Seribu Island surrounded by water but lacks it

Text by Lenah Susianty photos by Mulkan Salmona

JAKARTA (JP): "Lonely places are the places that don't fit in," writes Time magazine's columnist Pico Iyer's in his book Falling of the map, some lonely places of the world.

I could not help thinking of those lines when I visited Seribu Islands last week.

Tourist destinations such as Ayer, Bidadari, Kotok, Matahari, Pantara and Putri islands are areas of Seribu Islands which have become identified with sun, sand and leisure. There is also the high profile Bira island with its controversial nine-hole golf course.

But there is a dark side of everything, Seribu Islands included. Take for example the Panggang subdistrict which consists of Pramuka and Panggang islands and the Kelapa subdistrict. Neither fits the glamourous image.

Although the three islands of the two subdistricts are part of Jakarta, they are somehow isolated from Jakarta's development. The spectacular modern aspects such as towering buildings and cosmopolitanism seem far removed, as do basic facilities.

There is a shortage of practical and regular transportation to the three islands, there is no electricity, and in dry season like now clean water is nowhere to be found. The result is the spreading of illnesses such as diarrhea, which have become annual afflictions.

Since early last month no less than 129 adults and children of Panggang subdistrict, whose population numbers 3,687, have suffered from muntaber or diarrhea. Most were cured, but two toddlers died because medical treatment was slow in coming, said Sumiyati, one of the three paramedics working in Panggang subdistrict. Two doctors also serve the area.

"Most of them got sick from the drinking water," Sumiyati told The Jakarta Post recently, "Usually they drink rain water, but because of the prolonged dry season there isn't any and they are forced to drink well water."

Lime

Well water in the islands contains a high level of lime which turns the water white when boiled.

"As a result they sometimes don't boil the water properly so as to avoid the white color, but it can be a fatal choice. They end up suffering from diarrhea. Others not used to well water become ill," Sumiyati said.

Mamat, a Kelapa islander, said the groundwater has become salty. "Maybe seawater has entered the water sources," he said.

"That's why we buy water from Muara Baru harbor. We have to pay Rp 1,000 (45.87 US cents) for a 20-liter container. That includes the transportation fee," Mamat's wife explained.

Sumiyati said she also has to buy at least five bottles of mineral water per day.

"I spend a lot just for water," she sighed

A 1,500-milliliter bottle of the Aqua brand is sold at Rp 1,200 (55.04 U.S.cents), while that of Avi is Rp 1,000 per bottle.

"We can afford it, but most of the residents who are fishermen cannot. Therefore they drink the well water," Sumiyati said.

Sarmunah, mother of one-year old Mariana who just recovered from diarrhea when the Post visited the islands recently, confirmed that her daughter suffered from the ailment after she drank the well water.

She said she could not afford to buy clean water from Jakarta because her husband is only a fisherman whose earnings are determined by the amount of fish he catches.

"For the time being we are dependent on water donated from the people of Jakarta," she said, adding that once the water sent from Jakarta was also undrinkable because it had a strange taste.

A number of Jakarta-based companies such as PT Aqua Golden Mississippi, PT Bimantara, state-owned oil company Pertamina and some non-governmental organizations and the Jakarta military command have been sending water to the islands regularly.

Two or three times a week there is a common sight in Panggang, Pramuka and Kelapa islands. Residents queue along the harbor for water. Sometimes arguments among them are unavoidable even though the village chiefs distribute coupons which can be exchanged for water.

"As soon as they hear a boat with water supplies is coming they quickly gather at the harbor. Everyone goes there, women, children and men. And so disputes between them have become a ritual," said Mamat's wife, adding that people who live far from the harbor are mostly left with no water.

Water business

A water supply business has also developed on Kelapa island. Students of the University of Indonesia dug a well in 1991, but because of its inconvenient location people are usually too lazy to go there on hot days. Instead they hire becak drivers to take the water from the wells for Rp 250 (11.46 U.S.cents) per jerry can (containing around 20 liters). One becak can carry around eight jerry cans.

Another quite particular and interesting sight occurs when women of Panggang island, which has suffered the most of the three islands, take a boat ride to Pramuka island every morning to do their laundry.

"Some of them stay here until midday, eating food they bring while waiting for their washing to dry. It is just like a picnic," said Sumiyati.

It seems that they still know how to have fun in difficult times. But ironically, when water is a luxury and so precious to them, in another part of the Seribu Islands the grass of the 20 hectare golf course on Bira island is always fresh and green.

Ali Azhar Akbar of Wahana Lingkungan Hidup (Walhi), a non- governmental organization which deals with environmental issues, said that for a golf course of that size at least 21 liters of water per second is needed. Imagine how much water is needed if the golf course requires watering three times a day?