Mass exodus from Bonggo site due to damaged road
RK Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
More than 7,000 of the 9,000 people sent as migrants to the government sponsored Bonggo migration site several years ago have moved to Jayapura, the capital city of Irian Jaya province, due to serious damage in the road linking it to the city.
Bonggo subdistrict's head of administration, B. Kyeu Kyeu said that currently only some 1,573 people remained in the migration site, which consists of four villages.
"They have been migrating to Jayapura since June 2000 when the road was seriously damaged and it ruined local businesses," he told The Jakarta Post when visited by Trikora Military Commander Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon in Bonggo, about 200 kilometers west of Jayapura, on Wednesday.
He pointed out that due to the damaged road, the local residents could not transport their goods to Jayapura, where they usually sold them.
He cited peanut as an example, which is the mainstay of Bonggo farmers. Because of the damaged road, peanut could not be transported to Jayapura and its price had dropped from Rp 9,000 to Rp 2,500 per kilogram.
According to him, sea transportation to the coastal subdistrict was also poor as ships rarely entered its port.
"We've reported the condition to the Jayapura administration and asked them to repair the road. But there has been no response yet," he said.
The subdistrict head was optimistic that they would return to the migration site once the road was repaired and public transportation resumed.
One of the Bonggo residents, Sumadi, who come from Central Java and stays in Bonggo, complained that due to the damaged road the prices of staple foods had sharply increased.
Rice had increased from Rp 3,500 per kg to Rp 7,000 per kg, kerosene from Rp 1,000 to Rp 3,500 per liter, sugar from Rp 5,000 to Rp 8,000 per kg.
"The only way I can survive is by cutting my spending," he said.
Muhamad Ali, a civil servant in Bonggo, confirmed Sumadi's statement, saying that the prices of all goods had jumped significantly because of the damaged road.
He said that before the road was damaged, the bus fare from Jayapura to Bonggo was just Rp 15,000 per ticket. After the road was damaged the bus fare jumped to Rp 75,000 per ticket.
Meanwhile, Kyeu Kyeu said that security conditions in Bonggo subdistrict, which used to be a base camp of the separatist movement in the province, were getting better.
"This is because Meruai village that had been used by the separatist movement as a base camp since 1988 had been seized by the Indonesian Military in a military operation in September 2000," he said.
He added that there were no casualties during the military operation as the separatist members fled the base before the Indonesian troops came to attack them.
They reportedly fled to Sarmi subdistrict near Jayapura and to Anus island, off the coast.