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.