Indonesian coastal residents stand firm while Java Sea swallows up their village

Cemarajaya villagers used to be farmers but “now they are fishermen.”
Eko Siswono Toyudho
2024.04.26
Karawang, Indonesia
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A man tosses a net to catch fish on Cemarajaya beach in Karawang, a regency in West Java, Indonesia, April 24, 2024. [Eko Siswono Toyudho/BenarNews]

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Children walk past sandbags on Cemarajaya beach in West Java, Indonesia, April 24, 2024. [Eko Siswono Toyudho/BenarNews]

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Motorists cross a road damaged by waves at Cemarajaya beach, April 24, 2024. [Eko Siswono Toyudho/BenarNews]

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A boy climbs a gate pillar near Cemarajaya beach that collapsed because of tidal flooding, April 24, 2024. [Eko Siswono Toyudho/BenarNews]

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A resident passes in front of the remaining walls of his house that were destroyed by waves last year in the Cemarajaya beach area in Karawang regency, West Java, April 24, 2024. [Eko Siswono Toyudho/BenarNews]

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A man fishes in front of the temple in the Cemarajaya beach area in West Java, April 24, 2024. [Eko Siswono Toyudho/BenarNews]

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An aerial photo shows water surrounding the Cemarajaya beach on all sides, April 24, 2024. [Eko Siswono Toyudho/BenarNews]

About 200 people remain in Cemarajaya, a village in West Java province where sea waters have eroded the coastline, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and forced more than 1,000 of their neighbors to flee during the past two decades.

Throughout this village in Karawang regency, residents have filled sandbags and created small embankments in an effort to hold back the Java Sea from overflowing and flooding their rickety houses, as it has eaten away thousands of acres over the years.

The coastline has receded by about 2 km (1.2 miles) since 2016, residents said. One nearby village has submerged completely.

On Wednesday, residents who have refused to leave showed a BenarNews reporter what used to be a wide beach.

Over time the sea has eroded it, leaving only Cemarajaya village, resident Ahmad Ramli said.

“Land that was previously used for agriculture over time turned into fish ponds and mangrove forests, now some of it is submerged,” Ramli told BenarNews. “The residents here used to be farmers, now they are fishermen.”

Ramli said he would most likely move in the future and follow scores of neighbors who have already left.

“The government has provided a replacement location and house for them several kilometers from here, but I haven’t gotten it yet,” Ramli said.

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