majestic animals

once inhabited all of Sumatra, but after the

devastating 2004 tsunami, their numbers

shrank drastically. 

My father once really came face to face with

a tiger. As a child, he regularly stayed with

his aunt and uncle, who lived in a house

on high stilts in the Sumatran rainforest.

He described the jungle sounds to us as

impressive and mysterious, with each resident

singing their own melody. From the twittering

monkeys to the love songs of tropical birds,

the jungle never sleeps. Yet, he told us, there

are moments when it could get as quiet as

a mouse. Overwhelmingly quiet. My father

was introduced to that silence once. It even

kept him from sleeping. Even the crickets

on the ground seemed to hold their breath

at that moment. And then…. all of a sudden

my father heard growling in the distance. A

sound that grew louder and louder. At that

moment in the night, a real tiger decided to

pass through the forest and walked past their

little wooden cabin. The whole jungle gave way

to this mysterious predator and let him pass in

silence. This memory is etched in my father’s

memory and has lived on in mine thanks to his

stories.

At the age of eight, I f irst got to visit that

wonderful island with all its magnif icent

wildlife The greenery colours and opulence of

nature welcomed me Although I did not see

a tiger I was allowed to witness the beauty of

wildlife and lush forests all by myself Every

few years I would return there but with each

arrival that f irst core memory was pushed

more and more into history I witnessed

trees being replaced by concrete buildings

and rainforests that rapidly disappeared due

to illegal logging and palm oil plantations.

My family’s lush, green garden, dotted with

fruit trees in which I played as a child, is

now completely gone. Man-made climate

change, and supported by a government that

puts economic growth above conservation,

is slowly degrading this paradise on earth.

Deforestation prevents water from being

eff iciently absorbed after heavy rains,

resulting in f loods, and persistent heatwaves

are causing problems everywhere.

As I write this story, I look out the window of

my home in the Netherlands and see houses,

concrete, roads, bridges, a stray tree and

heavy traff ic on the roads. In the distance are

barren stretches of land where little seems

to be happening. Also here our government

prioritises economic progress over a healthy

living environment. Although we have long

said goodbye to our primaeval forests and

cultivated almost every piece of nature, we

continue to dream about authentic nature

and the animals and plants that live there.

We privileged people of the West search for it

diligently and still f ind it in the faraway places

we visit. But there too, we see nature gradually

disappearing due to climate change that we,

especially the rich countries, are driving.

The earth is becoming increasingly damaged.

Slowly we are tearing it down, driven by money

and self-interest. But on a dying planet, money

is of no use to us. We need nature for our

survival, but also for that of future generations

and for all other life on earth: animals and

plants. They deserve to be protected. What

if we wouldn’t chase away the tiger, but

embraced its characteristics instead? Can

governments harness the tigers courage

and determination to stop climate change

That way this majestic animal can symbolise

a successful human f ight against climate

change and not just be a f ictional creature of

the past Lets prevent the jungle from actually

becoming quite soon

Mariam Sugijanto