It is a quiet Sunday at dawn at Paotere Harbour in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A row of cargo ships, seemingly devoid of crew, are parked by the shore. At the other end of the dock, vacant fishing boats float silently on the water.

The placid scenery is abruptly interrupted by the roar of a boat engine. “That’s the vessel that will take us,” says a man named Hasanuddin.

Hasanuddin—or Pakde Hasan, as people call him—is the head of Mattiro Ujung Village that oversees both Pandangan and Kapoposang islands. Administratively, the islands are part of Pangkajene Kepulauan (Pangkep) Regency of South Sulawesi Province. 

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F Daus AR lives in the Pangkajene Kepulauan Regency of South Sulawesi. He works with the Pangkep Democratic Community Committee (KKDP) and manages the independent publication Rumah Saraung.