The Collective Memories of the Famine in 1977: Indonesia’s Policy on Disaster Management in the Karawang Regency

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.200729.031How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Collective memories, Famine, Karawang Regency, Crop failures, Disaster management and mitigation

Abstract

In 1977, the people of the Pedes District in the Karawang Regency of West Java, Indonesia, experienced a severe famine, due to the crop failures in every agricultural area over three consecutive seasons. Although this famine occurred more than 42 years ago, the memories still linger among those who were traumatized by the experience. Thus, the main research question is “To what degree does the collective memories of the people in a certain area affect the policymaking of a country?” In order to answer this question, this reflective study examines previous research and historical writings regarding the famine, the collective memories of those who inhabited the district during the occurrence, and the efforts made by certain groups/institutions to deal with the consequent starvation from the lack of timely government relief. Based on the results, the occurrence brought certain misery to many people living in the five districts of Karawang Regency, especially those in the Pedes District. Although the government did provide assistance through the supply of food, items, and labor-intensive projects, it was somewhat late. Moreover, such memories have made an impact on future policymaking regarding disaster management. The implication of the findings is that the ability to analyze the current situation and forecast future possibilities is much more important than only focusing on overcoming the issue itself. Such awareness should be further promoted in order to establish better management of natural and man-made disasters on a national level.

Copyright

© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Bunga Rosalina
AU  - Susanto Zuhdi
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/07/30
TI  - The Collective Memories of the Famine in 1977: Indonesia’s Policy on Disaster Management in the Karawang Regency
BT  - Proceedings of the International University Symposium on Humanities and Arts (INUSHARTS 2019)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 158
EP  - 163
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200729.031
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.200729.031
ID  - Rosalina2020
ER  -