Squatters take shelter at Komnas HAM building

Squatters take shelter at Komnas HAM building

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ningsih, who is only 11 months old, cannot yet speak, but her
eyes, which continually brim with tears, and her loud cry if her
mother stops breastfeeding her, may indicate that life is too
hard to bear.

Sleeping uncomfortably on unwashed, cold plastic mats, Ningsih
and more than 10 homeless toddlers have sought shelter at the
garage in the backyard of the National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) building on Jl. Latuharhari, Central Jakarta.

They are totally exposed to wind, heat and mosquitoes when the
night comes.

"We moved here as three weeks ago we were forcibly evicted
from our huts in Teluk Gong, (Penjaringan district, North
Jakarta) by officers from North Jakarta Public Order Agency,"
said Ningsih's mother, Suwarti, 35.

Suwarti is one of around 400 squatters whose shanties along
the banks of the West Flood Canal in Teluk Gong, Penjaringan
district, North Jakarta, were demolished by public order
officers.

She is one of dozens of squatters who have taken shelter at
the Komnas HAM building compound.

"I am tired and nearly desperate. I have rebuilt my home 12
times, only to see that public order officers simply bulldozed
and burnt it down," sighed Suwarti, who has been living in the
city for 15 years.

During the latest eviction last month, Suwarti lost many of
her belongings, including her kerosene stove and kitchenware.

Like a straw breaking the camel's back, the eviction only
accentuated her family's suffering caused by the floods in
January and February.

"School books belonging to my children, which we managed to
save during the floods, were destroyed by fire in the latest
raid," she complained, citing that those books were very
expensive to purchase. Her husband works as a street vendor
hawking fried cakes.

Suwarti said that some squatters now live at temporary
shelters along the riverbank or stay at the Komnas HAM building
compound.

The squatters find food for their meals by pooling their
money, Suwarti said.

"We collect Rp 500 (5 U.S. cents) or Rp 1,000 to buy
vegetables and spices for cooking, while the rice is provided by
donors," said Suwarti.

Meanwhile, another squatter, Misrun, 35 revealed that the
squatters would insist on meeting the North Jakarta mayor to
demand the administration provide them with compensation or a
proper place to live.

"We want to meet the mayor to escape the continual destruction
of our homes," said Misrun, who used to work as a becak (pedicab)
driver.

Misrun grumbled that the administration continually carried
out raids against becak. Now, he rents his becak to a friend for
Rp 4,000 a day.

"My wife works as a housemaid, doing the laundry for some
families nearby," said Misrun, who was born in Cilacap and has
lived in Jakarta since 1983.

During the day, only a few squatters were seen at their
shelter at the Komnas HAM building. The others were working. The
majority, mostly the men, are employed as temporary factory
workers, street vendors or fishermen, while the women work as
housemaids.

Despite their poor conditions, many squatters felt thankful as
their shelter was much better than their temporary huts in Teluk
Gong.

"Here, we have the luxury of watching TV and taking a bath,"
said a squatter, Sumini, referring to a 21-inch color TV and the
four bathrooms at the Komnas Ham building.

Titiana Adinda of the National Commission on Violence against
Women said on Thursday that her commission, along with members of
Komnas HAM and the National Commission on Children Rights, would
meet next Tuesday. "We are preparing all the data requested by
the squatters to be presented at the meeting with the Mayor of
North Jakarta," she said.

North Jakarta spokesman Pinondang Simanjuntak, said the mayor
was ready to meet the public at anytime.

The administration demolished their illegal huts for the first
time in October last year. In the last nine months, public order
officers have evicted them 12 times. The squatters insisted on
staying even though the administration has tried to drive them
away since then.

The city administration has been pursuing a forced evictions
policy against street vendors, illegal squatters, becak drivers
and others who are considered to violate public order. According
to data issued by the antieviction network, the administration
carried out 45 forced evictions last year, which rendered
homeless approximately 35,000 people.