Will This Illegal Logging Last Forever?

I am definetely not an environmental activist for sure. I am not a member of any environtmental organization either. For I am just an ordinary woman who raises two kids who deals with ordinary activities between house and school. So I can not speak as powerful as you who familiar with environtmental issues. But even an ordinary mother likes me will hate this picture below!

You do not have to be an environmental activitist to realize how wrong that picture could be. I took this picture about last December during our way back home to Medan after spending Christmas is my hometown. It is a big truck which carried so many logs and drives across the highway with no car plate visible. I think the driver really has guts to take all those logs across the highway where there is a big possibility that he would cross path with the highway patrol. But then I realize the ironic of my innocent thought. How could he worries about getting caught by highway patrol for carrying so many logs in his truck while he does not even care to put a car plate which actually is against the law in the first place. So I finally think that this guy must have someone to cover him up while doing this illegal logging and carry them across the highway in the mid day. So that he does not need to be afraid of any highway patrol sine he already has the 'magic letter' in his pocket, just in case they caught him on the road.

You see, the condition of our forest is getting worse and worse every year. I am not talking about the forests all over Indonesia, its way to large for me. I am talking about the nearest forest in Sumatera Utara where I can see with my own eyes. The largest forest I usually see is on the way to Danau Toba (Toba Lake) in Parapat City. Actually, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the forest along the meandering road where tall trees covering you like canopy. It is so peacefully and so beautiful. You can also see monkeys sitting on the edge of the road waiting for cars to stop and throw foods from the car's window. You will see no high building, even houses are rare to find.

But who knows that in fact its all just a covered up lie. You can see those beautiful trees along the road as the picture above, but if you try to cross the edge of the forest and go deeper, you will find that there are a large empty area behind those beautiful trees that you saw from the road. There are very few trees left behind them, where you can not see directly unless you try to find them. The empty area are getting larger every time since no one wants to stop the illegal logging back there. Huge companies pay lots of money to get illegal permitt before destroying that beautiful forest.

There's been talking about this here and there. Local medias have written about this too as well as the environtmental activists. But it's been a long time and still there is no punishment given to any one involved yet. That is why I have a feeling that this illegal logging is still going to happen for the next few years. I just hope that it won't last forever. Save our forest! So our children in the future will still able to enjoy the scenery of famous Danau Toba below with the beauty of the forest surround it.