Squatters go nowhere after fire<\/p>\n
TANGERANG, West Java (JP): Forty five families who planned to
\nmove their shacks to make way for a public project have now lost
\neven the remnants for rebuilding.<\/p>\n
The fire, which destroyed their homes last Tuesday in the
\nKarawaci subdistrict, broke out shortly after they had accepted
\ncompensation to move elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Bamboo-plaited walls and straw roofs were some of the precious
\nmaterials that went up in smoke in the Karawaci Bedeng hamlet.
\nThe homes were on the left and right sides of the Cikokol bridge
\nalong the Cisadane river.<\/p>\n
\"How are we supposed to build elsewhere when the compensation
\nis only enough for a piece of land,\" said Sun Fen, 55, who
\nmourned the loss of piles of wooden planks.<\/p>\n
Most residents have sought refuge with relatives, while others
\nare trying to settle in partially set up shacks in Cicadas, the
\nMauk district, some 15 kilometers from Karawaci.<\/p>\n
So far they do not have access to a public kitchen, usually
\nset up with the help of local authorities after a fire.<\/p>\n
Unofficial reports said the area was popularly suspected of
\nbeing a fertile recruiting ground for the banned Communist Party.
\nThis is supposed to be the reason behind the lack of help from
\nauthorities after the fire.<\/p>\n
The gutted site was in a section marked for clearance along
\nthe banks of the Cisadane river. Clearance plans were announced
\nin April to residents. They were told they were entitled only to
\ncompensation for buildings and plants. This is in line with
\nregency policy which allows no compensation for land affected by
\npublic projects.<\/p>\n
Residents had agreed to the conditions and been promised
\ncompensation on Sept. 21.<\/p>\n
Inadequate<\/p>\n
However they found their compensation payments were only half
\nthe expected amount, and had been cut on the grounds that no one
\ncould prove land occupancy since 1948. The receipts they were
\ngiven for the compensation payments were inadequate too, they
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A deadline of Oct. 15 had been set for the houses to be torn
\ndown. But after they heard eight families had received an
\nadditional, and unexplained, 80 percent compensation from
\nauthorities, they decided to complain too. There has been no
\nofficial response.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 21 Mayor Djakaria Machmud extended the clearance
\ndeadline to Oct. 28.<\/p>\n
The fire broke out the next day, after a mayoralty public
\norder official was seen setting fire to the ruins as inhabitants
\ntried to take down their homes, residents said.<\/p>\n
Residents said they wondered if it was a deliberate act since
\nauthorities had ignored their warnings. (28\/anr))<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/squatters-go-nowhere-after-fire-1447893297",
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