It is called a small village located in Sebatik Island, North Kalimantan called Kampung Lourdes. In Kalimantan, we will not find Dayak tribes in the village, but we will find people from Eastern Indonesia. All residents are ex TKI and the majority come from Flores, NTT and a small portion of Sulawesi.
People who are now living in the village of Lourdes leave their hometown in a very young age, which is about 15 to 18 years old. They are plagued as oil palm plantation workers, plywoodworking workers, or rugged workers in fruit gardens in Malaysia.
The average they come through the illegal path without official permission so that the people are problematic with immigrant letters and pursued police. This is what brings them to the village of Lourdes.
A visible view in Kampung Lourdes
The average house in Kampung Lourdes uses a mosquito nettle to avoid mosquitoes in Kampung Lourdes
Initially, an old named Peter Roga opened small land and survived in the location in 1996. According to Peter Roga, there is no one who wants to occupy the area. All are still forests with large trees, ganas-renowned mosquitoes so that it makes the place epidemi malaria, and many seasonal animals roaming. Because Peter Roga has no choice, he then tried to survive at that location. Inspired from a small city called Lourdes in France, where there is a person who has seen Bunda Mary, Peter Roga also called the village to become the village of Lourdes which means the sunyi and remote.
Now the 20-year-old small village began to align themselves. The first place is not struck by people now already includes three neighbors’ rukuns with a sum of 150 KK-caping population.
The TKI experiencing the garden land itself. Most have oil palm plantations, there are chocolate trees, to fruits. However, they still sell their garden results to the country as they have not been a plant to process oil.
Maemunah, one of the former TKI from Buton living in Kampung Lourdes
Petrus Roga (left) and his wife Theresia (right) is the opener of the village of Lourdes
The limited control of infrastructure on the borders also seemed from the difficult they got water. Water willing in the village of Lourdes still rely on rainy tadah.
Meanwhile, the electricity is still inconvenient. For those who are able, they can buy electric generators, for those who are not able, residents survive the lights with solar power. However, the village in Lourdes is a new hope as an independent person, without a future stay, living and fighting on their own land.
Photo & Text: Rosa Panggabean
Dua women took the fruit of tribes to cook in the village of Lourdes, Sebatik, North Kalimantan
Because of direct bordering with Malaysia, various domestic products are easily found in the village
The number of pets in the village of Lourdes
The neighbors are in the village.
