'We can't totally blame the evicted people'

'We can't totally blame the evicted people'

Police and public order officers again swept through a
neighborhood on Wednesday, evicting thousands of residents of
Kampung Baru, Cengkareng, West Jakarta. About 1,500 houses built
on land owned by state-run Perum Peumnas were destroyed, and 25
people were injured in clashes between the officers and
residents. The Jakarta Post discussed the issue with several
people.

Alvi, 29, works at a private company in South Jakarta. She
lives in Tangerang with her family:

I think the city administration's efforts to evict people is a
remnant of the New Order regime, where they used force against
the poor.

The governor and officials are just showing off their power.
Maybe the governor is proud to have the support of high-profile
individuals who allow him to do anything.

I'm sure these evictions will only spark social unrest as the
number of homeless people increases. I pity these people. Their
already difficult lives just got worse. Their stress will
accumulate like a time bomb.

It's only a matter of time before these people can no longer
hold their feelings against the administration. Just wait and see
the consequences of the actions of arrogant officials.

Solikhin, 17, works at a food stall in Salemba, Central
Jakarta. He lives in Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta:

I feel sorry for the evicted people. They must be so
distraught seeing their houses destroyed. Now they are homeless,
penniless and hopeless. I'm sure they don't have anywhere to go.

I can't imagine if that happened to me. I would be so
desperate and unsure how to go on with life.

I completely oppose these forcible evictions by the
administration.

Those people are poor and just want a decent place to live as
they try to survive in the capital. Home is a very precious place
for them.

It would be a completely different story if the city
administration provided the evicted people a place to live.

Trisno, 59, works for a marketing company and lives in
Petukangan, South Jakarta, with his wife and daughter:

I don't think we can totally blame the evicted people. Most of
them probably weren't aware they were living on someone else's
land.

I'm sure they were only making use of a vacant plot of land. I
still remember the government officially allowed the poor to use
vacant land several years ago during the crisis, to help them
survive.

The evicted people are not to blame. They were only using
vacant land.

I think the city administration and the National Land Agency
should be blamed because most of the residents had obtained land
certificates, meaning they had gone through the legal process for
buying land.

On what basis did the agency issue land certificate to those
people? Well, everybody knows that there are many cases of
multiple ownership of land certificates because money really
matters.

Besides, I assume that the subdistrict chiefs where evictions
take place also make money.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.