How A Twitter Post From Paul Walker Helped Save A Community?

The unexpected and dreadful death of Hollywood actor Paul Walker in a car accident has left many of his fans around the world in profound grief, including a community on a far-flung islet in the northwest part of Indonesia, around 93 miles off the west coast of Sumatra. Walker is well-known as an activist to the public of the Mentawai Islands, as he supported their campaign to save the environment of Mentawai Islands.

Although his role to end the coral reef demolition in the Mentawais, principally caused by bomb fishing was epigrammatic but significant hence lately the Alliance of Mentawai People released a statement thanking the late "Fast and Furious" actor: “I am thankful and proud that not only Indonesians care about Mentawai, but the international community too,” stated Robert Ajuar Anas, a member of the alliance, to The Wall Street Journal.

The Mentawai Islands are famous for their sea food and oceanic beauty and coral reefs. The region is a division of the Coral Triangle, an aquatic preserve that comprises of the waters of the following regions:

1. Philippines
2. Papua New Guinea
3. Timor Leste
4. Solomon Islands

This island is known to small groups of surfing enthusiasts and not very famous among tourists, because of being distant and hardly approachable from the mainland. In Oct. 2010, the island was almost entirely swabbed out by a tsunami. The Mentawai public is dependent on fishing for their livelihood, but recent times their source of income has been endangered by external fishing companies that use dynamite in their operations called bomb fishing. (Dynamite fishing is prohibited under Indonesian law and liable to be punished by up to six years in incarceration.)

In Dec. 2012, some of the natives of island observed bomb fishing going on in the waters near the inhabited area and informed the authorities. Sadly they received no response from the authorities and to save the island they started an online petition on petition starter Change.org. Instantly the petition went viral, spreading the awareness about the illegal bomb fishing in the waters around the Mentawais.

Many of activists and hi-profile people noticed the petition and one of them was Paul Walker. Walker took to social media and posted a massage on twitter:

Help! The beautiful Mentawais Reefs of Indonesia are being DESTROYED in a brutal practice. Please sign to help stop it! http://t.co/0GZvzXiO

— Paul Walker (@RealPaulWalker) Jan. 30, 2013

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead — Paul Walker (@RealPaulWalker) Jan. 30, 2013

The result of Walker's tweet was that the Mentawai people received instant support and alliance from authorities they needed to save their livelihoods and homes. People swarmed to Change.org. and massive amount of e-mails to support the cause were received.

Activists at Change.org Indonesia say celebrity support doesn't always assure a campaign's success, but in this case Mr. Walker's Tweet deserves some recognition.

"Paul Walker was known for his love of surfing in the Mentawai Islands, so people were responsive to his tweet and signed the petition," said Arief Aziz, communications director at Change.org Indonesia.

In 2010, Walker revealed his passion for surfing, Indonesia and serving mankind in interview with Men's Health Magazine.

"The more you're under fire, the cooler you are," "Fifteen feet is now where I draw the line. But 15 feet is big -- you're on the edge, and the water is only 6 or 7 feet deep until its jagged coral. It's inevitable: I always get cut, on my feet, on my arms, and on my hands. It's like hitting concrete. And that means you have to be on your game. If you hesitate, you go down hard." Said Walker in a 2010 interview with Men's Health Magazine.

He talked about Indonesian jungle: "I came here thinking it would be my own secret island -- heaven on earth. But there wasn't even access from the road; I literally had to bulldoze one. But it's worth it. This place is one of the most beautiful on earth, if not the most beautiful -- especially for the price."

"It's warm here, but it just pisses rain nonstop -- lightning storm after lightning storm," "And working in the rain, I have to tell you, is not easy. I don't have electricity. I use candlelight. I cook over an open fire, the traditional way. I harvest my rice, dry it out, beat it, and cook it up. I dive for lobster and octopus. If I did that year round, the novelty would wear off, but to come here for a couple, 3 weeks at a time, it's perfect." Said Walker.
"I'm a doer, and whether it was the tsunami in Sri Lanka or the earthquake in Indonesia, I was always saying, 'I should be there; I should be helping out," recalled Walker.

Hat off to Walker whose concern for the human kind was remarkable!
Watch: A Tribute to Paul Walker

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