About 100 families in Pinangsia, Taman Sari, West Jakarta, are facing uncertainty having been left homeless following a forced eviction carried out by the West Jakarta administration along the banks of the Ciliwung River.

The administration, which considered the hundreds of buildings in the area illegal, cleared a 14-meter space between the river and residential areas for building a road connecting Jl. Kunir and Jl. Jembatan Batu in West Jakarta as part of the city'€™s river dredging program.

On Wednesday, about 100 houses were demolished, including several tents put up on the rubble of the previously demolished houses of residents who insisted on remaining there after the first phase of eviction in May last year.

'€œThis is our advanced method for building the connecting road after similar evictions in 1994 and 2015,'€ West Jakarta deputy mayor Muhammad Zen told The Jakarta Post during the eviction.

However, the residents are yet to be given replacement accommodation although the authority promised them units in low-cost apartments (rusunawa) in Marunda, North Jakarta and Komarudin, East Jakarta. As a result, most homeless residents decided to stay near their wrecked houses or stay in relatives'€™ houses.

Noodle vendor Kamarudin with his wife and son, for example, decided to build a tent on the rubble of their house while putting their belongings in front of a neighbor'€™s house as they did not have any other options due to limited funds.

'€œI didn'€™t know where to go so here we decided to stay,'€ said Kamarudin, who has lived in the area for 20 years. '€œI can count on my neighbors as they feel like my own family. They allow us to wash and cook at their houses.'€

He said he had actually signed up for an apartment in Marunda with the Pinangsia subdistrict administration. However, when the eviction came, he had still not received any confirmation.

He added that the administration was yet to draw the raffle to give the residents their rusunawa apartments.

Despite the absence of ownership certificates to the land, Kamarudin and other residents in the area have had a strong affinity with the neighborhood for decades. They took good care of it and eventually made it a winner in the Green and Clean Area category of an environmental competition held jointly by a local NGO and the Jakarta administration in 2010.

Hence, many residents, including Siti, could not hold back their tears when a backhoe was demolishing their houses.

'€œPlease, give me some more time. Don'€™t demolish all of my house. I have nowhere to go,'€ Siti said in tears while showing at her 6-square-meter house, built inside a two-story building, to an officer from the West Jakarta administration. '€œI will demolish some other parts by myself. I promise. I have marked the border.'€

Compared to her neighbors, Siti was relatively lucky that day as the officer decided to only clear a 10 meter space between the riverbank and her house and those of four other neighbors. The backhoe, however, kept demolishing houses within the 14 meter area.

Siti said that the administration had previously announced that it would need a 10 meter space between the river bank and the neighborhood for the road. However, last Thursday, she received a warning letter saying that it required 14 meters.

Muhammad Firmansyah, community unit (RW) 06 chief, confirmed Siti'€™s statement. He said that on Feb. 1, the administration met with him and neighborhood unit (RT) chiefs and said that it would demolish buildings within 10 meter of the riverbank. However, last Thursday, the residents received notification of the 14 m requirement.

'€œI have to admit that it is such a sudden move. Now the residents are confused about their homes,'€ Firmansyah said.

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