SHAPING DISEASE: COLONIAL STIGMA AND THE POLITICS OF HEALTH IN BANYUWANGI, THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Authors

• Rifa'i Shodiq Fathoni, University of JemberFollow
• Skriptyan Noor Hidayatullah Syuhri, University of JemberFollow
• Vini’matu Hikmah, University of JemberFollow
• Ardhita Zahra Namira, University of JemberFollow

Abstract

This article examines the colonial stigma attached to Banyuwangi as an “unhealthy region” in the early 20th century, a label used to justify massive exploitation of its natural resources. Using a historical method, this research analyzes how this stigma not only served as a tool for colonial legitimation but also causatively created conditions that triggered ecological disasters and a public health crisis in a previously isolated area. Through an analysis of primary sources such as colonial reports, health journals, and newspapers, this article traces how large-scale plantation exploitation, enabled by the stigma, led to deforestation, uncontrolled labor migration, and poor settlement sanitation. The findings indicate that the combination of environmental degradation and inadequate living conditions created an ideal ecosystem for the outbreak of tropical disease epidemics like malaria and cholera, which were not previously rampant in Banyuwangi. Ironically, the colonial government blamed the lifestyles of the local and migrant populations rather than acknowledging the impact of its own policies. This article also reveals that efforts to improve health conditions and eradicate the stigma in the late 1920s, through the provision of clean water, elimination of mosquito breeding grounds, and modernization of health facilities, were only undertaken after the stigma backfired and began to impede colonial economic interests. Thus, this study concludes that the health crisis in Banyuwangi was a direct product of exploitative policies grounded in stigma, demonstrating the intricate link between colonial narratives, environmental destruction, and public health in peripheral regions.

Bahasa Abstract

Artikel ini mengkaji stigma kolonial yang dilekatkan pada Banyuwangi sebagai “daerah tidak sehat” pada awal abad ke-20, sebuah label yang digunakan untuk membenarkan eksploitasi besar-besaran terhadap sumber daya alamnya. Dengan menggunakan metode sejarah, penelitian ini menganalisis bagaimana stigma tersebut tidak hanya berfungsi sebagai alat legitimasi kolonial, tetapi juga secara kausal menciptakan kondisi yang memicu bencana ekologis dan krisis kesehatan masyarakat di wilayah yang sebelumnya relatif terisolasi. Melalui analisis sumber-sumber primer seperti laporan kolonial, jurnal kesehatan, dan surat kabar, artikel ini menelusuri bagaimana eksploitasi perkebunan skala besar yang dimungkinkan oleh stigma tersebut menyebabkan deforestasi, migrasi tenaga kerja yang tidak terkendali, dan buruknya sanitasi permukiman. Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kombinasi antara degradasi lingkungan dan kondisi permukiman yang tidak memadai menciptakan ekosistem yang ideal bagi merebaknya epidemi penyakit tropis seperti malaria dan kolera, yang sebelumnya tidak berkembang secara luas di Banyuwangi. Ironisnya, pemerintah kolonial justru menyalahkan gaya hidup penduduk lokal dan para migran alih-alih mengakui dampak dari kebijakan mereka sendiri. Artikel ini juga mengungkap bahwa upaya perbaikan kondisi kesehatan dan penghapusan stigma pada akhir 1920-an, melalui penyediaan air bersih, pemberantasan tempat berkembang biaknya nyamuk, serta modernisasi fasilitas kesehatan, baru dilakukan setelah stigma tersebut berbalik merugikan dan mulai menghambat kepentingan ekonomi kolonial. Dengan demikian, penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa krisis kesehatan di Banyuwangi merupakan produk langsung dari kebijakan eksploitatif yang berlandaskan stigma, yang menunjukkan keterkaitan erat antara narasi kolonial, kerusakan lingkungan, dan kesehatan masyarakat di wilayah pinggiran.

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Recommended Citation

Fathoni, Rifa'i S, Skriptyan N. Syuhri, Vini’matu Hikmah, and Ardhita Z. Namira. 2026. SHAPING DISEASE: COLONIAL STIGMA AND THE POLITICS OF HEALTH IN BANYUWANGI, THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY. Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya 16, no. 2 (August). 10.17510/paradigma.v16i2.1958.