Muara Baru fire victims search for answer

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

More than a week after fire destroyed about 900 shanties in Muara Baru, Penjaringan subdistrict, North Jakarta, most affected residents are still living in tents near their razed homes because they have no where else to go.

In public kitchens, women busily themselves cooking lunch for their families, while some of the men shift through the ashes of their houses, looking for anything that can be saved.

The adults look depressed, some staring out with hopeless eyes, while children run around and play like children are meant to.

It was assumedly this depression, coupled with resentment, that made these people lose control of themselves on Monday and attack an unidentified woman who was suspected of having set a fire in the area. Earlier this month, when the area was hit by another fire, the victims mobbed to death a stranger for the same reason.

The police have not arrested anyone for these incidents, reasoning that fire victims are prone to brutality because of the depression of having lost their homes and belongings.

One of the victims of last week's fire, Zainudin, originally from Makasar, South Sulawesi, said the area often suffered fires, but last week's blaze was the worst yet.

"I lost all my belongings," Zainudin, who escaped with his wife and three-year-old daughter, said.

Fire swept through the densely populated area at about 11 p.m. on Thursday night, spreading so quickly that 900 houses, mostly made of plywood, were razed almost instantly. One teenage girl died in the incident.

It was the second fire to sweep through the area this month. According to Umar Husen, the community unit chief, the first fire on Sept. 3 destroyed 600 shanties and left about 2,900 people homeless. The second fire burned down 900 shanties and left 3,500 people homeless.

An employee of the North Jakarta Fire Agency said that the latest fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit. However, Umar said the cause of the fire was still not certain. There have been rumors that the fire might have been started by a burning candle, but again, he added, it was not certain.

Residents believe someone purposely set the fire in order to get the people off the state-owned land that they live on illegally.

Sumarwati, a victim who has been on the land for three years, said this latest blaze made her suspicious.

"Fire is a common problem here, but this one was a bit strange," said Sumarwati, who comes from Purwodadi, Central Java.

She said that almost two weeks before the incident, the area had experienced power blackouts every night. And there was no electricity when the fire broke out on Thursday night, she said, also dismissing the possibility the fire was started by a candle.

Sumarwati said that perhaps someone wanted to evict them.

Another victim, a neighborhood chief, said that last year he and about 40 other neighborhood chiefs in the area received Rp 250,000 each from the former community unit chief to measure every house. But he said he did not know why these measurements were needed.

Sumarwati said she would agree to move off the land if she received sufficient compensation.

"I am aware that we don't have any right to live on this land that does not belong to us," she said.

The city administration has repeatedly said that squatters have no right to compensation.