Franciscans call for solidarity as haze from Indonesian fires blankets Southeast Asia

The Franciscan Network for Peace and Integral Ecology in Asia discussed the impact of Indonesian forest and peatland fires during an assembly in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, from Oct. 5 to 11. Friar John Wong, OFM, general definitor for Asia-Oceania of the Order of Friars Minor, said participants addressed how the haze affects vulnerable communities and how Franciscans are responding.

A Capuchin Franciscan from Kalimantan, Indonesia, reported that schools in one area closed for a month due to the haze and that poor families lost homes to peatland fires. In Singapore, the National Environment Agency reported that the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index reached 225 in the central region on Oct. 16, placing three of the city-state's five regions in the very unhealthy range.

Singapore Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu stated that some haze originated from fires on lands belonging to seven companies in Indonesia. These companies will receive preventive measure notices under Singapore's Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. At the Church of the Holy Family in Singapore, parishioners used a prayer written by a member of the parish during a faith formation session on Oct. 13 to ask for the clearing of the haze.