Jakarta remains a magnet for rural folks<\/p>\n
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The dream of making a better life amid the grind and bustle of
\nthe big city has drawn people from rural areas all across the
\nIndonesian archipelago to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Many believe that, if they try hard enough, pitiless Jakarta
\nwill yield significant changes financially, if only for the sake
\nof broadening their horizons.<\/p>\n
Some of those people who came here for financial reasons said
\nthey got what they bargained for -- and that the sacrifice was
\none well worth taking.<\/p>\n
Twenty-six-year old Arlis from Lampung was one. She first came
\nto Jakarta in 1997 looking for any job that would pay more than
\nthe Rp 50,000 a month she earned at her previous workplace.<\/p>\n
Shortly after enlisting the aid of a domestic helper agency
\nshe found work with a family which paid her Rp 150,000 a month to
\ncook and clean their house.<\/p>\n
Today, her salary is Rp 300,000. "It's not that it was
\ndifficult for me to find a job in Lampung, but it was hard to
\nfind the one that pays well," she mused.<\/p>\n
Back home, her husband juggles taking care of their four
\nchildren with working on the two-hectare plot of land in which
\nthey have planted corn, rice and cassava.<\/p>\n
"Before I came here, I tried to help my husband farming," she
\nsaid. "But it was difficult to make ends meet while waiting for
\nthe crops -- about one time per six months."<\/p>\n
Before making her final decision to come to the capital, she
\ntried her hand working at a cassava flour factory for a few
\nweeks, where she earned Rp 5,000 per day.<\/p>\n
"After a while, I thought the payment was too small compared
\nwith the labor -- even in Lampung, that kind of salary wasn't
\nsufficient to cover our basic expenses," she said.<\/p>\n
Her major setback while working in Jakarta is that she often
\nmisses her family back home.<\/p>\n
"I find it hard to be so far from my husband and children ...
\nbut when I think that I'm now able to give my children anything
\nthey ask for, I feel content.<\/p>\n
"Jakarta is not so bad," she continued, "as long as you're not
\na faint-hearted kind of person."<\/p>\n
Arlis sends her full salary to her husband every three months
\nfor her children's tuition, and their other needs.<\/p>\n
When she lived with her family, "my children couldn't have the
\nthings like a bicycle and dolls, now they do," she said.<\/p>\n
"To me, that's enough to make up for the hard work I put up
\nwith here," added Arlis, on her way back from Lampung Thursday
\nwhile visiting her employment agency, Kasih Ibu.<\/p>\n
She resumes work in Kebayoran, South Jakarta, on Monday.<\/p>\n
During the Lebaran holidays, when most maids return to their
\nhome villages with their families, others come to the city to
\nmake some extra money as temporary helpers.<\/p>\n
"I make about Rp 25,000 to Rp 30,000 per day as a temporary
\nmaid during the Lebaran holiday. I would be able to make a
\nmonth's salary with just 2 weeks of work," said Ida, who came
\nfrom Tasikmalaya, West Java.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Haris Mujono from Surabaya said he is here to get a
\ntaste of big city life.<\/p>\n
Even though Surabaya is the country's second biggest city --
\nand thus not so different from Jakarta -- Mujono finds the
\ncapital city more captivating.<\/p>\n
Since he came here early last year, he has helped his brother
\nsell chicken soto at the Gambir railway station in Central
\nJakarta. Before arriving here, he worked as a porter at a shoe
\nfactory in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
"I make lots of friends here, and I find this city very
\nexciting. I also learned that Jakarta is a place to make good
\nmoney as long as you are willing to work hard," he said.<\/p>\n
However, Mujono plans to later return to his hometown to raise
\na family.<\/p>\n
"I'll give it another year or two, and then return to settle
\ndown -- or perhaps after I'm married, I'll return here with my
\nwife," Mujono, 21, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-remains-a-magnet-for-rural-folks-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}