T

en Shiites from Sampang, Madura, East Java, are heading to Jakarta on bicycles to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and directly convey their complaints over being expelled from their own village in August 2012.

They left their temporary shelter at the Sampang Sports Hall, where 165 displaced Shiites have been
taking shelter, on June 1, 2013.

'We want clarity. It's not comfortable living in an evacuation center. We want to return to our village and for the government to guarantee our safety,' one of the Shiites, Anwar, said in Semarang on their way to Jakarta on Wednesday.

Pukaman, another cycling Shiite, said that he, his wife and their eight children had been staying at the evacuation center.

'You can imagine how difficult it is. I am Madurese with many children. That is why I want to have our own home again,' he said.

Their sad story began in Nangkernang hamlet, Karanggayam village in Omben district, Sampang regency, when a clash occurred between Shia and Sunni groups. One was killed and five were injured during the clash.

Sixty four houses belonging to Shia families were destroyed and some were burnt down, forcing
Shiites to leave their village. Rochman, a member of the cycling team, said they had nothing left.

'Our village and houses had been destroyed and burnt down by the mobs,' he said in Madurese.

After being at the evacuation center for almost nine month, their fate is still unclear.

'Thank God we faced no obstacles so far,' said Mat Rosyid, another member of the group.

He said there were 10 people in the groups that alternately ride the bicycles, while eight others were guarding in a car. 'We have the target of arriving in Jakarta on June 16,' he said.