Houses give dignity to the homeless

Houses give dignity to the homeless

By Gin Kurniawan

LAMONGAN, East Java (JP): They were treated like garbage.
Pulled from city streets in lightning raids, they were dumped in
the jungle -- and thrown in jail when they returned.

Today, in happier circumstances, many of the homeless of the
area are residents of the Trisno Mulyo housing project in
Sidoharjo village of Lamongan Kota district, Lamongan regency,
East Java.

Bitterness characterized their lives when they were homeless.
Raids by security and order officers were their nightmare. They
occurred frequently, including before the celebration of
Independence Day every Aug. 17 or in the hurried cleanups for the
national "cleanest city" contest.

People caught in the operations were transported to the jungle
or remote areas. Returning to the city and getting caught a
second time meant time in jail.

But the homeless people always came back. Their number soared
along with the development of industrial estates in Gerbang
Kertasusila (Gresik, Bangkalan, Mojokerto, Surabaya and
Lamongan).

After an arduous struggle to convince them, they were finally
willing to leave the streets and take up residence at Tresno
Mulyo (Glorious Love). The project started in 1976, but it took
10 years before they were willing to move into their homes,
thanks to the continuous efforts of Imanan, a former employee of
the local social affairs office and Amirul Mukminin, an activist
of the non-governmental organization Pondok At-Taubat.

"We owe them a lot. Because of them, we now feel that we are
human beings," said Karnasan, a resident.

Hints of their past remain. Many formerly suffered from skin
diseases. Some of the men bear tattoos, visible legacies from
their time on the street. The trauma is not visible, but it is no
secret that some of the residents were criminals, involved in
theft and murder.

"We were bad people, but Insya Allah (God willing) we have
repented," said Markasan, 55, the neighborhood chief.

When living from hand to mouth was their norm, they could not
have imagined that one day they would live like regular citizens
and own their own homes, Markasan said. They slept on the
sidewalk, camped out in front of shops, in shantytowns, under
bridges and in prison cells. They scraped out a living however
they could -- depending on guts and "skills" -- as scavengers,
thieves, street entertainers, pickpockets and prostitutes.

"In the past, we felt that we were not human beings, or at
least, we felt isolated," said Suhadi, Markasan's neighbor.

All that belongs to the past. Although some remain scavengers
and street musicians, others are becak drivers, water vendors or
run food stalls. They have left their lives as criminals and
prostitutes behind them. Couples who once lived together have
married in mass wedding ceremonies.

"There are still some who are beggars, but you can count their
number on your fingers," Markasan, a water vendor, said.

Tresno Mulyo was the brainchild of Imanan, who is dubbed the
Indonesian Mother Theresa by residents.

A humanitarian approach is the key to success in getting the
homeless off the streets. Imanan and Amirul mixed with the
homeless people and ate the same food, which was made in old
corrugated iron pans washed with dingy water from the gutter

"If we were not mentally strong, we might have given up. But
we could not give up. We did our best to make them live like
normal people," said Imanan, who has just recovered from a
stroke.

Imanan said the idea to empower the homeless came to him when
he was employed at the local social affairs office. He was moved
by their terrible treatment by the security and order officers
during the raids. Imanan knew that a repressive approach would
not work and he suddenly thought he should "house" them. His
colleagues dismissed it as a foolish goal which could never be
realized.

As a civil servant, Imanan was no stranger to the homeless in
town, but the familiarity created problems because the people
were suspicious of his motives. They often fled when they saw
him.

It was Kartini, a former prostitute, who welcomed his idea and
gave him support. Kartini knew Imanan well because he helped her
leave prostitution. She agreed to sell her land in Sidoharjo
village for the project. Her move was followed by several other
residents. The people paid in installments of at least Rp 100 a
day. Collection of the payments was coordinated by Pondok At-
Taubat.

"With that money, each of them was able to get a piece of land
measuring 4 meters x 15 meters. At that time in 1986, the plot of
land cost only Rp 90,000," Imanan said.

Today, 91 families comprising 361 members live on Tresno
Mulyo, which covers 7,500 square meters. It appears no different
from other low-cost housing complexes -- it also boasts a
neighborhood chief, a youth organization, a family welfare
organization and a house of worship.

The major difference from other housing complexes is the
haphazard design of the houses. There is no uniformity as the
houses were built by the owners in accordance with their
financial capabilities.

Also unique is the fact that most of the residents can play
musical instruments, which is more understandable when one
remembers that many of them were street musicians and some still
earn their living through music.

Thirteen years after the homeless first moved to the complex,
the efforts to guide them in their lives away from the streets
continue. Activists from Pondok At-Taubat, led by Amirul,
regularly hold Koran recital classes and give spiritual lessons.