Now abandoned, Krui seaport tells of glorious past<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Krui, West Lampung<\/p>\n
Once a busy seaport in West Lampung, Krui is nothing more than
\na pale shadow of a glorious past.<\/p>\n
An old, abandoned customs and excise building, a berth,
\nseveral old and empty warehouses and a fortress stand witness to
\nits bustling past.<\/p>\n
The building, on which is written the Dutch word Douane
\nmeaning customs, the berth and the warehouses were all built
\nduring Dutch colonial times.<\/p>\n
Big ships from outside Hindia (the old name of Indonesia)
\nvisited the port to carry pepper, coffee and resin from villages
\nin West Lampung and North Lampung to be sold abroad.<\/p>\n
Export activities started to decline during the struggle for
\nindependence from 1945 to 1949. They stopped completely in the
\nearly 1960s when the government, under President Sukarno, started
\nto build roads to connect isolated areas to provincial capital
\nBandar Lampung.<\/p>\n
Nuri, a 70-year-old fisherman who arrived in Krui from his
\nhometown of Tegal, Central Java in the 1950s on a wooden boat,
\nremembers the old times well.<\/p>\n
\"It used to be a lively seaport visited by big ships from
\nother islands and abroad,\" Nuri, the father of four children and
\nfive grandchildren, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Life was also very interesting in Krui at the time. There were
\nlots of migrants, including hundreds of Chinese families. Most of
\nthe Chinese settlers then become traders in a traditional market
\nnear the port which faces the Indian Ocean. Some of them married
\nlocal residents.<\/p>\n
The number of Chinese in Krui, as in other places across the
\ncountry, decreased after the issuance of government regulation
\nNo. 10\/1959, which banned Chinese traders from operating in
\nvillages.<\/p>\n
According to Melly G. Tan's book, titled Golongan Etnis
\nTionghoa di Indonesia, Suatu Masalah Pembinaan Kesatuan Bangsa
\n(Ethic Chinese in Indonesia, A Problem in United Nation-
\nBuilding), at least 96,000 Chinese moved to mainland China
\nfollowing the issuance of the regulation.<\/p>\n
Backed by the military, the regulation, which was originally
\naimed at enabling local traders to become established, became a
\nracist policy and was used to rid the country of the Chinese.<\/p>\n
According to Brawi, a Krui native, many Chinese living in the
\narea have still not obtained Indonesian citizenship.<\/p>\n
\"Only a few Chinese managed to obtain their citizenship. They
\nlive at the market,\" 67-year-old Brawi told the Post.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, Krui is full of small wooden boats belonging to
\nlocal fishermen. A small building in the corner of the port is
\nused as an auction house for the catch.<\/p>\n
The government built a larger auction venue two years ago but
\nit has remained unused since it is far from the berth. The
\nfishermen have continued to use the old building.<\/p>\n
In a hill near the seaport, there is a fortress built by the
\nDutch.<\/p>\n
Rumors have it that during the independence war, Dutch and
\nother foreign ships were afraid to enter the seaport because they
\nsaw many canons in the fortress and along the seaport. However,
\nthe Krui people said there were no canons at the fortress and the
\nDutch were seeing apparitions.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/now-abandoned-krui-seaport-tells-of-glorious-past-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}