While thousands of people throughout the country have had to flee their homes to escape flooding, the Suku Anak Dalam (SAD) indigenous people in Jambi have been forced to lead a nomadic life, because their land has been turned into oil palm plantations.
"This area used to be a forest 10 years ago, but now it has is an oil palm plantation. We don't know where else to go," said Syargawi, SAD tribal community chief in Pelakar Jaya village, Pamenang district, Merangin regency, regarding their current plight.
"Ever since the forest vanished, we've been on the move seeking somewhere to live," said Syargawi.
For the time being, his community made up of 18 families, is temporarily living on the farm of one of the villagers, but the owner has given them notice to move on.
"The farm owner allowed us six days to stay here, but we have stayed for eight days now," he said.
According to him, the farm owner has asked them to move, but as a tribe member has just given birth, Syargawi has asked for more time.
"If we don't move immediately, the farm owner will report us to the police to evict us," said Syargawi.
Besides the lack of a place to stay, they also face difficulties in getting food. Since the forest has vanished, they are unable to hunt for animals for food. "We have to hunt for wild boars up to Dharmasraya regency in West Sumatra," he said, adding that unlike most people who ate three times a day, they only ate once a day.
"There's nothing that we can eat. If we get an animal today, we eat it on the same day and we don't know what to eat tomorrow," he said.
Syargawi urged the government to provide them with somewhere to stay so they could settle and till the land like the other villagers.
Such is the situation faced by SAD members living along the central Trans-Sumatra Highway. Other groups in Tebo, Bungo, Sarolangun and Merangin regencies have suffered the same fate as Syargawi's community.
The Pundi Sumatera non-governmental group has recorded as many as 1,500 people from the SAD tribal community living along the highway. "The local administration seems to have neglected them," Pundi Sumatera director Mahendra Taher said.
Pundi Sumatera has discussed the matter with the Dharmasraya regency administration which has agreed to provide land for the SAD tribe members who often come to the regency.
By giving land, Mahendra said, the SAD members could till the land to cultivate tubers, or they could also be provided with larger plots to produce rubber or palm oil.
"If transmigrant families are entitled to land, why aren't they?" Mahendra said, adding that the administration should take immediate action in light of the emergency situation faced by the SAD community.
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