Flood civtims still need help, many forced to beg to survive

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many parts of Jakarta have been flooded for the past three weeks but as of Friday flood victims in certain areas have yet to receive any assistance at all from the city administration. Even though the water receded several days ago, a recurrence forced many to once again seek shelter.

Without anything left, some victims have had to survive by becoming unofficial traffic wardens, locally known as Pak Ogah, or beggars to get money.

"I have no other choice. I've got to do something to feed my family. We have nothing left as all our belongings were swept away by the floods," complained Ugi on Friday. Before the flood, he used to work as a gorengan (fried snacks) street vendor.

Ugi and his three friends are currently making the rounds at intersections on Jl. Dewi Sartika in East Jakarta. A normal day will yield about Rp 10,000.

Their existence on the streets is met with strong complaints from motorists. The drivers usually are "asked" to hand over Rp 100 to each group of wardens each time they pass the group.

"They are so disturbing and they increase traffic congestion," complained a bus driver on the Pasar Minggu - Kampung Melayu route.

To get additional income, Ugi asked his wife and two children to become beggars at an intersection on Jl. Otista in East Jakarta. Usually the family gets an additional Rp 10,000.

"We have to do this. We have to save money to enable me to start my business again soon," said Ugi, who is now staying at a temporary shelter in Kampung Melayu.

His house along the Ciliwung riverbank in the area was still inundated by nearly 50 centimeters of water.

Similar stories were heard from hundreds of flood victims in Halim Perdanakusuma area of East Jakarta who rely on assistance from non governmental organizations.

The new floods have forced them to return to the shelters although they had cleaned their houses just days before.

Sukro, one of the evacuees, confirmed that the administration had yet to give any money to him.

"An official at the subdistrict office told us that the administration would deliver assistance and set up a health post. But it has not happened yet," he complained.

They have never received the supposed free medical treatment in hospitals as had been announced earlier by the City Health Agency. When they were sick, they had to actually pay for the treatment at nearby hospitals or clinics.

The evacuees -- the total number across the capital reached more than 380,000 -- could no longer expect assistance from the administration as Governor Sutiyoso had revealed Thursday that he was decreasing the amount of food, clothing and medicine available to them.

Sutiyoso claimed that his administration was not able to anticipate that the floods would last as long as they had.

The administration, which has received sharp criticism for its overall performance, claimed to have disbursed Rp 8.35 billion from the emergency fund bringing the total to Rp 40 billion sent to 167 subdistricts. Each subdistrict apparently received about Rp 50 million, and that money was supposed to be handled and disbursed by the various subdistrict councils.

The accountability and the mechanisms to be deployed in disbursing the funds remained unclear. Most of the council members indicated they did not know how to use the money.