Tak perlu tunggu gotong-royong untuk bertindak
Biarpun Seorang, Wanita Dari Miri Ini Sanggup Luangkan Masa Sejam Sehari Demi Bersihkan Pantai. Baru-baru ini, The Star kongsikan sebuah video mengenai seorang wanita dari Miri yang meluangkan masa sejam sehari untuk membersihkan pantai-pantai di kampung halamannya.
Usaha ini adalah inisiatif Elizabeth Buri untuk meningkatkan kesedaran tentang pentingnya kebersihan pantai malah beliau telah membuat pembersihan ini hampir sebulan.
Beliau membesar dikelilingi pantai dan rasa sedih apabila mengetahui pantai-pantai tersebut sudah kotor
Elizabeth, seorang pengajar yoga, kembali ke Miri dari Kuala Lumpur dan menyedari betapa kotornya pantai di Miri, jauh berbeza dengan pantai yang biasa dilihatnya semasa beliau membesar.
Menurut temu bual beliau dengan The Star, beliau berkata,
“Ia sangat mengecewakan untuk melihat sebuah ruang dimana saya membesar suatu ketika dahulu dan saya melihat kanak-kanak dan mereka tak tahu bagaimana rasanya untuk mempunyai pantai yang bersih.”
Beliau berkata lagi terdapat beberapa botol kaca pecah di sekitar pantai, tetapi terdapat juga kanak-kanak dan keluarga lain masih bermain di sana, malah masih membuang sampah merata-rata.
“Saya terus berfikir, perkara ini tidak boleh diterima,” ujarnya lagi.
Sendiri ambil tindakan, tak perlu tunggu orang lain
Elizabeth berkata lagi beliau tidak suka dengan orang yang hanya pandai mengadu tetapi tidak bertindak. Oleh itu, beliau berputus untuk mengambil tindakan sendiri.
“Saya membuat ini agar orang lain tahu ini dapat dibuat dan anda tak perlu banyak masa untuk melakukannya. Walaupun saya hanya mempunyai masa setengah jam pada waktu pagi dan masa setengah jam pada waktu petang, sekurang-kurangnya saya tahu saya telah membuat bahagian kecil saya untuk alam semula jadi serta memberi mesej kepada generasi muda, iaitu sekurang-kurangnya saya telah membuat ini dan saya telah memberi kembali sesuatu kepada dunia,” kata Elizabeth.
Selain itu, Elizabeth menyatakan usaha ini juga bertujuan sebagai pesan kepada orang awam bahawa mereka dapat mengambil tindakan tanpa menunggu gotong-royong kerana ia akan sentiasa kotor lagi.
“Ia seperti rumah anda. Anda harus sentiasa kekalkan kebersihan rumah anda,” ulasnya.
This is a 1-minute timelapse video of my 20-days solo beach cleanup project. I give myself between 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours daily to pick up as much trash as I possibly can. Which means I have spent at least 20 hours on this project.Below are the comments & questions I get from passerby.* "Why do you do it?"I am so honoured to do something for nature on a daily basis. It feels like an active prayer to Mother Earth and God. I also feel deeply that Earth is my home, my garden, my church. Nature is holy, thus must be cleaned daily.* "Why everyday?"Gotong-royong / big group clean ups only happen "once in a blue moon". That is silly. Think of cleaning the beach or your environment like brushing your teeth. Who waits "once in a blue moon" to brush their teeth?* "Why 1 hour?" This is not a short term project – clean up once then forget about it. This is a long term project – I need to pace myself. I can allocate 1 hour out of my 24 hours to do this. Think marathon, not sprint.* "Why alone?" I choose not to wait. I choose to cultivate this relationship I have with Mother Earth & God more than the relationship we have with social media.I welcome anyone to join me, and I am realistic that most would give a thumbs up or like and scroll away.* "We need more people like you" You could be IF you wanted to.* "I don't have time" What are you doing on social media then? I can pick up a full bag of trash in 20 minutes. That's how much rubbish there is on a small space of beach alone. So try 20 minutes to clean up if you wanted.* "It is not my trash" It is not mine either, but like I said, Earth is my home, my church. It is my duty to keep holy grounds clean.* "It will get dirty again. People throw from the kampung or rivers" So then what? Just don't think about it? Instead complaincomplaincomplain that it is dirty and not do anything about it? Is that the solution? Sure it would be great if our town leaders did something about this, but like I said, I am not going to wait. Also like I said about brushing teeth, it's a daily ritual.* "We destroy the planet for your young generation to pick up after us" That is the most stupidest comment I have ever heard… and I have heard it too many times already. Thank you for caring about your children's children.* "As long as you have no expectations from anyone" Oh believe me, I have lived long enough here to have zero.Which probably is the most freeing part of this project. Of course it would be nice if people cared a little bit more. Of course it would be wonderful if we gave a damn. But it is okay if that is too ideal. And it is okay if I keep at it on my own.I grew up playing on the beach. I have spent years jogging on the beach and chilling watching our magnificent sunset. When I see families come to play and enjoy themselves on the beach that I clean, I am happy. They may not know me and what I have done. You may not know me and what I am doing. And that is okay. I am going to keep going.All I ask is that you share this post on your profile and group pages. Share it with your friends and families. Especially share it with your children.– Tell them that once not long ago the beaches were cleaner, there was less plastics and people cared nature.– Tell them there the beach is clean because there is a little beach fairy who comes in and does the little that she does make the beach nice for everyone to enjoy.– Tell them she is hoping that this story gets shared to reach other beach and nature fairies in town and around the world who are doing the same. – Tell them that she and these other fairies are not going to give up, we will continue for them and their children.Thank you for reading til the end. And thank you for sharing.20-day Beach clean up on #piasaubeach #mirisarawak
Posted by Liz C Buri on Sunday, August 16, 2020
Boleh kumpul 30kg sampah dalam masa sejam
Disamping itu, dinyatakan juga Elizabeth dapat mengumpul sampah seberat 30kg dalam masa sejam dan kemudian akan diasingkan untuk dihantar bagi dikitar semula atau dibuang.
Ketika ditanya sampah apa yang dianggap aneh dan mengejutkan berdasarkan pengalaman beliau mengutip sampah di pantai-pantai berkenaan selama ini, beliau berkata,
“Botol plastik paling pertama – botol plastik sentiasa ada di rata-rata. Kemudian, beg plastik – pelbagai jenis beg plastik. Namun, untuk nombor tiga, jenis sampah yang mengejutkan saya dan paling jijik saya pernah kutip adalah lampin bayi.”
Masih berniat untuk teruskan projek ini
Elizabeth menyatakan beliau akan kekal teruskan projek ini dan berharap usaha ini boleh memberi kesedaran.
“Saya akan kekal teruskan projek ini dan saya akan sentiasa menggesa orang lain untuk kongsikan perkara ini demi memberi kesedaran. Saya hanya perlu orang lain untuk mempunyai kesedaran itu bahawa perkara ini adalah penting. Kita boleh lakukan perubahan jika kita hendak, tetapi kita perlu membuat keputusan untuk bertindak dan bukan hanya mengadu tetapi tidak mengambil tindakan,” katanya lagi.
Good job, Elizabeth! Semoga orang lain mendapat inspirasi dari usaha anda dan mengambil inisiatif sendiri!
Kebersihan separuh daripada iman.
Anda boleh lihat temu bual Elizebeth dengan The Star di bawah:
My small part: Sarawakian cleans the beach one hour at a timeThis Sarawakian in Miri proves one doesn’t always need fancy equipment or a big group to make a difference. Story by Joshua Lim the JournalistWATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
Posted by The Star on Sunday, August 23, 2020
