The forgotten veterans

The forgotten veterans

The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Makassar/Surabaya

War veteran Amat Mukmin still clearly remembers when he took part
in the guerrilla struggle against the Dutch in Yogyakarta in
1948. Along with hundreds of freedom fighters, the Bantul
resident fought the Dutch with any weapon available, including
bambu runcing (sharpened bamboo). "We once burned down a sugar
cane plantation belonging to the Dutch," he proudly said.

But, for Amat, now 78, all that seems fruitless now. He feels
the situation in the country has not improved since independence
was proclaimed on Aug. 17 1945. Corruption has been rampant for
years and the gap between the haves and have nots is getting
wider.

The lives of the poor are getting tougher, and Amat, the
father of seven children, is no exception. Amat, who still has to
care for his wife and two children, feels that life for elderly
people like him is hard. He still rides his bicycle along the
streets offering to solder cooking utensils for households. He
does this as his pension as a veteran of Rp 450,000 (US$47) a
month is not enough to cover the family expenses. Work is getting
harder as fewer people need soldering services.

However, Amat is more fortunate than a group of dozens of
veterans who now live in decrepit houses in Paropo subdistrict,
Panakkukang district, Makassar city. They earlier lived in houses
on other plots of lands in the subdistrict, but they, who helped
bring freedom to the country, were evicted in 2003 as a
developer, backed by the Supreme Court, claimed that the land
belonged to the company.

The veterans were granted plots of land by the government on
Jl. Swadaya in the subdistrict, in March 2004 so that they could
build houses, but unfortunately, the area is prone to flooding.
As the Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 17 draw near, the
veterans feel that they have been treated as second-class
citizens. "This is the fate of the veterans. We have been
forgotten," said war veteran, Andi Jemma, 85.