Mother Nature has been hit hardest when it comes to pollution. It seems that we dump our waste wherever we want. We only see the true impact of these actions on our environment when it is too late. Once we realize what has been done, the damage is already done, it is irreversible. The Citarum River basin, located in Indonesia, suffered the most. Textile factories along the coast dumped toxic waste into the river, causing illness and death. We need to clean up the Citarum River. With all this, the Citarum River must return to a place where people feel safe. The Citarum River Basin is home to approximately thirty-five million people. Most of these people still depend on the river for food, water and bathing. However, this river is not only a place of residence for humans. Dozens of textile factories are located on the river, some of which release toxic chemicals used to make clothing. According to Green Peace, some chemicals include chlorinated solvents, phthalates, brominated chlorinated flame retardants, azo dyes, heavy metals: cadmium, lead, mercury and chromium, all of which have a detrimental effect on the body. Some symptoms include adverse effects on the central nervous system, liver and kidneys, cancer and even death. Most chemicals are banned in countries with stricter government regulations on textile factories, which include big brands like Adidas and Gap. But because of Indonesia's financial crisis in the late 1990s, the country ran out of funds, so textile factories had fewer regulations and more broken laws. According to a Daily Mail interview with a local fisherman who lives on the Citarum River, he said "textile factories are illegally dumping... middle of paper... people in the Citarum River basin are gathering and demanding textile factories. to have more regulations, there will be a change. By educating residents about what factories are polluting in the Citarum, anger and frustration will be aroused, and with that a demand for more regulations will be presented. The Citarum River is used by millions of people every day, and it's been that way since the beginning. By allowing factories to dump their pollutants into the river, we justify pollution not only for this, but for all future events similar to this. Textile factories are poisoning the population and killing their livelihoods. If we start dredging, let's allow natural life to return and educate the people of the Citarum River Basin. The Citarum River Basin can go from being the most polluted river in the world to the cleanest river in the world, but it all starts with the first step..