Most emphasised the unpleasantness of their first experiences because everything was new and strange. The novelty jeopardised their ability to carry out agriculture in the new setting, yet learning how to live in the new environment was crucial for survival. When they first arrived, most had little information about their destination. They were first informed about where they would be settled while they were in quarantine immediately before leaving Java. Thirty per cent reported that they had been told where they were to be settled only when they were already on the way.
Although according to transmigration regulations, sponsored transmigrants could choose the province of destination, in practice, they were totally dependent on government arrangements. Intending transmigrants registered through village leaders in the place of origin. They then waited until they were informed of the departure date, when they were moved to transition hostels in Kertosono for administration and health checks. At this time transmigration officials also provided some information about the natural conditions of the destination. From quarantine they were taken to ports or the airport in Surabaya for departure to South and East Kalimantan.
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The Javanese in South Kalimantan knew very little about tidal swamps and had no idea of the main characteristics of these ecosystems. Although they understood that tidal swamps were areas where floods occurred during high tides and which were dry at other times, they could not picture what these areas looked like. Many described themselves:
When we left Java we looked like blind men in trying to imagine the swamp conditions. We had thought of the tidal swamps as sawah,
where floods and dry periods occurred from time to time. We believed that we could easily maintain these ecosystems using the same system of sawah maintenance as in Java.
This view was based on the information gained from government officers before their arrival. Although they remembered the general description, they had not really understood what tidal swamps were. Only a few had realised that tidal swamps were influenced by sea tides. Most did not know that there were different kinds of tidal swamps, much less the particular type of swamp where they were to live.
Many Javanese emphasised to me that swamps were flooded areas. By the time this study was conducted, settlers in the daily-flooded and high-tide swamps were quite familiar with their characteristics. These villages were directly influenced by tides, and although tertiary canals had been constructed, floods occurred periodically in both areas. By contrast, many Javanese living in the indirect swamp, believed that they were no longer in a swamp area. Some said:
When we first arrived we lived in tidal swamp, but not any more. Now we stay in a dryland area and our sawah is rainfed.
This perception stemmed from the changed conditions where most of the village land, especially in the settlement compound, had dried up since the construction
of tertiary canals three years after settlement. Although they had already been in this village for almost 14 years, the Javanese transmigrants still did not understand that their land was indirectly influenced by tidal effects on the water table below the soil surface. Although they recognised that the tides influenced the canals, they did not realise that it also affected the sub-surface water.
On arrival, the settlers lacked basic information about the hydrological characteristics of their land. Most had no understanding of tides and water conditions. They did not know what tides were, the types of tides or when tides occurred. They did not understand the process of tidal fluctuation and why floods and dry periods occurred regularly. They believed that:
The tides came from, and were organised by God
(pasang surut itu datang and diatur dari sononyo).
Salt and acid water were also new phenomena for most Javanese. They were surprised when salt water flowed to the locations. Some said:
We thought that salt water was found only in the sea, not in inland areas such as where we lived.
They were even more astonished when they found acid water, particularly in the wells, flood water or the canals. Some Javanese from the daily-flooded swamp said:
We did not understand why water from the same area had different tastes at different times. Sometimes it was fresh, but at other times it was salt or acid. We were also very confused because we thought that water which looked clear and clean was fresh, when in fact it was acid. Conversely, we thought dirty and brown water was salt or acid, but it was naturally fresh and good for drinking and crops.
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Information about the soils was also limited. When respondents had found black soils in their locations, particularly in the high-tide and indirect swamps, they had been optimistic. In East Java, black indicated fertile soils with good potential for agriculture. By contrast, in the daily-flooded swamp most of the Javanese had been pessimistic because flooding made it difficult for them to calculate soil potential. They could not distinguish between fertile and infertile soils because they could not grow crops as long as floods and high water levels persisted.
As in South Kalimantan, more than half of the respondents (54 per cent) in Bukit Village were surprised and shocked when they were informed that they were to settle in an upland area of East Kalimantan. Most had expected to be sent to Sumatra and others, particularly those who originated from Ponorogo, had hoped they would be sent to a transmigration location in Central Kalimantan. This latter group had heard about the successful settlement of earlier transmigrants there. However, it had been too late to postpone their departure. They had waited for quite a long time (averaging three months) and most had already sold their houses and livestock.
When we first arrived, we felt like we were in hell. We were exiled to the jungle and isolated from the world.
Most settlers in East Kalimantan had known very little about their destination. Most (61 per cent) who originated from lowland areas had no experience of an upland environment. The remainder, although they came from the upland areas, had no experience of upland forests.
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