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Bukit Duri residents hold community bazaar to seek recognition
Amid uncertainty over their residency status, hundreds of residents living along the banks of the Ciliwung river in Bukit Duri, Tebet, South Jakarta, have organized a community bazaar, or pasar rakyat. They have put on the bazaar to seek recognition from the city administration.
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A show of resistance – A colorful gate welcomes visitors to a community bazaar held in Bukit Duri, Tebet, South Jakarta. (thejakartapost.com/Viriya Paramita Singgih)
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mid uncertainty over their residency status, hundreds of residents living along the banks of the Ciliwung river in Bukit Duri, Tebet, South Jakarta, have organized a community bazaar, or pasar rakyat. They have put on the bazaar to seek recognition from the city administration.
“Around three weeks ago, officials from the [South Jakarta] municipality and the [Tebet] district office came and introduced a plan to relocate residents. It’s like a one-sided warning because they gave us no other choice,” said Sandyawan Sumardi on Friday. Sandyawan is the leader of Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka, an organization that advocates for the rights of residents living along the riverbank.
“The pasar rakyat is held to create a space for social interaction and to advertize the independence of Bukit Duri residents,” he went on to say.
The city administration plans to demolish houses and buildings along the banks of the Ciliwung River as part of its normalization program, which aims to widen the river by between 20 and 50 meters. It was recently reported that around 300 residents living in several neighborhood units in Bukit Duri would be be relocated to low-cost rental apartments.
Various entertainment shows, art installations, workshops and discussions are on show at the three-day community bazaar, which will end on Sunday. Local residents from Bukit Duri and other nearby settlements are playing music, dancing and reading poetry. A string of discussions involving activists such as Sri Palupi from the Institute for Ecosoc Rights, historian J.J. Rizal and urban planning expert Marco Kusumawijaya have already taken place at the bazaar.
“I tried to encourage the residents to redefine their form of struggle here,” Sri said after her discussion session on Friday.
“From an economic point of view, dense settlements like the one in Bukit Duri have no economic value compared to apartments or shopping malls. But [the demolition] of such a settlement will damage two crucial things: social and cultural values.”
Sri said she was worried that Jakarta was transforming into an inhumane city.
In August last year, the city administration forcefully evicted 1,041 families from Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta, located directly across from the Bukit Duri settlement. (vps/ebf)
