5,000 homeless after fire sweeps crowded slum
5,000 homeless after fire sweeps crowded slum
By Wahyudi M. Pratopo
JAKARTA (JP): The fire that razed 2,000 houses in Muara Baru, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, has been extinguished, but the anguish remains.
Not only has the fire destroy the homes and possessions of about 5,000 people, it has also separated loved ones.
"I am looking for my son, have you seen him?" Yati, 33, asked the people milling about at the fire site yesterday.
Yati had to leave her three-year-old son behind in her house, when the fire forced her to run in panic to save the 10-month-old baby in her arms.
She did not become calm until she found her son sitting along the roadside one kilometer away from the fire site. She hugged and kissed him many times to express her happiness.
Though her son was found, Yati's distress continued due to the loss of all her earthly possessions in the fire. "Only these clothes, we have worn for two days, are left to us."
The fire, caused by a kerosene stove explosion, has left 5,000 people homeless and inflicted Rp 100 million in material losses.
"This area was inundated by floods last week and now a fire has destroyed our homes," a resident told The Jakarta Post.
The fire was extinguished in six hours after the city fire brigade mobilized 120 personnel with 17 fire engines, a fireman said.
Strong wind and the narrow streets in the area made it difficult for the firemen to contain the fire, he said.
Most residents were busy erecting tents and makeshift shelters at the site yesterday, while some began rebuilding their houses.
The city administration, as well as the public, have donated cash, food and other materials to relieve the distress of the fire victims. Governor Surjadi Soedirdja gave Rp 24 million in cash for the residents. The North Jakarta Social Services Agency, the Indonesian Red Cross and individuals sent more than 2,000 kg of rice, 140 boxes of noodles, eggs and cooking oil. Most of the donations have yet to be distributed to the victims.
"We don't know if the donations will be distributed to us," Bandi, a resident said.
He said yesterday that the fire victims had received only packages of food from the communal kitchen of the North Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Red Cross.
City officials said that all of the houses destroyed by the fire, some of which were built 15 years ago, were "illegal" because they were located in an area designated as a "green belt". No information was available as to why the authorities have allowed the squatters to remain there for so many years.
The North Jakarta Mayor has forbidden the reconstruction of the houses razed by the fire.
But the residents insist that they will reconstruct their homes. "We have no other place to live," Sudarto told the Post.
A source at the Penjaringan police subprecinct said that four residents were questioned yesterday in connection with the fire. The police let them go because there was no evidence of arson.
"We did not find any criminal element relating to the fire," the policeman said.
Police investigators have concluded that the fire started when a kerosene stove exploded.