'We can't blame the squatters for the floods'

'We can't blame the squatters for the floods'

Although the Jakarta administration has continued to carry out
measures to fight flooding, dredging 13 rivers, maintaining
sluice gates and setting up early warning systems and emergency
response teams, it could not stop the annual floods. The Jakarta
Post asked residents about their opinion of the administration's
flood-mitigation efforts.

Nanda, 26, works in a foreign bank in Jakarta. She lives with
her family in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta:

From past experience, I don't think the city administration is
serious about handling the floods in the capital because it
happens every year and there is nothing much they have done about
it.

I've heard that it would not be that difficult to resolve the
flood problem as long as we were serious about handling it. I
believe money is not a problem here because they can take it from
the city budget. Everyone would agree that the city
administration should allocate as much funds necessary for such a
critical problem.

The council would also gain support from the public and media
if they spent the money correctly and undertook the project
transparently.

Djoko, 35, is a construction worker working on a hotel project
on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta. He lives in a rented house with
his family in Cibubur, East Jakarta:

Beside poor city management and garbage treatment, the
presence of shanties and slum housing in riverbank areas also
exacerabates flooding and increases the people affected.

However, I think the media and government can't just blame the
riverbank squatters, such as those in Kampung Pulo, Kampung
Melayu or Cipinang Muara, for not wanting to leave their homes to
safer neighborhoods.

They refuse to do so because they have no money to move out
while the government has given them no alternative or
compensation.

Who wants to stay in flood-prone areas in the first place? I
am sure they would move out if the government approached them
with an alternative.

I realize that it would be costly to provide safer place but
there are many empty lots scattered across the city. Also, I am
sure that they could take money from state budget to solve the
housing problem once and for all.

--The Jakarta Post