House for rent, anyone?<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Efendy has been unable to sleep for three days. It's not the
\naftershocks that continue to rattle the tsunami-stricken province
\nkeeping him awake, but the order he received to move out of his
\nrented house.<\/p>\n
\"The house owner doubled the rent,\" sighed the 38-year-old,
\nwho has been renting the house in Lamlagang, Banda Aceh, for
\nthree years.<\/p>\n
When the tsunami hit on Dec. 26 the house suffered only minor
\ndamage, a crack here and there.<\/p>\n
But Efendy's problem began after the disaster. With the
\narrival in Aceh of so many aid workers and volunteers, including
\nforeigners, some looking for places to rent, the owner of
\nEfendy's house decided to raise the rent to Rp 6 million (US$666)
\na year.<\/p>\n
If Efendy cannot come up with the money by next week, the
\nowner wants him to leave.<\/p>\n
After losing many of his relatives in the disaster, Efendy has
\nno one to turn to for help.<\/p>\n
\"I wonder where I will take my family and belongings,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Asnawi's rented house is being leased by a foreign NGO for a
\nyear, at 10 times the Rp 6 million Asnawi used to pay.<\/p>\n
Asnawi said he could never afford to pay that much so the
\nowner wants him out.<\/p>\n
\"It makes me sad to be treated like this,\" Asnawi said.<\/p>\n
With thousands of houses destroyed in the disaster, thousands
\nof Acehnese are now living in shelters and are in dire need of
\nhousing. While some wealthy Acehnese can afford to rent houses,
\nmany others have to compete with newcomers living temporarily in
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
Rents in the province have skyrocketed in the province. In
\nsome places, rents have jumped by as much as 1,000 percent.<\/p>\n
Before the tsunami, a five-room house rented for about Rp 5
\nmillion a year. Now prices have jumped to as much as Rp 120
\nmillion. Some foreigners are reportedly paying as much as Rp 40
\nmillion per month for houses far from the coast.<\/p>\n
House owners are certainly happy with these developments, many
\nevicting longtime residents in order to make a quick buck from
\nthe tragedy.<\/p>\n
\"There's no harm in renting our houses to foreigners, (we're)
\nhelping them,\" said Abdullah, a house owner.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-for-rent-anyone-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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