Residents anxious over uncertain eviction date

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Residents of Kayuputih, East Jakarta, stayed at home last week, fearing public order officers would demolish their houses sooner than the scheduled Tuesday.

"I've haven't worked for a week now. I will only go back to work when it is certain when the eviction is going to take place. None of us has the clue when it will be," said Silalahi, 45, who is a driver of a public bus.

Silalahi and his family have lived in the area since 1972, and now he is at a loss as to where to find a new home.

"I bought the house from the previous owner for Rp 4.5 million (US$529)," he said, adding that he knew all along that the land belonged to the city administration.

The East Jakarta municipality plans to clear the area which is now occupied by about 200 houses. The area is located on the banks of the Pulomas dam, better known as Ria Rio dam, in Kayuputih subdistrict.

The municipality officials earlier stated that the eviction would take place next Thursday. The administration has also distributed Rp 300,000 as compensation for house owners who have consented to demolish their homes before that day.

Housewife Ibu Pangaribuan, who declined to reveal her first name, said that she had hired four people to dismantle her house, as she intended to save the building materials.

Each of the men was paid Rp 40,000 per day. As the work took more than one day, she said, the money given by the municipal administration was not enough.

Both Pangaribuan and Silalahi said they still did not know where they would live after the eviction.

Several interviewed residents said that there were several small houses or rooms nearby for rent but the rent had doubled following the eviction plan.

One resident said that the monthly rent for a single room had increased to Rp 250,000 from Rp 150,000 last week.

Separately in North Jakarta, evicted fishermen in Muara Angke were also anxiously staring at two excavators on Tuesday, which were seen busily dredging the Kali Adem river, from their fishing boats and makeshift huts erected on the riverbank.

"Last night, one excavator was approaching our huts and scared my daughter so much she nearly fainted. She thought she would be evicted again," said Cemplon, who is the spokeswoman of the Traditional Fishermen Union (SNT) whose members are the Muara Angke fishermen.

The municipality evicted the families early in October and promised to relocate them to Song beach in Indramayu, West Java, but the housing has not been constructed yet.

Last Saturday, the fishermen were ordered by the municipal officials to leave the riverbank so as not to hamper the dredging project. But the fishermen refused, saying they would not leave the place until they were provided with proper housing.

Sunardi, the supervisor of the dredging project, said that the private company he works for was contracted by the Jakarta Public Works Agency to finish dredging the 2.4 kilometer river by Dec. 15.

"We are ordered just to clear the river of rubbish and mud," he said. "As for the huts and the people there, it's not our job to make them leave."