City asked to make peace with the poor<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration should stop forcibly evicting the
\npoor and demolishing their homes and accept the reality that
\npoverty is part of the city, a sociologist said here on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"The administration must deal with the fact that poverty has
\nbecome a part of the country,\" Arif Budiman told a press
\nconference at the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) on Jl. Diponegoro,
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The press conference was conducted by Anti-eviction Network,
\nwhich consists of, among others, the Urban Poor Consortium, the
\nJakarta Residents Forum (FAKTA), Jakarta Social Institute and LBH
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Arif, a lecturer at Melbourne University, said that the
\neviction of the poor would not achieve positive results because
\nthe administration had not offered any solution to the poor after
\nevicting them.<\/p>\n
\"Don't be jealous of the beauty of some cities in industrial
\ncountries. They have been able to cope with poverty, while our
\ncountry has not. Don't be ashamed to face it,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
He regretted the eviction operations, which were conducted by
\nthe administration prior to Ramadhan.<\/p>\n
\"It is really inhumane,\" Arif said.<\/p>\n
The administration, said Arif, ignored the poor's contribution
\nto the city. The country's economy is basically being bolstered
\nby the informal sector, the domain of the poor.<\/p>\n
About 60 percent of the employment in the country is in the
\ninformal sector.<\/p>\n
Arif suggested the administration allow the poor to build
\nhomes here.<\/p>\n
\"What the administration should do is give them a space and
\nmanage it so that it looks good,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed to a well-organized housing area for the poor off
\nCode river in Yogyakarta, which was built by the late Father
\nMangunwijaya.<\/p>\n
The poor, Arif said, could also be managed, as long as the
\nadministration allowed them to stay in their place.<\/p>\n
Arif said the involvement of non-governmental organizations
\nwas necessary to assist the poor and prevent corrupt officers
\nfrom taking advantage of them.<\/p>\n
Data from the network revealed that the administration had
\nconducted 45 eviction operations in slums and 54 eviction
\noperations against street vendors in the period between January
\nand October this year. The operations cost billions of rupiah.<\/p>\n
It had also conducted raids on becak (pedicab) drivers,
\nleaving 6,000 unemployed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the leader of the Urban Poor Consortium, Wardah
\nHafidz accused the administration of evicting the poor because
\nthey were unable to manage them.<\/p>\n
\"The evictions, which were usually violent, represent a last
\nditch effort by the administration to address the problem,\" she
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
Wardah said the administration failed to guarantee the poor's
\nfreedom to live and work, due to the continuous raids against
\nthem.<\/p>\n
\"It is shameful if the administration refuses to assist the
\npoor only because they are not Jakarta residents,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-asked-to-make-peace-with-the-poor-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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