A day in the life of Samsuri, a busker

A day in the life of Samsuri, a busker

Samsuri is just a seven-year-old boy but he has already
experienced a great deal of hardship in the city. The fourth of
five children of a poor single mother he is one of the family's
bread winners. He sings along with his younger brother Jois, and
plays the ukulele on the bus plying the short straight roads of
Jl. Imam Bonjol and Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta. The boy,
who lives in Tangerang, talked to The Jakarta Post's reporter Ida
Indawati Khouw.

JAKARTA (JP): "The only way to get what I want is by earning
money myself because my mother could never afford it. That's why
I spend most of my time singing in public buses in addition to
going to school.

Like other children, after I wake up at 6 a.m. I go to school.
It starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 10 a.m. I am now in the second
grade of a state elementary school in Tangerang, (about 40
kilometers west of Jakarta).

I usually start working at 11 a.m. If I have homework, my
mother will give me some time to do it first. I will take a bus
towards a bus stop at Jl. Imam Bonjol from my house in Tangerang,
accompanied by my mother and my younger brother Jois.

My mother watches me when I work, sometimes following me and
sits at the very back part of a bus where I am singing, or just
waits at a bus stop on Jl. Imam Bonjol or in the Megaria area (on
Jl. Diponegoro). This is my route everyday. I am certain that I
will always meet my mother at one of these two bus stops, because
I only sing on the bus when it travels along Jl. Imam Bonjol and
Jl. Diponegoro.

That way we won't get lost. Even Jois has become familiar with
the area although he is just five years old.

Jois accompanies me by singing, because I concentrate more on
playing the ukulele (small guitar with four strings).

Mother said that I should earn my own money if I want
something because she is too poor to buy things.

(His mother Umi said that she never forces her children to
help her earn money even though her income as a vegetable vendor
is not enough. She even said that she doesn't mind if Samsuri
occasionally doesn't like working. But her friend Ugah told The
Jakarta Post that Umi is actually jobless and she relies on her
children as the breadwinner).

(Umi said that sometimes the children don't work effectively
as they like to sit around for a while, sometimes for an hour
after getting off a bus, instead of directly hopping into another
passing bus)

Mother said that we can't survive if I don't make money myself
as I have no father. She said that father had died.

(Umi said separately that Samsuri's father is married to
another woman, 'he is a playboy,' she said.)

I forget the time when I started becoming a street singer, I
first followed my older sister (who is also a street singer), and
helped her to collect money from bus passengers. Months ago my
mother told me to work by myself while guiding Jois.

Jois now does what I did in the past, collecting money from
bus passengers. We can earn about Rp 15,000 a day. Mother said
that the money is needed to finance my studies and additional
needs, that's why everyday I immediately pass the money on to her
and she buys things for me and Jois.

My seniors said that I should learn adult songs instead of
children's songs to attract more attention. So far I have
mastered (an English song) Carol (he means Oh Carol) and Sengaja
Aku.. (the first words of a song titled Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan,
Along the Road of Memory).

The way Samsuri dresses is just like a young adult - he wears
a baseball cap backwards and wears boots - and sings adult songs.
Passengers always smile every time the kid and his brother sing
Oh Carol because they sing confidently even though their
pronunciation of English is far from good, and the music is too
high for their voices. However, unlike many other street children
singers who just clap their hands and mumble some unclear lyrics,
Samsuri is indeed 'talented' as he plays the music instrument
well and has a nice voice. Many passengers give the brothers a Rp
500 note, instead of the usual Rp 100.)

My ukulele teacher said that I played quite well, so I just
followed what my teacher did when he showed me how to play the
musical instrument and I found it quite easy. After practising
for about one month I was able to play it.

(Samsuri is also quite a clever boy - he is now among the top
three in his class, his mother said.)

I don't remember how many buses I take in one day but I
usually get a rest after 4 p.m. and I spend it by just sitting
around or playing with other street singers at the Imam Bonjol
bus stop.

Usually I reach home at 8 p.m. but I don't go directly to bed
because I first enjoy sinetron (local soap operas) on TV. I go to
sleep only after 11 p.m.

I want to become a president, it seems that (the position) is
enjoyable. A president can travel everywhere by car because I've
seen it many times. (What Samsuri saw regularly must be the
convoy of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose official
house is on Jl. Diponegoro)."