Jobless say no to transmigration

TANGERANG (JP): Many dismissed workers have refused the government's offer of resettlement in Sumatra or Kalimantan because they fear forest fires in either area would destroy their hopes for a better future.

They said they had heard from friends who had been resettled in the two areas under the state-sponsored transmigration program, that fires had affected their cash crops and their health.

"I don't think transmigration is a solution to the crisis," Sumpena, 37, who was fired from PT Gajah Tunggal four months ago, told Antara.

Sumpena, a father of two who hails from the West Java regency of Subang, said he decided to give the transmigration offer a miss after his friends in Jambi and Samarinda told him of the fires.

Many other workers who have lost their jobs as more and more companies sink into economic difficulties aired similar opinions about joining the transmigration program.

Carmin, a jobless worker from Cirebon, West Java, for example, changed his mind about moving to Kalimantan after friends told him the forest fires were so bad that people in affected areas had to wear face masks to protect themselves from the haze. (pan)