Team of census officials scare homeless people<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It was almost 11 p.m. when a team of enumerators
\nfrom the Jakarta office of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS)
\nand some top bureau officials arrived at Jatinegara market in
\nEast Jakarta on Friday to collect data on the homeless who lived
\nin the area.<\/p>\n
Their presence, however, shocked some of the homeless people
\nand street vendors, who were grouping in the market that night.
\nMany of them ran quickly into small alleys in the market when the
\nteam stepped out of their cars.<\/p>\n
\"Kamtib! Kamtib!\" some of them yelled, referring to the City
\nPublic Order Agency personnel, who usually net beggars, homeless,
\nstreet vendors and prostitutes for alleged violation of city
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
While many of their neighbors had already disappeared, some of
\nthe market's inhabitants, who were still lying asleep on plastic
\nsheets and cardboard on the roadside, were awakened by the
\nenumerators.<\/p>\n
\"Don't be afraid, we only want to collect data for the
\nnational census,\" one of the officials said to a couple who just
\nawoke and looked confused to see so many people surrounding them.<\/p>\n
Data recording is part of the bureau's decadal national
\npopulation census, which began on June 1.<\/p>\n
The official then asked the couple's names before telling them
\nto go back to sleep.<\/p>\n
The team then moved to other people who were sleeping next to
\nthe couple. A man who had just awoke was about to run away when
\nthe enumerators grabbed his hand and told him that they were not
\nfrom the City Public Order Agency.<\/p>\n
East Jakarta Mayor Andi Mappaganti, who also took part in the
\nnight survey, then took over the questioning. Like the other team
\nmembers, he only asked the man's name.<\/p>\n
When asked about the seemingly inadequate data collected, as
\nthe night survey excluded key questions, including the
\ncorrespondent's age, BPS chairwoman Sudarti Surbakti said in
\ndefense that it had been held in accordance with the bureau's
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
\"The homeless always move from one place to another so that
\nthey cannot be put into a target group (of the census),\" Sudarti
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Comprehensive data<\/p>\n
The bureau earlier announced that the results of the census
\nwould consist of complete and detailed data on population
\ndistribution according to age, residence, marital status,
\ncitizenship, education, mortality and fertility rates, as well as
\nreligion, ethnicity and gender.<\/p>\n
The bureau also promised to provide more comprehensive data on
\nthe poor so that the information could then be used in the
\ndistribution of packages included in government-sponsored social
\nsafety net programs.<\/p>\n
Head of BPS' Jakarta office Masni Rani said the night survey
\nwas only aimed at the homeless, but not at the market's other
\noccupants, such as the street vendors, who stay at their own or
\nrented houses and whose data was collected at their respective
\nresidences.<\/p>\n
However, the Friday night census did not ask whether a
\ncorrespondent was a homeless person or a street vendor just
\nspending a night in the market.<\/p>\n
\"We have a local as a guide who tells us which people are
\nhomeless,\" Masni argued.<\/p>\n
The Friday night survey lasted for about 30 minutes and
\nsucceeded to gather data on 16 names.<\/p>\n
\"I collected them myself,\" mayor Andi said to reporters.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of homeless people, who mostly make a living by
\ncollecting plastic stuff and cardboard, can be spotted at the
\nmarket everyday.<\/p>\n
Two homeless people at the market, Ramdani and Wartini, who
\nclaimed to have come from Semarang, told the Post that they made
\nabout Rp 10,000 a day each.<\/p>\n
Ramdani, who is in his forties, said he had been living with
\nWartini as a couple but they were never married.<\/p>\n
\"We met five years ago at Cipayung (East Jakarta) and we've
\nbeen moving around since,\" Ramdani said. (08)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/team-of-census-officials-scare-homeless-people-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}