Scavenger families hit hard by Penjaringan fire
Scavenger families hit hard by Penjaringan fire
JAKARTA (JP): Some sit around chatting, while others try to
salvage what is left of their makeshift houses which were leveled
by fire on Friday.
The children are playing with kites, their happy faces bearing
no sign of gloom. They will later be 'busy' looking for a safe
place to sleep at night.
The lives of the scavenger families, whose fire-ravaged
shanties were located in Jembatan Tiga, Penjaringan district,
North Jakarta, appear "normal", despite the demise of their
accommodation.
They are now living under the elevated toll road leading to
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and dreaming about public
donations and help from the Social Service office.
Friday's night fire killed a girl and destroyed around 200
shanties, leaving more than 400 squatters homeless.
Yusnia, 14, who was on a school holiday, visited her parents
from Lampung, southern Sumatra. She was sleeping when fire
destroyed her parents' makeshift house.
What they want now is to be allowed to rebuild their shanties.
Jaman, spokesman for the squatters, told The Jakarta Post
yesterday said the families had nothing left. "Where will our
children sleep and get shelter from the sunlight and rains? We
hope that the authorities will allow us to rebuild our shanties,"
he said.
Jaman, 50, who comes from Semarang, Central Java, has been
living at the site for six years. He said he lost all his
belongings, including ownership documents of an old truck he
bought for Rp 2 million (US$854.7) some years ago.
The father of one son, looked desperate when he said he has no
other choice but braving traffic police officers to drive his
truck without any documents.
"I use the truck to transport used paper and obsolete metal
collected by my fellow scavengers from here to Pulo Gadung, East
Jakarta, where I sell the used paper for Rp 200 per kilogram and
the obsolete metal at Rp 350 per kilogram," Jaman said.
Other scavengers, Waluyo, a father of three children, shared
his lament saying that he had no plans for his family after the
fire.
He said he was formerly a staff member of a garment factory PT
Texmaco Jaya. He has been hanging around scavenging since the
factory dismissed him five years ago.
"It's a long story. I no longer have shelter for my wife and
children," he said. (jun)