Riot victims find it hard to rebuild business

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): The sky over the city is blue once again. There is no more gray smoke rising from burning shops, houses and offices as was the case during the recent riots.

But grief still hangs in the air. It is as black as the gutted remains of buildings, silent witnesses to the looting and burning of more than 5,000 shops and malls.

Most of the property belonged to Indonesians of Chinese descent.

Hendrawan is one of the many victims who lost his source of income within a matter of hours. His shop in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, where he sold spare parts for cars, was set ablaze by looters on May 14.

Sifting through what remains of his shop, he collects blackened spare parts and uses both hands to dust off the ashes.

"I want to start my business again but I don't know whether it's possible," Hendrawan, who returned from his hometown in Purwokerto, Central Java, last week, said.

Before he started selling spare parts in Pasar Minggu six years ago, Hendrawan ran a car repair shop from his house. He decided to turn it into another business with the hope of making a better living.

He bought a 20-square-meter shop worth Rp 65 million after obtaining a 10-year loan with his house as collateral.

"I still have to figure out how to pay my loan for the next four years, or the bank will confiscate my home," the 41-year-old father of four said.

At the moment, he is preparing the necessary documents, such as those from the district office and the fire department, to persuade the bank not to confiscate his home. He had no insurance for loss or damage of the shop and stock.

"I need more time before I can continue paying my loan."

Getting another loan is out of the question.

"See for yourself, how can I convince a bank to give me a loan now? Maybe I will try to persuade my relatives to give me a loan to restart my business, but, under the present conditions, it won't be easy."

In the meantime, Hendrawan must find a way to put food on the table for his wife, who does not work, and their children.

"With no business to run, I don't know how long I can go on living like this."

Indonesia's ethnic Chinese, who account for 5 percent of the 200 million people here but are said to dominate the economic sector, are often the scapegoats for public anger.

During the recent riots, many stayed in their homes as they had no place to go. The wealthy ones managed to flee to other countries, some holed up in the Thousand Islands and at Soekarno- Hatta International Airport, while others stayed with relatives or friends in a place they considered safer.

Now that the situation is cooling down, some have already returned to the city -- only to find debris instead of the houses, offices, or stores they left behind.

Lina Herlina, 45, another Indonesian of Chinese descent who ran a grocery store at Pasar Minggu market, has no plans to continue her business.

Starring at her gutted store, she could identify nothing but a blackened iron chair and shelves.

"I don't think I will start my business again, I don't have money to start again, this is all I had," Lina, who managed to get out of her store when the mobs started looting the market, said.

"My priority now is how to survive the situation."

Only two months ago she paid up the three-year rent for the shop. Now her family must depend solely on her husband's small salary as a bookkeeper at a pharmacy.

"I was trying to start my own business to earn extra money for raising my children.

"And I still don't understand why they burned down my shop," Lina said, adding that she had a good relationship with other shop owners and customers living near the market.

Maintaining a good relationship with neighbors is a must, especially if you belong to the minority. But during the recent riots this rule did not apply, primarily because there were allegations that those who started the incidents were people from outside the area.

Unity

Several eyewitnesses saw the same people inciting the riots, according to Rosita Sofjan Noer, businesswoman and deputy chair of the Coordinating Body for National Unity (Bakom-PKB). They saw those people unlock stores and shops with special "cutters" before provoking the mobs to loot and burn.

She believed the looting was well-organized and urged the Armed Forces to thoroughly investigate the case.

"The Armed Forces has to start determining who was behind these riots."

Bakom is a forum of public figures from various ethnic groups established in 1977 to promote national unity.

They members include tycoon Liem Sioe Liong, alias Soedono Salim, and his son Anthony Salim, hotelier Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono, banker Usman Admadjaja, scholar Juwono Sudarsono, researcher Harbrinderjit Singh Dilon, scholar Bachtiar Aly, and businessman K. Sindhunatha.

Rosita said the recent tragedy reflected a decline in society's sense of unity and nationalism. The looting and burning of stores, shops and malls belonging to those of Chinese descent revealed the social jealousy of certain groups.

Like many people, the rioters believed the inaccurate stereotype that all Chinese are rich. The fact that many of those rich people prefer to live exclusively and do not want to mix with the indigenous people adds to their animosity.

Rosita said Bakom had assigned 80 people to gather data about the number of victims and the material loses.

"The data is expected to enable related ministries to determine the necessary steps to help the victims."

No less important is the government's efforts to protect all citizens, regardless of their ethnic background, to create a feeling of safety and certainty, she said.

"It's important to give them a feeling of certainty and safety before they rebuild their businesses," Rosita said.

Chinatown

President B.J. Habibie last week toured Jakarta's Chinatown in Glodok, West Jakarta, and the shopping centers in Klender, East Jakarta, and Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, all of which were damaged in the riots.

He promised that the government would help traders in all possible ways. He also convinced traders of Chinese descent of the government's intent to provide equal treatment for all.

His words have yet to become reality, but many have great expectations of him.

Amir Tjipta, one of the traders, has started cleaning up his gutted store in the Glodok electronics market.

"I've started cleaning up my store because now I feel secure after the President himself paid us a visit," he said.

Glodok was the worst-hit area during the recent riots. Over 3,800 kiosks and a 150-room hotel were burned and looted in the neighborhood. About 65 people died in fires in a number of Glodok shopping malls, while 45 others were seriously injured.

Amir wishes he could soon restart his business.

"Being a trader is the only thing I know but now, with my shop gone, I have to start all over again. And I really hope that the President will not forget his promise to help us," said the man, who has three children and a wife to support.

He expects the President to help traders get bank loans. "I put all my money into my store and I don't have enough savings to start again," Amir said.

If he fails to get a loan, he would be forced to wind up his operations completely. "Maybe I will try to get money to renovate the store and then sell it. But, in the current situation, I know it's not easy," said Amir.

The city administration has promised to speed up the processing of permits for renovations to buildings destroyed during last week's rioting.

The West Jakarta mayoralty even said that victims of the riots could rebuild without a permit. In South Jakarta, they are allowed to do so, on the condition that the design of the new building is the same as the old one.