Roger Federer has faced many strange situations in his career… this was a new one.
The world no.2 is the brand ambassador for Credit Swiss (who else?), but apparently the bank is funding companies active in timber plantations in Sumatra… and some people do not like it. The call came from Indonesia from Isnadi Esman and Woro Supartinah, members of Bagan Melibur, a village in the interested area. “We are writing to you to ask for your urgent assistance to help us save our community lands and to stop illegal logging and deforestation in our unique tropical peatland forests,” they said “In particular, we are asking you to use your influence as brand ambassador of the Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, to convince the bank managers to stop funding the Royal Golden Eagle Group (RGE) whose subsidiary, Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings (APRIL) is responsible for the destruction of our rainforests.”
“Our ancestors have been living in Pulau Padang since 1850,” they added “We were living in peace with people and nature, including the forest. People lived from farming, others from fishing. In 2011, PT. RAPP came. Things then became totally different ever since. The company started to clear our forest, taking our farms and homes.”
We tried to object against the destruction of our livelihoods. Once, 82 villagers from Pulau Padang went to Jakarta, asking for attention and support from different parties not to let the company take their land. As a sign of protest, 28 of our people even sewed their mouths!”
Roger… what can you do about it?
| LIFE IS NOT THAT EASY RECENTLY |
