275 Javanese families return to N. Maluku

275 Javanese families return to N. Maluku

SURABAYA: At least 275 displaced migrant families from the
once conflict-wracked province of North Maluku were finally sent
back to the region on Tuesday from East, Central and West Java.

They traveled to North Maluku aboard the Taruna Sakti ship
from the Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya, East Java.

At least 223 families had fled to East Java, 43 others to
Central Java and nine more to West Java, when their province was
hit by a violent religious conflagration that erupted in 1999.

The refugees, most of whom were originally from Java and had
migrated to Maluku years ago, said they decided to return because
they were no longer afraid of more attacks by rival gangs.

"I want to go back there to make a living. In Java, I get less
income than in North Maluku," said Sudirman, a migrant from
Bondowoso regency in East Java.

The repatriation was funded by the Central Java and East Java
governments. Each of the returning families received 35 kilograms
of rice per day for months and a life insurance policy that is
good for one year.--JP