People become resilient during disaster<\/p>\n
Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Garbage has always been hated by people, especially when it is
\ndirty and smelly. However, they have welcomed the new function of
\ngarbage carts during flooding that has plagued Jakarta since
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
In some flooded areas, people have taken advantage of garbage
\ncarts as a means of transportation to either convey people
\nthrough the floodwaters or to evacuate others from their
\ninundated houses.<\/p>\n
Carts are being used not only to carry people, but also their
\nbelongings like motorcycles, televisions, mattresses, kitchen
\nequipment and the like. Each cart can carry between three and
\nseven people, depending on their size. One person steers the cart
\nfrom the front, and three to five people push it from behind.<\/p>\n
Their customers are people wanting to take refuge in temporary
\nshelters or relatives' houses.<\/p>\n
The cart operators have their own marketing strategy to
\nattract passengers.<\/p>\n
\"If you want to be safe and dry, take a ride. It's cheap, only
\nRp 3,000 (29 U.S. cents). If you'd prefer to get wet, plunge into
\nthe water. That's free,\" sang out Jatmiko, a cart operator on Jl.
\nPasar Pengampuan, Kembangan, West Jakarta, in a bid to drum up
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
He often approached motorists, hoping they would take a ride
\non his cart.<\/p>\n
\"You can't go through the water. Take a ride. For a motorcycle
\nit's only Rp 10,000,\" he said, adding that he sometimes charged
\nRp 20,000 for a motorcycle with the rider. The rate depends on
\nthe water depth and current.<\/p>\n
To persuade more people to go on the carts, another operator
\nannounced that the current from the overflowing Pesanggrahan
\nRiver was very strong and had swept away a taxi on Jl. Pasar
\nPengampuan on Friday night. The taxi was finally found stranded
\nin water-logged bushes and mud.<\/p>\n
Jatmiko and five friends claimed they had earned Rp 300,000 in
\nonly three hours, ferrying people in a vegetable cart. They
\ndivided the money evenly, each getting Rp 50,000.<\/p>\n
The amount was much higher than their daily profit as
\nvegetable vendors.<\/p>\n
Another cart operator, Mastur, and three friends earned Rp
\n125,000. Mastur borrowed his wife's vegetable cart.<\/p>\n
\"I'm glad my husband has a temporary, lucrative job,\" said
\nMastur's wife Sasri, adding that her husband had recently lost
\nhis job.<\/p>\n
Agus, a resident of South Jakarta's Cipulir, which saw major
\nflooding, said the temporary job had been a blessing in disguise.<\/p>\n
\"Instead of being depressed because of the disaster, I'm
\nrather enjoying doing this job,\" said the laborer.<\/p>\n
Agus and his friends' working hours depend on how long they
\ncan put up with the cold and dirty water.<\/p>\n
The success of the cart operators has inspired others to
\nfollow their lead.<\/p>\n
\"We don't have any customers yet because this is our first
\ntime out,\" another operator in Cipulir, Mizwar, said, before
\ncalling out to prospective customers.<\/p>\n
He was holding onto a garbage cart, ignoring the stench and
\nthe garbage floating around him. Perhaps he dreams of collecting
\nRp 100,000 in the few hours left before the floodwater recedes.
\nPerhaps, like other operators, he also wishes the rain would
\ncontinue.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/people-become-resilient-during-disaster-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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