Fisherman fights against injustice

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fishermen from Muara Angke in North Jakarta agreed that Kajidin was born a leader.

He is not a jawara, or the winner, a title that one earned if he or she was the champion of a duel. But violence is no longer a popular solution in this community.

Fellow fishermen elected Kajidin as chairman of the Traditional Fishermen Union (SNT) last year, because he is the most outspoken, and he also has a broad knowledge. In turn, Kajidin has proven what he is really made of.

It was Kajidin who led hundreds of fishermen to stand against the Jakarta administration's order to clear the banks of the Kali Adem river where the fishing families had built their homes. The eviction, however, carried out on Oct. 22, forced hundreds from their homes.

He had taken the initiative to stage a string of rallies at the offices of the Pluit subdistrict administration, the Penjaringan district, the North Jakarta municipality and even Governor Sutiyoso.

The campaign has drawn the attention of two ministers: Rokhmin Dahuri, the Minister of Maritime and Fishery Affairs and Soenarno, the Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure. Both vowed new homes for the fishermen.

When the excavators and the public order officers demolished the fishermen's huts, it was Kajidin who prevented the angry young fisherman from resorting to violence, the last thing they needed.

"What we want is for the government or the city administration to first provide alternative housing for SNT members before evicting us. We don't need compensation money ... I'd rather die of starvation than take the money," he said.

Kajidin is the man who would never leave his friends behind. On the sad day of the eviction, the boat which Kajidin was in was the last to cross the river, making sure all the fishing families were safe on their boats, their new homes.

Born to a fishing family on Sept. 22, 1965 in Indramayu, West Java, Kajidin was called to the sea after finishing school during his fifth year at elementary school. He returned to fishing in the 1990s after realizing that entrepreneurship was definitely not his cup of tea.

Kajidin and his parents moved to Muara Karang, North Jakarta, in the 1970s. Seven years later, they were evicted. The family moved west to Muara Angke.

In 1989, he married Roidah, a graduate of a teaching high school and the daughter of a successful fish trader. The couple has three daughters and a son.

"We once lived with my father-in-law's family at the military housing compound, as he was in the Army. But things were very different compared to the life of a fisherman on the borderless sea, which is full of freedom," he said. "So, I went back to fishing."

The fight against the evictions is not the first war against injustice for the fishermen, who mostly catch small crabs and shrimps.

"Since 1991 we have been in a fight with trawlermen. The sea was being polluted and it made it difficult to have a good catch. Moreover, using trawlers is an offense, according to a presidential instruction because they destroy the sea's ecosystem," he said.

The traditional fishermen often helped the authorities catch the illegal trawlers. In the effort, one of them was killed when he was beaten by a boat crew. "But we often heard that the owners later gave the authorities money to escape justice," Kajidi said.

In the need for a solid organization, with the help of several university students, the fishermen established the SNT on Oct. 24, 2002, the anniversary of which could not be celebrated because of the evictions.

SNT has a dream of empowering the fishermen and providing a better way of life.

"Fishermen are known for their poor finances as we depend on how good the catch is. If it's bad, we have to sell our belongings, or worse, plunge into debt," Kajidi said.

He said SNT members did not use any profits to gamble, drink or use the services of prostitutes. Their senior, Pak Tasman, has reminded them of God's existence.

The community built a small prayer house, the only hut left intact after the evictions. It is now SNT's "headquarters".

The government have offered the fishermen new housing at Song beach in Indramayu, where most originally came from.

"Although it's not easy for us to leave Jakarta after 30 years, we think it's better to settle down somewhere. But, again, we are fishermen, special citizens whom I think should be entrusted the privilege to go anywhere the wind is calling, to the good catch awaiting for us," Kajidi said.

This way, he added, SNT will have many chapters, at least one in Indramayu.

But when he was asked whether he had given up fighting for justice Kajidin quickly replied, "No. I don't trust the government anymore, so we will never stop fighting."

Indeed, being a fisherman one should never tire of struggling against the strong wind.