Illiteracy, human rights violations loom over capital city<\/p>\n
By Yogita Tahil Ramani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): They say that charity begins at home, and yet
\nonly a few Jakartans, enlightened to the hardships suffered in
\nfar-flung parts of Indonesia, may be aware of the poverty and
\nsuffering on their own doorstep.<\/p>\n
Scarcity of clean water and land, poor children's health care,
\nilliteracy and human rights violations dog the capital city's
\nunderclass every day of the year.<\/p>\n
The Islamic Day of Sacrifice fell on Apr. 7 this year. The day
\nis intended to remind Moslems of the virtues of sacrifice. It
\nalways falls in Dzulhijjah, the 10th month in the Islamic
\ncalendar, the month in which Abraham sacrificed of his own son
\nIsmail to the Almighty.<\/p>\n
Recalling the virtues of sacrifice is not quite so pertinent
\nfor the residents of Kampung Muka, a community in Kampung Bandan
\nAncol, North Jakarta, who share their daily lives with this
\ndivine virtue.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the sacrifices of others do benefit these
\npoverty stricken people on that holy day. Ibu Bawon, a mother of
\nsix, said \"it's the only day when we receive, even though we
\nalways sacrifice.\"<\/p>\n
A kilogram of meat from one of the 12 goats and single cow
\ndonated for sacrifice was to be distributed among 400 of the 800
\nhouseholds in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Everybody watching, from street vendors, local garment factory
\nworkers and Mangga Dua Mall laborers, seemed happy and contented
\nat the sight of the animals being slaughtered.<\/p>\n
A mother of two said that it was nice to know she would be
\nable to eat goat or beef after \"so, so long\" without meat.<\/p>\n
Mardi, a construction worker who lives with his wife and five-
\nyear old daughter, laughed when asked how many times he and his
\nfamily ate meat in a week.<\/p>\n
\"What, meat? I cannot afford to buy meat. I cannot even afford
\nto buy milk for my child. We live on tofu and tempeh,\" Mardi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He explained that even with his meager Rp 320,000 (US$40) a
\nmonth salary and Rp 10,000 daily transport allowance, he was
\nlucky to still have a job.<\/p>\n
\"Six of my colleagues have been fired, just after being
\npromoted. At work, my daily food allowance has been cut and so
\nhave the hours I work. I get home by 6:30 p.m. now\"<\/p>\n
His wife said that every time they thought they could once
\nagain afford milk, prices were raised.<\/p>\n
She added that the day of sacrifice \"would be a really happy
\nday because her child could for once play with meat on her plate
\ninstead of playing with vegetables.\"<\/p>\n
Residents' poverty is further compounded by a belief, which
\nstill persists, that having more children is a blessing bestowed
\nby God, despite the fact that 800 households are already crammed
\ninto the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Ibu Bawon, who is nearing 50, said her husband, who works at a
\ngas station in Kota, still wanted more children.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think he knows that I cannot have any more,\" she
\nsaid, adding that, \"she dared not explain this to him. After all,
\nhe's a man.\"<\/p>\n
The maze of muddy, humid alleys in Kampung Muka leads, almost
\ninevitably, to water and sanitation problems.<\/p>\n
Two wells containing hard, soapy water, are sited a matter of
\nfeet from the public toilets -- an impending disaster made no
\nbetter by the kampung's inadequate drainage system filled with
\npools of stagnant water.<\/p>\n
Residents believe water from the wells has reddened children's
\nhair and is a cause of skin problems.<\/p>\n
Yosie, a mother of four, said that it cost Rp 1,200 to buy a
\ncontainer of clean water sufficient for one day.<\/p>\n
\"I cannot afford to buy milk. I just breast-feed my six-month
\nold child and give water to the others,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She laughingly added that the meat she hoped to eat later
\n\"might taste foreign.\"<\/p>\n
Residents seemed relaxed in their shanty huts, watching
\nNgelaba, a popular comedy program, and dangdut singer Oma Irama,
\ncomplete with yet another theatrical costume, crooning away on
\nTV.<\/p>\n
Gone were thoughts of the imminent arrival of bulldozers.
\nTheir settlement is on government land earmarked for high-rise
\nbuildings and until recently, construction was due to commence
\nshortly.<\/p>\n
\"The crisis has stopped them for the time being. We hope it
\ndoes not end, then we can stay here,\" a man said chuckling.<\/p>\n
Thoughts that they all technically did not existent (most
\ncommunity members do not have identity cards) also seemed far
\naway.<\/p>\n
Priyanti, a mother of one, said the area's inhabitants were a
\nmix of newcomers from distant towns and villages, and arrivals
\nfrom demolished slums.<\/p>\n
\"They have no identities so they cannot claim their basic
\nhuman rights,\" Priyanti said.<\/p>\n
\"It becomes difficult to arrange KTPs (identity cards) when so
\nmany arrive at one time. There are about four or five in each
\nhousehold,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Most of the incomers mistakenly believed Jakarta was a \"land
\nwhere people could earn good money,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Some do earn a higher wage than they would in rural areas of
\nthe country, but \"they earn money only to spend it on
\nsacrifices\", Priyanti said with a touch of irony.<\/p>\n
The dire need for these people to educate their children
\nforces most, including those as young as seven, to work in any
\njobs they can find. Often parents go hungry, just to save a
\nlittle more money.<\/p>\n
Both Ibu Bawon and Yosie believed education was very important
\nfor their children, but were unable to explain clearly why this
\nwas so.<\/p>\n
\"I just want all my children to be educated... it will save
\nthem,\" Yosie said.<\/p>\n
Ibu Bawon said that sometimes she and her husband skipped
\nmeals to save money to further their children's education.<\/p>\n
The day of sacrifice did not end there.<\/p>\n
Fires burned down 30 units in the Jembatan Batu slum area in
\nPinangsia subdistrict, a mere stone's throw from Kampung Muka.<\/p>\n
With only one fire-engine working, the blaze was left to burn
\nout in its own time.<\/p>\n
A larger housing unit belonging to an ethnic Chinese family
\ncaught fire. Residents, on the pretense of helping, jumped into
\nthe unit and were seen filling their pockets with whatever
\npossessions they could grab, before running away.<\/p>\n
Rains stubbornly refused to fall, but the fires eventually
\ndied down.<\/p>\n
Finally, the eventful day ended amid strangers, eating sweets
\nand laughing at a child with rotting teeth being entertained by a
\nyoung but fatherly figure.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/illiteracy-human-rights-violations-loom-over-capital-city-1447893297",
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