For his senior thesis, he is documenting the effects of a nickel mine on the fishing village of Roraya. In his thesis, Arfan wrote about how the mining company is operating on land that it doesn't own. “Locals say the place is hotter now,” he said. “The mining equipment introduces a lot of dust into the air. Vegetable harvests are lower.”
After learning about Arfan’s research, I was surprised to hear about both assistants' future work ambitions.
Eva: “I want to work for the fisheries office.”
Arfan: “If I don’t work for a mining company, I want to be a teacher.”
Even though he has spent a year documenting the negative impacts of the industry, Arfan says it is hard to avoid working for the local mining sector. “Mining is a growing sector,” he explained. “In Moramo (neighboring district) there are coal mines. In Kolaka (district four hours away), there are nickel mines. In Bombana (district two hours away), they mine for gold.”
“Mining is maybe the biggest employer in Southeast Sulawesi,” he said. “They offer good pay.” In fact, Eva is taking the week off to apply for office work at a mining company.
What do you think? Would you like living at sea? What choices might you make after studying at college?
