Bulldozers move in, 900 families homeless

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Close to 900 families were left homeless on Wednesday after the city administration bulldozed their makeshift houses on a plot of land owned by state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

Three bulldozers and 935 officers from the public order agency and city police were deployed to destroy the houses, which were mostly occupied by sex workers, beggars, street singers and vendors.

The eviction, which began at 7 a.m., proceeded smoothly, as there was no opposition from the squatters. Many of them said they had received letters from the municipality informing them of the eviction plan.

Many squatters pulled down their own houses to save building materials like plywood and plastic sheeting, but many others stood by while their houses were destroyed by bulldozers.

Some of the squatters were still sleeping when the eviction began.

"I was still asleep when a public order officer knocked on the door. Then, I rushed to collect my belongings," said Sarmini, 23, one of the squatters.

The area was also known as a poor man's red-light district where dozens of sex workers offered their services for low fees. Cafes and karaoke venues stayed open all night, with authorities taking no action against their activities until Wednesday.

The squatters had a variety of plans for what to do after their eviction.

But Diki, 25, a street vendor from Indramayu regency in West Jakarta, said he and his wife would take each day as it came.

"We will erect a tent for sleeping in at night and knock it down in the morning," the father of one said. Others said they would rent rooms or return to their hometowns.

Deputy Mayor Dadang Efendi said the administration had allocated Rp 500,000 (US$55.56) for each of the 885 families whose houses were demolished.

He said that the money could be collected from the Kebon Kacang and Kebon Melati subdistrict offices from Wednesday evening onward.

Many squatters, however, did not know that the administration had set aside the funds for them.

Dadang said the eviction was financed by PT KAI. According to him, security officers involved in the eviction would receive Rp 50,000 each.

According to Dadang, around 100 public order officers would guard the area, known as Bongkaran, for four days to prevent squatters from rebuilding their homes.