Refugees unlikely to return to riot-ravaged Sabbang<\/p>\n
By Jupriadi<\/p>\n
UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): The normally lively Dandang
\nvillage in the Sabbang subdistrict has been blanketed by silence
\nfor the past three weeks. The isolated village, located on the
\nTrans-Sulawesi road, 37 kilometers north of Palopo Luwu, or 487
\nkilometers north of Ujungpandang, has suddenly turned into a dead
\ncity.<\/p>\n
At least 26 people have died, 395 houses have been burned and
\n119 people injured in clashes between residents of different
\nvillages between Jan. 11 and Jan. 13 and on Jan. 21. Since then,
\nalmost none of those who fled the area have dared to return.
\nResidents who did not joined the evacuation are now leaving their
\nhomes, one by one. Now the village is dead.<\/p>\n
\"Sabbang has no future anymore,\" the refugees told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Galuh, a 30-year-old mother of three children, said it was
\nhighly improbable that she would return to the village. Apart
\nfrom the fear still haunting her, her cacao plantation was looted
\nand then all her possessions, including her house, were burned to
\nthe ground by mobs. Not surprising if the inhabitants, originally
\nfrom Tana Toraja, who had settled in Dandang since 1986, prefer
\nto leave.<\/p>\n
Dandang is one of the six villages which have been totally
\nburned down by mobs as a result of protracted rioting between
\nvillages. The Post observed that only rubble remained of the
\nvillage. The cacao plantation, a dominant feature of the village,
\nhas been abandoned by its owners.<\/p>\n
The inhabitants' evacuation is well-founded considering the
\nfear of past riots. The memory is a bitter one; feuds between
\ninhabitants broke out in March 1987, March 1994, twice in
\nDecember 1998 and in January 1999.<\/p>\n
Evacuations started in December 1998 but on a small scale. It
\nreached its peak in January when villagers from Sabbang, which
\nhad a population of about 5,000, took revenge on each other,
\nkilling people and burning houses. The Trans-Sulawesi road was
\nblocked, although afterward it was forcibly opened by security
\npersonnel. The closure of a number of elementary schools and a
\njunior high school in the district has also wiped out the
\npeople's hope to stay for their children's schooling.<\/p>\n
Kampung Baru village chief Ruru said that not only schools,
\nbut also places of worship have been closed for one month.
\nTraditional markets are now occupied by cattle, which walk around
\nfreely. The village office now only stores goods which have been
\nsaved from the riots. It is, at the same time, quarters for male
\ninhabitants who stay and carry out guerrilla warfare in the
\ndaytime if news is received that a return attack is about to take
\nplace. \"The people are very much afraid to stay,\" he complained.<\/p>\n
Takdir, 37, a refugee, said he preferred to return to his
\nvillage in Bone because apart from his house being destroyed, he
\ndid not see any future in Sabbang. Moreover, his house in
\nRantelabbi village was also looted. \"They took my possessions and
\nburned my house.\"<\/p>\n
He said that conflicts between inhabitants, instigated by ill
\nfeelings toward new migrants, became more and more frightening
\nafter no reconciliation could be reached.<\/p>\n
The refugee command post's coordinator, Frans Patoding, said:
\n\"How can inhabitants maintain themselves if, after each
\nreconciliation, there are always violators of the agreement.\"
\nAccording to him, in the absence of a guarantee of certainty, it
\nis not surprising that the number of refugees, in great as well
\nsmall numbers, continues to flow. They have returned to the
\nplaces they originally came from, like Tana Toraja, Bone,
\nSengkang and Soppeng.<\/p>\n
To date, refugees already number in the thousands. This
\ntallies with a statement by unit commander of the mobile brigade
\ncommand post Kalotok, Sgt. Iskandaria, who was assigned to escort
\nthe refugees. \"In the first week, there were 50 trucks every
\nday.\" He said further that the majority of refugees in the first
\nweek were children, women and elderly people. \"They formed the
\npriority group.\" The refugees were first accommodated at the
\nrefugee command post in Patene Luwu, then they were moved to
\ntheir destinations.<\/p>\n
\"I am not sure about their numbers. In the first week there
\nwere 400 to 600 people per day,\" said Patoding.<\/p>\n
The increasingly unstable condition at Sabbang now certainly
\ndarkens the hope of the refugees to return to the area where they
\nused to find shelter. An inhabitant of Kampung Baru village,
\nYohannes Kalope, 40, said \"Sabbang is not promising anymore.\" He
\nadmitted he was still traumatized by the events which happened on
\nthe night of Jan. 12, when all his possessions, including his
\ncacao plantation, were destroyed by crowds run amok. He, his wife
\nand children now have nothing left except a very deep sorrow.<\/p>\n
\"What I had worked for at Kampung Baru is now like a dream,\"
\nhe said. Counted in his great sorrows is the future of his
\nchildren, who are now traumatized whenever they hear a big noise.
\n\"Trauma reigns in our family,\" he concluded.<\/p>\n
Another story concerns Andreas Deppo, 65, his wife Agnes and
\ntheir eight children. They are among those who have no close
\nrelatives in the new place, and have no idea where to find
\nrefuge.<\/p>\n
Andreas was at his saddest when their daughter Lusi, 15, who
\nattended junior high school at Salutubo refused to go to school
\nfor the past month as she was gripped by fear. \"She wanted to
\nbecome a doctor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Yohannes, as well as Andreas, can only hope that the local
\ngovernment will take a hand in the matter and handle their
\nproblem. \"We left our place to join the refugees. We were afraid
\nof being killed if we stayed,\" he said, adding that he will do
\nsome farming in Tana Toraja. There in the tourism area he will
\nalso endeavor to send his children to school.<\/p>\n
In the middle of the confusion of the refugees who are
\nreluctant to return to Sabbang, the local government must put in
\nextra work. Apart from the restoration of facilities which
\nsuffered major damage, they must convince the refugees to return.
\nBut if the rioting continues, the community also knows, \"What is
\nthe use of returning to a place where graves are waiting for us?\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/refugees-unlikely-to-return-to-riot-ravaged-sabbang-1447893297",
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