A somber room for rent, shared among workers<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Food, clothes and housing are three basic needs of human
\nbeings. Ironically, many people in the city do not eat healthy
\nfood and do not have enough money to by new clothes, let alone
\nfind a proper place to live.<\/p>\n
The skyrocketing price of houses prevents them from getting
\none or even renting one. Consequently, they have to rent a room
\n-- a cheap one -- which they share with several other people.<\/p>\n
\"I could even not afford to rent a room on my own,\" Kardi, a
\nconstruction worker from Pandeglang, West Java, told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
He shares a rented room with three other man in the Halim area
\nof East Jakarta for Rp 100,000 a month.<\/p>\n
Kardi does not have a regular income. If he is lucky, he can
\nget as much as Rp 75,000 a week, but sometimes he only earns Rp
\n25,000. Once in three months, the 35-year-old man usually returns
\nhome, bringing the money for his wife and three children in
\nPandeglang.<\/p>\n
\"But last Idul Fitri I could not go home because I had no
\nmoney,\" he said sadly.<\/p>\n
The shanty where Kardi lives is located on a riverbank and was
\nbuild seven years ago by its owner, a street vendor. It consists
\nof two rooms and one attic. The owner's family of one child live
\nin one of the rooms and rent out the rest of the house.<\/p>\n
Aryati, the owner's wife, said that her family rented the
\nrooms to get more money.<\/p>\n
\"I can get Rp 200,000 a month, that's not bad at all,\" she
\nsaid, saying that it supported her family.<\/p>\n
There is no kitchen or bathroom in the house. If Aryati or her
\ntenants want to cook, they share two stoves and kitchen utensils
\nthat she has outside the house.<\/p>\n
There is a public bathroom in the neighborhood and those who
\nwant to take a bath have to pay Rp 500, or Rp 300 if they want to
\nuse the toilet.<\/p>\n
Kardi's modest room measures about 4 meters by 4 meters and is
\nwithout furniture. There is only a mat and some pillows on the
\nfloor. It is dark even during the daytime.<\/p>\n
He has been staying in the room since he arrived in the
\ncapital five years ago looking for a better life.<\/p>\n
\"I thought I could bring them here after I got established. Up
\nuntil now, we haven't attained our dream,\" he said, adding that
\nhis family lived with his parents in Pandeglang.<\/p>\n
Sharing a room with several people is not easy.<\/p>\n
\"You don't have any privacy here. But I've already got used to
\nit as we are a family now,\" said Kardi.<\/p>\n
For tenants who want privacy, there are also rented rooms for
\nindividuals, offered at affordable prices.<\/p>\n
In Tanah Abang, near Jl. Jatibaru, Central Jakarta, there are
\nmany boarding houses with rooms that are available at a price of
\nbetween Rp 40,000 and Rp 100,000 per month each.<\/p>\n
Most of the tenants are low-level officials and vendors, said
\nLia, who owns a house containing 10 rooms.<\/p>\n
She said that the price of a room depended on the space and
\nthe facilities offered. A room measuring 2 meters by 1.5 meters
\nis rented for Rp 40,000. There is a bed, a small table and a
\nmirror on the wall in each room.<\/p>\n
She has complemented her boarding house with a living room,
\ntwo bathrooms and a kitchen.<\/p>\n
\"The subdistrict office does not tax the business. But we have
\nto pay for sanitation,\" she said.<\/p>\n
As there are many dorms in the area, some residents in the
\nneighborhood have opened new businesses catering to the needs of
\nthe tenants, such as food stalls and public telephones kiosks,
\nshe asserted.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-somber-room-for-rent-shared-among-workers-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}