Kampung Berembang first hand: MPAJ-made tsunamis; generational homes; pray, don’t destroy

The trip down to Kampung Berembang yesterday went quite well, even though due to some miscommunication, we arrived much earlier than the rest of the people were scheduled to.

All the destruction really reminded me of my time in Aceh – all the destruction and debris, coupled with the sight of people being forced to take inadequate shelter in tents. I’d say it’s unthinkable that such destruction would be visited upon people intentionally, except that I saw it with my own eyes :(

(photos courtesy of predream, thanks!!)

In the wood and walls broken and scattered amidst precious belongings and smelly trash alike, I could feel years of effort, slow building and all the sentimentality that is attached to having grown up some place crushed and destroyed by simple greed.

The physical destruction of course is nothing compared to the human suffering it has generated as a result. After moving some stones around (making walls into floors) and rummaging for other scrap, we stopped for lunch and some yummy curry puffs that were being prepared for Dr. Wan Azizah of PKR who was scheduled to visit at 3 (we left by 2 though).

During that time, Li Tsin used her charm to get some of the makcik’s talking (during the currypuff making session), allowing us to share in some heartfelt personal experiences of the tragedy.

One important first impression was that there was nothing to indicate that these were lawless hooligans trying to be parasites of society. They were absolutely normal, decent folk trying to get by in life as best they can. I met ladies who own small gerai’s (and have been unable to work for days now because of the eviction, a huge income blow), ladies whose children are in school or taking major exams..

These are people who aren’t out to get anybody, and are the last people who should be subjected to a major disaster. It’s as if the government is purposely bullying those least able to defend themselves.

They may not have 100% bona fide deeds to the land, but they have been living there for 40 years! Only to have their homes destroyed with barely any notice at all.. I spoke to one lady whose children and grandchildren were born in that same Kampung, if I’m not mistaken. See bangkit.net for some other reasons why these evictions may have been illegal.

(I also speculated that part of the hurry was to remove an ‘eyesore’ so that residents could move into the neighbouring high-class apartments, which I believe is also an Acmar International project).

Another gentleman was fuming when he told us about MPAJ’s attempts to tear down the surau, the last remaining real building in the kampung. Comparing once again to demolitions of Palestinian villages, he fumed at how they had the gall to come during Maghrib prayer time and very memorably said that the Muslim MPAJ officers who had come should have been taking water to perform their ablutions and Maghrib prayers, not seeking to destroy this sacred place of worship.

Reader devonic also had an observation I’d like to highlight:

Apart from the houses demolished by the MPAJ,there are still about 5 to 6 houses which are still in Kg.B that haven’t been brought down..These houses are in the Indian prone areas in Kg.B. This houses is just behind the army camp..It’s situated in the SMART project land..If you realized there’s a small Hindu temple at the village, the houses are just ahead of it..
These people are left behind just awaiting demolition..They need help too, as far I know them,these people are poor too and need a little bit of assistance in finding an alternative home..Hope in the quest to help the Kg.Berembang folk ,these people are not forgotten too as they have been living there for more than 30 years.These Indian families are living under constant fear of losing their home before finding an alternative..
I hope the woes of these people are heard too along the rest of Kg.B people…I pray for the well being of Kg.Berembang folks…

I admit, I didn’t see any Indians there yesterday, but will try to find out more about them. Thanks devonic!

Most importantly, the villagers – who were truly warm (esp in their offerings of keropok, simple lunches, kuih and thanks – said they were really encouraged even just by people showing up to say hi and show solidarity (apparently the night before there had been a big gathering and wayang kulit performance lampooning the MPAJ’s intrusion :) . So, if you have the time, I imagine you’re most welcome to just stop by and see the refugees within their own land. Despite the tragedy, it’s a really wholesome, muhibbah atmosphere.