'Poor people miss out on cheap housing'

'Poor people miss out on cheap housing'

This year's observance of World Population Day on July 11
coincided with the 10th anniversary of the International
Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo,
Egypt, in 1994. Many population issues have yet to be addressed,
including the deprived lives of squatters worldwide. The Jakarta
Post asked some Jakartans their opinion on how the city
administration should deal with squatters here.

Rudy, 34, is a home appliances vendor in Glodok, West Jakarta.
He lives in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, with his wife and son:

I know these comments of mine might be perceived by some as
being rather harsh towards squatters but I think we should also
be fair toward the owners of the land they occupy.

To start with, I wish the squatters would become land owners
themselves, who suddenly find total strangers occupying their
land. When they finally find a use for their land, they cannot
develop it because these strangers refuse to move, claim
ownership of it, and even demand compensation for anything they
build.

The matter would be different if the squatters had asked
permission first from the owners and had made some sort of an
agreement they would only stay on the land until it was used.

Such an agreement would be fair to both land owners and the
squatters.

Riana, 24, is a store attendant in a shopping center on Jl.
Gajah Mada, West Jakarta. She lives nearby at a rented house with
her friends:

The issue of squatters is a dilemma. On one hand, I think that
the shanties built by squatters make the city look untidy, and
their presence could increase the city's crime rate -- I always
feel worried if I have to walk alone at night under an overpass
that has squatters living underneath.

But on the other hand, I also feel pity on them because they
can't afford to live anywhere else. It would be cruel to evict
them just like that, without providing any solutions.

The government should be held responsible and should come up
with a solution, like providing low-cost housing for them -- or
at least affordable rooms to rent.

The government should also properly manage the existing low-
cost houses because, from what I know, many cheap houses are
occupied by people who don't actually need them and who rent them
out for money.

--The Jakarta Post