Victims of city-led forced eviction scheme left resigned to their fate<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
With anguish written on her face and the cries of her four-
\nyear-old daughter ringing in her ears, Lastri hurriedly wrapped
\nher belongings in a piece of worn-out cloth as she prepared for
\ntomorrow morning, when the public order officers would come to
\ntear down her plywood shack located on the West Flood Canal in
\nPenjaringan, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
She cooked a meal, consisting of kangkung (leafy vegetables
\nthat grow wild in water) and fish, for her husband and her three
\nchildren. After dinner, she wrapped up the leftovers for her
\nfamily's breakfast as she knew there would be no time for cooking
\ntomorrow morning.<\/p>\n
After putting her children to bed that Sunday after midnight,
\nshe and her husband fought off their drowsiness and tried to stay
\nawake, as there was a rumour that the public order officers would
\nburn down their home.<\/p>\n
Using a petromak (lantern filled with fuel) the couple walked
\nback and forth to their shabby boat that floated on the river 10
\nmeters from their shack. Slowly but steadily they filled the boat
\nwith their belongings: plastic plates, cups, cooking pans and
\nclothes.<\/p>\n
Lastri came to Jakarta 10 years ago from her remote village in
\nDemak, Central Java. In Jakarta, her husband worked at the fish
\nmarket in Muara Angke, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Her husband earned Rp 15,000 a day at most, barely enough to
\nfeed the family's three children. The eldest was still in grade
\nfour of elementary school.<\/p>\n
There were thousands of people living in the slums along the
\nWest Flood Canal. They were very busy that night, packing their
\nbelongings and preparing for the worst the next morning, when the
\nauthorities would tear down their homes.<\/p>\n
Lastri's neighbor, Juhari, 60, who operated a getek (a type of
\nhouseboat that was used to make river crossings), had packed his
\nbelongings -- some clothes, a lantern, a cooking pan, two plastic
\nplates and a mat -- before moving them from his shack to the
\ngetek.<\/p>\n
The man, who lived by himself, told The Jakarta Post reporter
\nwho helped him carry his mat, that his getek would be his only
\nform of shelter if the public order officers demolished his
\nshack.<\/p>\n
Juhari came to Jakarta from Serang, Banten, 25 years ago as a
\nstreet beggar. He used the money he saved from three years of
\nbegging to build both his shack and the getek.<\/p>\n
In the 1970s the area was quiet. But more and more people from
\noutside Jakarta came and built slums along the canal.<\/p>\n
Juhari could earn at least Rp 10,000 (US$1) a day using the
\ngetek to transport people across the river, from 4:30 a.m. to
\n10:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
"Although it is small, just enough for one person, this getek
\nis my only means of survival", he said.<\/p>\n
Just like Juhari, Lastri and many other people living along
\nthe canal had no idea where they would stay after their homes had
\nbeen leveled. They were fatalistic about the imminent destruction
\nof their homes.<\/p>\n
"Well, maybe I could rebuild my shack again from the leftover
\ndebris. I have no choice.... I have no money or family here in
\nJakarta", said Lastri.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the clock continued to tick and when it showed 4:00
\nin the morning, Juhari, Lastri and other exhausted residents
\ncould no longer fight their tiredness and fell asleep.<\/p>\n
At 7:30 a.m., the raucous sound of cars and trucks from the
\ntoll road, located just 30 meters from the shacks, woke Lastri
\nand her family.<\/p>\n
The couple hurriedly brought their children to the well, which
\nhad been dug out as a temporary source of water, for a bath.<\/p>\n
They ate the leftovers of yesterday's dinner for breakfast and
\nleft their 12 square-meter home to gather with their neighbors,
\ndiscussing what to do when the officers came.<\/p>\n
They were still able to joke and tease one another, but within
\nthree hours their laughter would turn to tears.<\/p>\n
At 11 a.m., when around 700 city public order officers arrived
\nat the site, the residents made speeches protesting against the
\ndemolition. But even with tears rolling down their faces, they
\nfailed to prevent the officers from tearing down the shacks.<\/p>\n
The officers bulldozed some 600 shacks along the canal.<\/p>\n
Many of the residents, however, refused to leave the site and
\nbuilt new dwellings from the debris of their homes.<\/p>",
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