Squatters reject resettlement offer<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto and Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Most riverbank dwellers in the city interviewed by The Jakarta
\nPost on Monday turned down Governor Sutiyoso's offer to resettle
\nthem to less densely populated areas outside Java, claiming that
\nit would adversely affect their quality of life, not improve it.<\/p>\n
\"Many of us have been living here for decades. Such a program
\nwould be like sending us into exile. The city administration just
\nhave no idea how hard it would be for us to adapt ourselves to a
\nnew place,\" said Badrudin, 30, a Jakarta-born resident, who lives
\non the banks of Ciliwung River in Manggarai subdistrict, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Badrudin, who will marry early next month, is an unskilled
\nemployee of a heavy machinery company.<\/p>\n
Badrudin's father, Muhammad Thoyib, 68, said that it would be
\nbetter for the administration to provide low-cost apartments for
\nthem to replace their homes. Thoyib claimed that his family have
\nbeen living in the area since 1950.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso offered on Saturday the transmigration
\nprogram to resettle 50,000 people from the city's riverbanks to
\nareas outside of Java and Bali. They are among at least 381,000
\nflood victims in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Under the program, the resettled people would receive two
\nhectares of land to cultivate and a house for each family.<\/p>\n
But many frown upon the idea due to the squatters lack of
\nfarming skills and knowledge.<\/p>\n
\"What we fear is that we won't be able to cultivate our crops
\nproperly. We also don't know how to market our yields,\" said
\nSudaryanto, 41, a squatter residing along the banks of Kali Angke
\nRiver in Pejagalan, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Sudaryanto, who runs a small workshop to repair damaged
\nvehicle seats, said he could not imagine how he could leave his
\nbusiness to face uncertainties in a new place.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Asep, 40, revealed that his main concern was that
\nhe did not want to be separated from his family here.<\/p>\n
\"Kalimantan, Sumatra, Papua are quite far away. We would be
\nseparated from our relatives here,\" said Asep, who lives along
\nthe banks of Ciliwung River in Cawang subdistrict, East Jakarta,
\nwith his own family along with the families of his siblings.<\/p>\n
The proposal was also deemed unrealistic for elderly people
\nsuch as Samparan, 68, and his wife who also live on the banks of
\nKali Angke River in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Although smelly, filthy silt from Angke river still swamps
\nour home, we want to stay here as my wife and I are too old to
\nstart a new life in a new place,\" said Samparan, who claimed to
\nbe a former sailor.<\/p>\n
However, Samparan revealed that he would accept being
\nresettled if the city administration gave him proper compensation
\nfor his makeshift house and its land, and helps finance his
\nfamily's return to his hometown in South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
His neighbor, Solichin, was the only person interviewed by The
\nJakarta Post to welcome Sutiyoso's plan.<\/p>\n
\"I would join the scheme as I was a farmer in Sumatra for many
\nyears,\" said Solichin, 35, a father of three. Solichin currently
\nworks as an unskilled worker in a North Jakarta factory.<\/p>\n
Separately, the head of the City Housing Agency, Bachri Anwar,
\nsaid on Monday that his agency had proposed Rp 15 billion to help
\nrepair houses damaged by the recent floods.<\/p>\n
\"But the fund would not be used to help repair illegal houses
\nalong the riverbanks,\" Bachri told reporters at City Hall, after
\nmeeting Sutiyoso.<\/p>\n
He said the money would be used for damaged houses that had
\nbuilding permits, while the administration would construct low-
\ncost apartments for people who are currently living along
\nriverbanks.<\/p>\n
It's still unclear how the money will be distributed, but the
\nadministration earlier announced that each house would receive Rp
\n200,000.<\/p>\n
The administration earlier also planned to develop a low-cost
\napartment in Bidara Cina, East Jakarta but it was postponed due
\nto financial shortages.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/squatters-reject-resettlement-offer-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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