On March 1, 2010, Leo received a report from the community about illegal logging activities in Warmarwai, Batanta region. He reached the location where the illegal logging activities were reported, and made his way to approach three people he had recognized before. He sat down with them, conveying his point not to cut down trees. He noticed sharp weapons stored near the hut. He wanted to take those weapons with him back on his boat.
But they refused. They said that those weapons were being used for boar hunting. Leo believed them and agreed to give the weapons back. But that was when the massacre started. Among those who witnessed the incident were Leo’s older brother Elias Saleo, his cousin Andi Saleo, and Leo’s men who later came from Dayan Island. They tried to chase the perpetrators, but unfortunately Leo couldn’t be saved.
Leo didn’t leave much by way of inheritance. His lasting legacies were his words and good deeds. “In 2007, my father asked people to join him to plant mangroves, but only a few was interested. And now we feel the impact of coastal abrasion on our daily lives. The sand began to erode and many of the islands around Yensawai began to disappear,” Konstantinus told me.
In 2016, after finishing college, he wanted to carry on his father’s legacy. But then he chose a different path—to build a homestay.
“My father’s way was tough, extreme. An awful lot of ships were brought to the post for trial. I try to preserve nature another way. But the goal remains the same. I try to educate people about nature conservancy through the homestay,” Konstantinus said. “I built Dayan Homestay. That’s where I educate young children and the guests about the environment. In 2019 we received the best homestay award from Stay Rajaampat for our service and conservation efforts. We are known to guests as guardians of nature,” he added.
Konstantinus believed that people have become more aware that if a certain location has a homestay, then the area is not to be disturbed or damaged. Konstantinus shared the story of Leonard Saleo with every guest who came to his homestay. He wrote a note titled Forgotten Heroes, that told about Leo’s heroic life and death, and compiled testimonies from Leo’s comrades. One of them is Yusup Arifin, former fisherman who used a compressor—a wind pump, to be exact—to help him breathe underwater while hunting fish. Now he is an conservationist and the owner of Homestay Mandemor in West Yensawai.
“Om Leo has transformed me from a destroyer, into a guardian of nature and a conservationist. Om Leo has successfully eliminated all practices on Batanta Island that could potentially destroy our nature. today, it’s no longer what it used to be,” Yusup wrote.
The day was March 13. At the end of our encounter, Konstantinus said something unexpected. “I once dreamed that someone would come to my village. In my dream, I would take him to my father’s grave. I would tell him about his story and show him my writing about him,” he said. “And today, right on my father’s birthday, my dream came true. I met you,” he continued.
That got me speechless for a moment. And then I told him, “Maybe this is His way. And by the way, yesterday just happened to be my birthday.” We laughed over this serendipitous moment. Walking back to Leonard Saleo’s grave, we took some pictures together.