Whither Madurese refugees in Pontianak?

Whither Madurese refugees in Pontianak?

By Edi Petebang

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): The threat of bloody
interethnic conflict that rocked West Kalimantan two years ago
looms large once again as the question of how to manage around
63,000 Madurese refugees stranded here remains unsolved.

Public tension was fueled again last week when hundreds of
locals living around one of the city's refugee camps,
Khatulistiwa sports hall, set fire to 100 shelters, accommodating
1,561 Madurese evacuees, in response to the death of a six-year-
old Malay boy, Fery.

Fery, was killed by four youths thought to be Madurese
refugees from the sports hall. Three of them, who are now under
provincial police custody, confessed that they had originally
wanted to rob Fery's parents of their motorcycle and necklaces.
The family was riding the motorcycle when Fery was struck on the
head with a club during the robbery attempt.

The arson attack entailed 13 acts of violence resulting in the
death of four people, nine injuries and one kidnapping.

The fresh outbreak of violence has far-reaching consequences
in view of the region's susceptibility to conflict. With the
ensuing momentum, local Pontianak residents and the provincial
administration are reportedly intending to push ahead with
relocation of the Madurese to designated settlements.

Many local residents said the presence of the refugees has
indeed put a strain on the province and its capital city.

"Since they settled here, local residents are often afraid to
go out because pickpockets and muggers are on the loose,"
complained a housewife living near Pangsuma sports hall, another
of the city's refugee camps.

Madurese and Malay leaders had previously reached an agreement
with provincial authorities for the refugees to be relocated by
no later than June 25. When the deadline arrived, however, no-one
was prepared to move. Instead, the Madurese stood on roadsides
armed with various weapons to reject their resettlement to Sungai
Asam.

Meanwhile, most women and children from the camps have joined
their relatives in the nearby areas of Siantan, Wajok and Sungai
Ambawang.

Failure

The regional administration has not yet been able to resolve
the refugee issue. The Madurese, who fled Sambas in 1999, have
continued to remain in Pontianak regency and Bengkayang regency.

In the city of Pontianak, 1,121 families stay in a haj
dormitory, 1,018 families in Pangsuma sports hall, 833 families
in the St. Syarif Abdurahman Stadium, 1,561 people in
Khatulistiwa sports hall, 252 families in Tanjungpura sports
hall, 1,138 families in a Wajok warehouse and 75 families in
military barracks.

West Kalimantan has attempted to offer a solution by providing
a total of 1,822 houses at relocation sites, with 500 houses in
Tebang Kacang, 82 in Parit Haji Ali, 90 in Pulau Nyamuk, 1,600 in
Sungai Asam and 50 in Puguk. So far, only 500 families have
resettled in Tebang Kacang, Pontianak regency.

Despite the strong support rendered by various groups to this
relocation plan, the province has failed in its effort several
times now.

"We appeal for the immediate relocation of refugees. We can't
guarantee that there will be no more mass rioting and we are very
disturbed by the rising crime rate around refugee camps,
regardless of who commits such acts," said Pontianak Malay Youth
chairman Syamsurizal.

The West Kalimantan Malay Youth Communication Forum and the
Pontianak City Dayak Community Forum even demanded that all
refugees be relocated by July 1. This left Governor Aspar Aswin,
the provincial office of the National Commission for Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) and other related institutions scrambling to prevent
violence from recurring.

The threat did not materialize, however, although 116 families
left their camps. Officials played down the departure of the
refugees, saying the people moving did so of their own volition.

According to Dayak Communal Custom Assembly chairman Syaikun
Riyadi, the July 1 deadline was meant to exert pressure on the
regional administration in order to start the relocation program.

"It's by no means intended to force the refugees to move," he
added.

Meanwhile, Madura Community Association (IKBM) chairman M.
Sulaiman said most farmer-refugees were prepared to relocate,
while those working as traders and laborers still had to consider
the option of relocation or resettlement amid Pontianak's urban
communities.

Why shunned?

Many groups deplore the refugees' objections to relocation.
Life in the various camps is actually fraught with suffering.
Most have to shuffle from one place to another as manual laborers
to make ends meet, if any work is available at all. The daily
wage of between Rp 15,000 and Rp 20,000 is hardly sufficient to
support a family of five.

As a result, the rest of the family have to work also. Any
decent job will do, though they can't be found every day either.
From dawn till dusk, children and their parents go out to look
for work. In their 4 meter x 6 meter huts, each containing 1 to 3
families (6-10 people), they sit and chat if no work turns up.

Children of primary school age have dropped out of school and
mostly sell newspapers at street intersections or join their
mothers at work. Camp dwellers generally live in dire health
conditions with a very limited supply of clean water. Rations
have not been provided since January 2001 due to lack of funds
from the regional administration as well as donors.

Then why do they refuse to move? "We reject relocation because
it is not well-timed. We have misfortune, our dwellings have just
been razed by fire. How can we move?," queried Subri, 45, an
evacuee at Pangsuma sports hall.

Markan, 50, representing victims of the fire, said at the
Abdurahman stadium: "We are not against our fellow citizens and
believers. Certain criminals provoked the burning of shanties at
Khatulistiwa, so don't blame all of us. The culprits must be
severely punished, or executed by the masses if necessary."

In general, the reason for their objection to relocation is
the fear of difficulties surviving in a new place, as they will
have to reclaim peat land for farming.

"We're ready to be resettled amid urban areas of Pontianak.
It's better to live in the city because we've been working as
vendors and laborers," said Markan.

Markan and many others still wished for a return to Sambas,
where they used to cultivate their own land.

Unfortunately, the Malay community of Sambas has remained
unwilling to accept them.

Meanwhile, Chotibul Umam, a Madurese figure, attributed the
slow handling of refugees and their widespread recalcitrance to
the regional administration's hesitation.

The refugees' are also now demanding between Rp 15 million and
Rp 30 million compensation per family, for the loss of their
makeshift homes. As a Pangsuma figure, Abdul Samaridan, put it,
the money "will be spent on daily needs and the search for
sources of livelihood in new settlements. And even if we do
decide to move, there should be no deadline or coercion".

He maintained that the relocation was being resisted because
Sungai Asam "has no facilities providing potable water, means of
support, education, health or even land transport".

"This is why we don't want to resettle," he said.

The journey from Pontianak to Sungai Asam takes approximately
four hours by motorboat.

Governor Aswin pointed out that his administration had
patiently waited for the refugees' to prepare themselves for
almost three years, so there was no more time to negotiate with
them.

"They must be relocated right away. We will not accommodate
any more bargaining or demands," he declared.