Troubled waters for Jakarta's fishermen

By Rachel Harvey BBC correspondent in Jakarta

The fishermen of Muara Angke had an unexpected visitor recently. A local government official came to tell them they were being evicted from their houses along the river bank.

The official told us we had a few weeks to get ready but that same afternoon men arrived with bulldozers and mechanical diggers and started tearing our houses down Kajidin, fisherman

In the past few weeks, the Jakarta authorities have destroyed the homes of thousands of people who it says have been squatting illegally.

Muara Angke, in the north of Indonesia's coastal capital, was one of the areas on the target list.

Kajidin still can't quite believe what has happened.

"The official told us we had a few weeks to get ready," he said, "but that same afternoon men arrived with bulldozers and mechanical diggers and started tearing our houses down."

From Kajidin's small fishing boat the extent of the destruction is clear.

There used to be a row of simple wooden houses all along the river bank. Now there are just piles of broken timber and accumulated rubbish.

But the families who made their homes here have stayed. Many are now living as well as working on the boats. A few tarpaulins have been put up to provide some protection from the hot sun and torrential rain.

The fishermen have to live in squalid conditions

Chickens, ducks, cats and a couple of tethered monkeys, look for pickings along the edge of the fetid water. The same water is used by the fishermen and their families to wash in.

"What can we do?" asked Kajidin. "We are fishermen, we have to stay close to our boats."

The rich fishing grounds off the Jakarta coast and the thriving fish market, are what draw the boatmen to Indonesia's overcrowded capital.

A living at a price

Fish sold here fetch a higher price than elsewhere in the country. But accommodation is both scarce and expensive.

So, like other itinerant workers in Jakarta, the fishermen built their own places to live.

But they did so without permission from the authorities, which is why Jakarta's local government says the squatters must move.

Soebagio, head of public order and community protection in the Jakarta administration, said the evictions were a matter of safety as well as law enforcement.

"It's dangerous for these people to live by the river, because in the rainy season it tends to flood. We had to remove those houses so that we can widen the river," he said.

What's really added fuel to the fire is that the programme of evictions comes in the middle of a campaign by Jakarta's governor, retired General Sutiyoso, to improve the capital's image.

These are some of the poorest people in society and they have nowhere else to go Uri Sihombing, director of Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation

New statues have been built, fountains have been cleaned up, and a herd of deer has been brought in to beautify the main park. Articles in local newspapers have accused the authorities of wasting money on vanity projects while ignoring the needs of the poor.

The evicted fishermen of Muara Angke have been offered compensation of 500,000 Rupiah per family - a little over $60.

But they are not allowed to build new houses by the river, and the money is not enough to build anything permanent anywhere else.

Their case has been taken up by the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation. The director, Uri Sihombing, said the local government was shirking its responsibilities.

"These are some of the poorest people in society and they have nowhere else to go," he said.

Uri is preparing to take the authorities to court.

"According to the international law of human rights, people have a right to adequate housing. The local government in Jakarta has failed to respect the housing rights of the people," he said.

But the local government counters that it has also has a duty to protect the property rights of landowners.

"In any case," said Soebagio,"most of the people living illegally in the city are not Jakarta citizens so we are not responsible for them. They should go back home."

In an effort to resolve the dispute, the central government has now stepped in.

It is offering the fishermen of Muara Angke cheap houses further down the coast. But the houses haven't been built yet. They wont be ready until March at the earliest. That is a long time to wait when you're living in squalor.