Indonesian teens wakeboard waterlogged streets to protest floods
They hope their unconventional protest will have an impact on the local government
JAKARTA: A group of teenagers in Indonesia are wakeboarding the submerged streets of their hometown to protest against the urban flooding that regularly plagues much of the tropical archipelago.
After several days of heavy rains in Samarinda city, on Borneo island, the fed-up group launched their waterlogged demonstration in a now-viral Instagram video.
Curious onlookers gaped as Mohammad Fahri Ramadhan, 19, showed off a few tricks as he carved-up the dirty, waist-high water — pulled by a car instead of a boat.
In the background, a narrator complained about the annual flooding in the city of more than 800,000.
The teens hope their unconventional protest will have an impact on the local government, which has already declared the flooding — affecting tens of thousands of residents — a city emergency.
The group appealed to citizens to keep the streets clean so rubbish doesn’t clog sewers and drains — a common problem that exacerbates flooding in Indonesian cities after heavy rains.
“We want people to be more aware and to please not litter,” Ramadhan told AFP on Tuesday.
“People on the street who watched me wakeboarding, and others who commented on social media, mostly said nice things — they thanked us for protesting this way,” he added.
Earlier this year, a group of youngsters in Sumatra released online images of themselves posing like models in the muddy water that flooded their community’s streets.