A day with a train signalman<\/p>\n
Surip, 43, is a signalman with PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI). He
\nhas been with KAI for 17 years and is stationed at Pos Kereta Api
\n3, Jl. Latuharhari in Menteng, Central Jakarta. Born in the
\nvillage of Kebumen, Central Java, he lives in a company house in
\nMenteng, Central Jakarta, with his wife, Sumiyati, and
\nthree-year-old son, Dimas. He spoke to The Jakarta Post's William
\nFurney.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): I'm lucky that I don't have to go very far to
\nget to work. My house is directly across the railway tracks from
\nmy post. So, it takes me about five seconds to get there. It's
\njust as well as I'm on duty at 6 a.m. Because I'm Muslim, I wake
\nup at 4 a.m., wash and say the morning prayer. Then I have some
\nrice and vegetables for breakfast, which Sumiyati cooks for me.<\/p>\n
There are 37 trains passing through during the day and I'm
\nresponsible for lowering the gates before they arrive. There's
\noften a lot of traffic crossing and it can be stressful trying to
\nlower the gates. But when I sound the alarm, they usually stop.
\nAbout six months ago, KAI installed an electric system in the
\noffice. So, now, all I have to do is press some buttons. Before
\nthat, I had to manually lower the gates. It's much easier now.
\nSometimes, though, there's a fault with the system and I have to
\ngo out and winch down the gates. But that's not very often. In
\nall the years I've been working here, there's never been an
\naccident. The gates always come down and the trains pass through.
\nI coordinate with the stations in Manggarai, South Jakarta, and
\nTanah Abang as there's usually more than the scheduled trains
\npassing: trains that are going in for repair or engines going to
\nstations.<\/p>\n
Before I was a signal master, I worked at the district office
\nin Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. Now, there are four people
\nworking at this post and we work in shifts. The others live in
\nrented houses nearby.<\/p>\n
There are many people who live on the sides of the tracks
\nhere. Even though my post is small, they're allowed to come in
\nand use the bathroom. They usually pay about Rp 500; it's not a
\ncharge as such; the money is used for repairs when needed. These
\npeople are from outside of Jakarta and haven't been able to find
\nany work. So most of them are scavengers; they go around looking
\nfor anything of value in rubbish dumps and try to sell what they
\nfind.<\/p>\n
I earn Rp 650,000 per month. I forget how much I got when I
\nstarted working with KAI. I think it was about Rp 100,000. Every
\ntwo years, I get an increase in salary, but it's not much and my
\nsalary is not enough at all. The cost of food and clothes has
\ngone up a lot, and it's getting more difficult to survive on my
\nsalary. Things are just so expensive. But I'm not complaining, I
\nlike my work.<\/p>\n
I don't pay for the house, it's free from KAI. It's very
\nsmall, just a bedroom and a small kitchen out front. It's very
\nbasic, and not like the houses in the kampongs outside Jakarta.
\nBut it's OK for now. Sumiyati cooks food every morning and sells
\nit to the homeless outside. She only makes a small amount of
\nmoney from it though.<\/p>\n
I finish working at 2 p.m. and relax for the afternoon. I work
\nevery day of the week, except for Monday, when I'm off. I like to
\ngo around and about then. If I have money, we'll go to the market
\nand buy some things. Or we'll go to somewhere like Monas.
\nSometimes we walk there, other times we take the bus. When we get
\nthere, we'll play football or just walk around.<\/p>\n
We have a TV in the house and I like watching dangdut shows. I
\ndon't like current affairs at all. Politics is boring, and I
\nnever follow it.<\/p>\n
Sumiyati has three sisters living abroad: two in America and
\none in Germany. They met Westerners here and left with them. She
\nsays they did it for the money and for a better life. They're
\nvery good in that they send money back to their parents.
\nSometimes, I wonder if Sumiyati would have liked to have done the
\nsame too, but I think she's happy here with me.<\/p>\n
I'll work as a signal master until I get my pension, when I'm
\n55. Then, we'll return to my village. I don't have a house there
\nyet, buy my parents are still alive and they have a house in the
\nvillage. It's much nicer to live in a village outside Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Dimas is our only child; I don't know if we'll have another,
\nit's up to God. Although Islam is my religion, I believe all
\nreligions are the same. I've equal respect for Christians,
\nHindus, Protestants and the others. We're all the same, after the
\nsame. I've no time for fanatic Muslims.<\/p>\n
I'll go to sleep when I feel sleepy, usually about 9 p.m. I
\nlove to dream beautiful dreams, and I often dream about beautiful
\nwomen I wished were my girlfriends.<\/p>",
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