Stranded evictees all but forgotten

Stranded evictees all but forgotten

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

The hustle and bustle of Jakarta's 477th anniversary celebrations
has helped mask the sad fate of thousands of evictees who were
forced out of their houses last year. Some of these evictees have
returned to their hometowns, but many are still in the capital,
hoping to rebuild their shattered dreams as well as their
demolished houses.

Many of the evictees are taking refuge at the office of the
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Central
Jakarta.

For 50-year-old Saifuddin, last year's forcible eviction not
only cost him his home in East Cengkareng, West Jakarta, but also
his job as a vendor because all off his goods were destroyed in
the eviction.

The Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) has estimated that more
than 5,000 families were evicted in 2003.

Another evictee at the Komnas HAM office, Toni Safari, said
there about 200 evictees were taking refuge at the office. Most
of them were forced out of their homes in Tanjung Duren and East
Cengkareng.

He said most people had forgotten about them, particularly
with all the big events taking place recently, such as the April
5 legislative election, Jakarta's anniversary and the upcoming
July 5 presidential election.

The evictees are facing food shortages as the food being
provided by donors cannot meet their needs. Children have been
forced to help their parents earn money by begging or working as
street singers near the Komnas HAM office.

"I hope people will remember that our fate has not changed. In
fact, it's getting worse. We still need help," he said.

Supandi -- who had to send his six children back to his
hometown of Pemalang, Central Java, after their eviction --
expressed his disappointment with political parties who promised
to help them but did nothing.

"Some party representatives visited us and expressed their
readiness to supply us food, but we never received anything from
them," he said.

The evictees found themselves without homes as a result of
Governor Sutiyoso's ambition to rid Jakarta of slums. The
governor said that squatters, living in shacks, were responsible
for turning state-owned land or private property into slums, so
there was no need for the administration to provide the evictees
with shelter after tearing down their shacks.

Sutiyoso ignored the fact that many of the evictees had paid
money to obtain permits from subdistrict officials to live in
their shacks, as well as to access water, electricity and
sometimes telephone lines. He also ignored that some of the
evictees had contributed to his administration by paying their
property taxes.

When the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure
proposed setting up low-cost housing in several provinces,
Jakarta turned down the offer, reasoning that the price of land
in the capital had skyrocketed and would better serve commercial
purposes.

The administration in the end offered the evictees three
choices: join the transmigration program, return to their
hometowns or move into low-cost apartments here, some built by
a private foundation, though that last option was only for those
with Jakarta ID cards.

Most evictees rejected the first offer, saying they did not
want to move to a strange place they knew nothing about.

"I was born and grew up here. I won't leave Jakarta," said
Supandi.

Eviction victims who came to Jakarta from different cities,
however, are demanding proper shelter from the administration.

Warsiman, who has rebuilt his shack in Muara Angke, North
Jakarta, said he has registered for a low-cost apartment near his
home.

"You can see the condition of our home now. It's not healthy
for our children. I just hope the administration will soon live
up to its promise," he told The Jakarta Post.

Warsiman's family is among the some 430 families still living
in the area after their homes were demolished.

Unfortunately, the planned low-cost apartments will not be
able to accommodate all of the evictees.

The head of the planning division at the Jakarta Housing
Agency, Suratman, said that poor families, including the
evictees, would get a 50 percent discount off the market price if
they bought one of the low-cost apartments.

But his statement was greeted with pessimism by Suhadi, who
said rich people would probably buy up all the apartments when
they were ready.

"We can only hope that the administration will really build
low-cost apartments for us, not for the rich," he said.

Activists have called on the administration to come up with
proper solutions for the evictees.

"Without proper solutions, it is better for the administration
to postpone plans to evict more squatters. Otherwise, more social
problems will occur," Fakta chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan said.

The Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) has estimated that over 8,000
shanties will be demolished this year.

"If this inhumane policy continues, I am afraid that
frustrated evictees will become the source of social problems in
the community," UPC activist Edi Saidi said. "So, the
administration must provide an amicable solution to avoid this."

UPC chairwoman Wardah Hafidz earlier suggested an alternative
scheme.

She said that on land owned by individuals or the private
sector, 10 percent of the land could be leased for either low-
cost apartments or alternative housing arrangements.

She said that under such an arrangement, if any land ownership
disputes arose in the future, both sides would be legally bound
and thus ensured of legal certainty.

I-box

Housing is a basic right that everyone is entitled to, according
to the following:
1. Article 28h of the 1945 Constitution
2. Preamble of the 1945 Constitution
3. Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948)
4. Declaration on Children Rights (1959)
5. Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlement (1976)
6. Resolution of Human Rights Commission (1986)
7. Resolution of Human Settlement Commission (1993)