Harmony with natives key to successful transmigration program<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A demographer has urged the government to
\npromote efforts to create harmonious relations between the
\nnatives and the new settlers in the transmigration sites to avoid
\nsocial conflicts.<\/p>\n
Usman Pelly told a seminar on population yesterday that social
\nproblems which occurred in several settlement areas were mainly
\ncaused by negligence regarding the interests of the local people.<\/p>\n
\"There should be an assurance that the transmigrants are not
\nthe competitors, but the complements to the natives' socio-
\neconomic life,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Usman felt that the conflicts in Aceh, in which the locals
\nevicted the settlers from the transmigration sites because of the
\nsocial gap they created, and Irian Jaya, where locals stole the
\nsettlers' cattle because they thought they were wasting the land,
\nwere examples of such negligence.<\/p>\n
Usman said that the government, which organized the
\ntransmigration programs, should pay closer attention to the
\ninterests of the locals to promote harmonious life in the
\nsettlement areas.<\/p>\n
Even though the locals have received compensation for the land
\nappropriated by the government for the sites, it does not mean
\nthey might end up living as people whose rights are neglected, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The local people, he said, know that the finances paid to the
\nnew settlers are taken from the government's budget or taxpayers'
\nmoney. He said that this social and financial disparity only
\nserves to anger the locals.<\/p>\n
\"It is not unusual that small mistakes made by officials in
\ncharge of transmigration trigger open conflicts with the locals,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Usman was one of the speakers at the two-day seminar taking
\nthe theme of \"Developing the Pioneering Culture in People's
\nMobility\" which ended yesterday.<\/p>\n
Among the speakers were noted demographer Masri Singarimbun
\nand anthropologists Yulfita Raharjo and Riga Adiwoso Suprapto.<\/p>\n
The seminar, jointly organized by the Ministry of
\nTransmigration and a number of non-governmental organizations, is
\npart of the government's effort to invigorate the transmigration
\nprogram.<\/p>\n
Usman said that the construction of public facilities such as
\nmarkets, shops and mosques, to be used together with the locals,
\nhelp avoid the creation of enclaves which might trigger ethnic
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
According to Usman, locals have, in the past, created the term
\n\"Javanese colonialism\" to refer to the settlers in Irian Jaya
\nbecause of such enclaves.<\/p>\n
Singarimbun said that he could not accept the assumption that
\nthe Javanese people had very low mobility because of the tight
\nrelationships with their homeland.<\/p>\n
He based his arguments on the fact that Central and East Java
\nand Yogyakarta, from which the Javanese people originated, had
\nlower population growth compared to the areas such as East
\nKalimantan, Riau and Bengkulu in Sumatra which served as the
\nmigration areas for the Javanese.<\/p>\n
\"Migration is obviously an important factor in this matter,\"
\nhe said. \"I believe that the Javanese people are responsive to
\nnew opportunities,\" he said. (par)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/harmony-with-natives-key-to-successful-transmigration-program-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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