City won't give evictees shelters
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta administration will not provide temporary shelters for evictees, including infants and pregnant women, even though the rainy season has already begun, bringing with it heightened potential for illnesses and infections.
"The governor (Sutiyoso) has said that the administration will not provide temporary shelters for the evicted families," said the Public Order Office's emergency division head Syarafuddin Arsyad on Thursday at the office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla.
The minister, however, along with Arsyad, may have come up with a temporary solution.
"...We will open several social rehabilitation centers for those evictees in need of shelter."
Arsyad was responding to protests held at the office on Thursday by around 150 people of the Coalition of Evicted People. They demanded the government and the administration to provide temporary shelter until they found permanent places to live.
Jusuf invited to the meeting a few representatives of the evictees from Cengkareng Timur, Jembatan Besi and Tanjung Duren Selatan, all in West Jakarta. Arsyad and West Jakarta Deputy Mayor Djiman Murdiman Saroso also attended the meeting.
Despite the welcome gesture from the administration, Djiman said the number of social rehabilitation centers in his municipality was limited.
The centers provide rehabilitation services for people labeled by the administration as "people with community and social problems".
One of the rehabilitation centers in the municipality is located in Kedoya, and comprises five blocks, one each for men, women, children, psychotics and homeless people.
Each block has three cells with a maximum capacity of 15 people. Each cell is equipped with a toilet, but lacks proper beds. Wooden pallets, 15 centimeters in height, and covered with plastic sheeting, are the beds on which the "detainees" sleep.
Ignorant of the real condition of the centers, some evictees were happy with the offer, and quickly asked the officials where the centers were located.
"It's better than living under a flyover," said a woman who was evicted from Cengkareng Timur.
Many of the evictees have been staying in makeshift tents or have taken refuge at the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office in Central Jakarta.
The string of evictions claimed two lives and injured dozens of people, and a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by men wearing the official, blue city uniforms.
Governor Sutiyoso signed an agreement on Thursday with National Commission for Children's Protection (Komnas PA) chairman Seto Mulyadi on the disbursement of Rp 76.8 million (US$9,035) to pay the tuition for a total of 256 evicted children in West Jakarta municipality.
More than 200 children have also been forced to drop out of school, because their parents could not afford to pay their tuition.