A Tale of Two Fates

Having a place to call home, where you can be with your loved ones, is a dream almost everyone shares.

For Rozita Ramli, its an aspiration that looks likely to remain a dream.

For now, home for this 36 year-old mother of five is the temporary settlement center at the Gua Musang Ethnobotany National Service Training camp. Its home for 33 other families who have failed to be listed for the permanent housing scheme.

"The excuse given is that I'm ineligible because my house wasn't entirely destroyed. But the reality is, my home was washed away by the floods."

Rozita once lived on reserve land in Kampung Batu 6 Renok. She was born and raised in the village. The flood of 2014 washed away the entire structure she once called home.

"My husband met with the village chief. He said our names failed to make the list and directed us to the land office. The officers there advised us to meet the village chief. So what were we to do?

"Then the state assemblyman from our area told us he would come and meet us here at this camp on November 8. He still hasn't shown up," she tells us as she carries a five month old baby in her arms."

Rozita was pregnant with the child when the floods hit. In her fragile condition, she and her young children sought refuge wherever they could. They finally ended up spending three nights on a nearby hill, waiting for the waters to subside.

Then word came that a nearby school had been turned into a flood relief centre. When it was safe, the young family began the 5 kilometer walk to the school, where they were hoping to find aid and shelter.

Walking on the road to the school, they encountered a four-wheel drive vehicle with relief volunteers onboard. They had come to Kelantan to assist in the humanitarian mission. So the family was spared a long trek and brought safely to the school. There they remained for two weeks until moving to the temporary relief encampment in Bandar Utama Gua Musang in January.

"I was getting along in the pregnancy and the living conditions in the tents there were very uncomfortable. Scorching hot in the afternoons, cold at night. So my husband and I decided to move back here in March," she tells us.

There are 127 families in total, living together in this camp, ever since it was designated as a temporary settlement for flood victims in Gua Musang. Each dorm block houses at least 5 families.

"I find it hard to express in words, the actual condition of the dorm rooms these families are living in. Some have wood partitions to allow the sharing families some privacy. Others have to make do with just a curtain."

Each family is provided two beds. For larger families, tough luck. Some have to make do on the floor. This is what life has been from them over the past 11 months.

At least meals are provided by the camp administrators; three square meals each day. Electricity and water are also free. Not really a luxury, but it does ease some of the burden on these families.

It's eerily quiet here, even in daytime. The sound of children's laughter sporadically breaks the monotony. Shady trees, boxes, empty bottles, broken branches; the kids here make toys out of anything they can get a hold of.

The adults on the other hand spend a large part of their day just shooting the breeze. Many simply lie around or sleep the day away. Some have televisions. Those with vehicles try and escape boredom by making quick runs to the nearby town.

As they are ineligible for the permanent housing scheme, Rozita and the 32 other families who share a similar fate, now face eviction. They've been given until November 25 to vacate the premises and find their own accomodation.

"Where are we to go? My husband is a gardener at the Taman Sri Wangi teachers quarters, and he makes RM700 a month. I'm not employed, caring for these young ones. They're still schooling."

"Who can we turn to? We're not asking for a mansion, any home will do as long as we can live together as a family," Rozita sighs.

She is fraught with worry, haunted by the fate which faces her young family, and the many obstacles that lay in wait in the coming days.

Though they share similar circumstances, it's a different tomorrow altogether which awaits Mat Taha Husin, as he counts the days until his new home will be ready.

He was lucky to get his name listed for the new housing scheme. He used to live in a house in a little village on the banks of Sungai Ketil, not far from Gua Musang. Like Rozita, his house was also built on reserve land, and it was washed away by the deluge of 2014.

Homes built on reserve land on riverbanks are permited to be built at the risk of the home builder, and the land office assumes no responsibility for what may happen. But many people here have no choice but to build homes on these high risk areas. It's not a preference; it's simply the only option they can afford.

After their home was destroyed, Mat Taha and his 15 year old daughter have been seeking shelter for the past 11 months in this camp, located along the Merapoh-Gua Musang road.

"I filed applications with the village chief and the district officer. Attached with the documents were photos of my home which was totally destoryed, as supporting evidence to ensure my application was accepted.

"Then in October, an officer from Kuala Lumpur came to this camp. I think he was from the National Security Council. He told me my name was on the approved list," he recounts to us.

The site of their new home is in Tanah Putih, not far from here. However, the exact date of completion has yet to be confirmed. Mat Taha believes it will be sometime next March, based on what the officer from KL said.

He has also heard that the camp he lives in now, must be vacated by early December, to allow for the National Service trainees to begin their training at the end of the year.

He is 65. His wife passed many years ago. He still has a young daughter to put through school. But he is thankful that at least she is staying at a fully residential school.

Mat Taha used to be a truck driver. But he can no longer work, due to an injury from an accident. He now supports himself with aid from the Social Welfare Department.

"So now I'm trying to figure out where I can live after this. Rentals are expensive these days, around RM300 a month, not including the deposit. And I am no longer gainfully employed, so how will I be able to afford to find a place?

"I guess I'll just have to wait and see. If I have to make do with living in a tent, then so be it. There's nothing else I can do. It's fate."