Independence, yes but economically -- not yet<\/p>\n
T.Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It was Thursday afternoon at around 3 p.m. and the sun was
\nstill shining brightly. A young man walked slowly along the road
\nin a housing complex in Bintaro, Tangerang, pushing a cart loaded
\nwith red-and-white flags and bamboo poles.<\/p>\n
Rohim, 24, is one of many seasonal vendors who try their luck
\nselling flags and poles for people to hoist on Independence Day.<\/p>\n
He left his hometown in Babakan village of Cirebon, West Java,
\non Sunday hoping he would be able to earn a handsome sum of
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
\"But I have been here for five days and so far I have only
\nmade Rp 40,000 (less than US$5),\" he said sighing.<\/p>\n
\"Today I sold only four bamboo poles and a single flag,\" he
\nsaid. He is selling bamboo poles for Rp 7,500 each while a large-
\nsize flag costs Rp 30,000, but the buyers can also bargain. Most
\nof the profit, however, goes to his boss.<\/p>\n
Rohim, who normally works as a farmer, knows his boss from his
\nneighborhood in Cirebon, who is also in Jakarta selling flags and
\npoles. Rohim has been a seasonal vendor here for the past four
\nyears.<\/p>\n
Independence Day gives Rohim a chance to make more than the Rp
\n5,000 he makes a day working on the fields in his village. He
\nlives with his mother, who does not work, and the money is barely
\nenough to cover their daily needs.<\/p>\n
\"There was a time when I did not eat for three days because I
\nhad no money at all,\" said Rohim, who dropped out of elementary
\nschool.<\/p>\n
He said he often ate only once a day.<\/p>\n
Once every two months, he said, he and his mother were
\nentitled to receive aid from the government in the form of cheap
\nrice.<\/p>\n
It was only three kilograms of rice and it was not free.
\n\"Let's say, if the market price is Rp 2,500 per kilogram, then we
\nonly had to pay Rp 1,500 a kilogram,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For Rohim and many other poor people, events like Independence
\nDay can give them much-needed extra income, even if it is only
\nfor three or four days.<\/p>\n
For them, the fact the fight for independence cost thousands
\nof lives is just a historical fact.<\/p>\n
For although Indonesia has been politically free from the
\ncontrol of foreign nations for 59 years, its founding fathers'
\ngoal for the people to prosper under an equitable system is still
\na dream.<\/p>\n
Official reports say the number of poor people has dropped
\ndramatically from 23.4 percent in 1999 to 18.2 percent in 2002
\nand 17.4 percent in 2003; about 37.50 million people. However,
\nsocial workers say that many people, both in rural and urban
\nareas, find that life remains hard -- if not harder -- than
\nbefore.<\/p>\n
Wardah Hafidz from the Urban Poor Consortium observed that
\nwhile the lives of middle and upper income people might have
\nimproved there had been no parallel improvement in the lives of
\nthose without.<\/p>\n
\"The shopping malls may be crowded, luxury cars may sell well
\nand restaurants may be packed, but low-income people still lead a
\nhard life,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Wardah criticized the government for implementing policies
\nthat marginalized the poor. Regional governments were actually
\nfighting against poor people, not poverty, while the central
\ngovernment was blind to their condition, she said.<\/p>\n
A clear example of this was the city administration's policy
\nof evicting sidewalk vendors who were cluttering streets.<\/p>\n
Instead of helping those in the informal sector, the
\nauthorities had deprived them of the right to make a living
\nwithout providing alternatives. As a result those who were poor
\nbecame poorer, she said.<\/p>\n
\"The state has gained its independence, but not the people -
\nthey are not free to work to fulfill their daily needs,\" she
\nsaid. Wardah also opposed Jakarta's policy to upgrade the old
\nbecak (three-wheeled motorcycle cabs) in the city.<\/p>\n
The government, she said, should accept the reality that 80
\npercent of the labor force was employed in the informal sector.
\nThe informal sector should be included in the whole economic
\nsystem, she said.<\/p>\n
Wardah noted that in the rural areas, farmers often suffered
\nbecause they had no choice but to sell their harvests cheaply
\nfollowing the government's failure to stabilize prices for farm
\ngoods. Even worse, the government was allowing imported rice to
\nflood the market, she said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia gained its Independence in 1945. The nation is free
\nfrom colonialism but many people can not enjoy any real freedom
\nbecause they are imprisoned in poverty. While many may celebrate
\nIndependence Day cheerfully with carnivals and festivals, parties
\nand games, others are still struggling to survive.<\/p>\n
When Rohim was asked what Independence Day meant to him, he
\njust stared blankly. Asked what he would wish for on the day, his
\nanswer was surprising. He did not say that he wanted to be a rich
\nman with a lot of money, a car or a house. He said softly he just
\nwanted to live peacefully.<\/p>\n
Poverty is a complicated problem, difficult to solve, and it
\nmight be impossible to completely eradicate it. But at least, it
\ncould be alleviated if the government was really serious about
\nhelping the poor.<\/p>\n
\"What we need is the government's political will to solve the
\nproblem,\" Wardah said.<\/p>",
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