Kedoya squatters finally demolish their own homes
Kedoya squatters finally demolish their own homes
JAKARTA (JP): Open space has been created along an old slum area on the Pasanggrahan riverbank as some 120 squatters dutifully demolished their own homes earlier this week.
When West Jakarta city administrators arrived at the site on Tuesday to demolish the slum area, no houses were left to be demolished.
"We realize that we're in the wrong, there's no point fighting it" Mrs. Djojo, a longtime resident of South Kedoya subdistrict in West Jakarta, admitted.
Mrs. Djojo, who was the first to demolish her house, said that most residents had accepted the consequences of violating two regulations: one which prohibits living on riverbanks, and 1988 regional decrees on public security and sanitation.
"There were not many choices for little people like us. When we first came here in 1984, this plot was completely uninhabited," Mrs. Marbun told The Jakarta Post when asked how her family ended up on the compound.
"I feel better removing my belongings rather than watching others heartlessly demolish it," Mrs. Djojo said.
Piles of roof tiles neatly collected by former owners marked the sites where the houses once stood.
"This way, we can try to save what we can," she added, pulling out rusty nails from blocks of wood.
Squatters received demolition orders of their houses on Jan. 21. The orders gave the squatters until Feb. 1 to dismantle their houses and leave the area.
"Essentially, we asked that the compensation be increased from only Rp 50,000," she explained.
Karsidin, an officer at the West Jakarta mayoralty, said that squatters were compensated up to Rp 100,000 for the demolition of their houses by the government.
A series of demolitions have been carried out in the Kedoya area over the past six months. The first was launched in November in the sub-district of Northern Kedoya, with rage erupting into violent clashes which injured mayoralty officials, residents and journalists.
Officers on Tuesday demolished a 2.5-meter high wall which separated the Green Garden housing estate from the now abandoned slum area. The strip of demolished slums along the riverbank stretches along 2,5 kms. (14)