Bantar Gebang scavengers in tight spot

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Scavengers at Bantar Gebang dump, Bekasi, are finding the pickings there very slim as the battle continues between the local administration and residents, who want the dump closed.

"We will have to wait about a week until we know for certain about this dump; whether it will be closed or remain open," Muhidin, 32, who has been a scavenger for almost five years, told The Jakarta Post.

The situation has been highly uncertain for the scavengers, with the on-and-off plans by the Bekasi municipality to close down the dump. On Jan. 1, the municipality decided to let Jakarta continue to use the site to dump its 6,000 of daily waste.

In response, residents blocked garbage trucks from approaching the Pangkalan Lima entrance on Friday.

Muhidin said many of his fellows had left for their hometowns in Indramayu, West Java, because of the uncertainty, as no "fresh" garbage had arrived in three days.

Life is already hard for scavengers, who earn only about Rp 200,000 (US$23.50) in two weeks. Muhidin said he and his wife usually collected 15 kilograms of trash every day, which is worth Rp 600 per kilogram.

Now, they are only sorting through leftover trash, he said.

Muhidin and his wife, Nurhikmah, 28, along with their three daughters aged 10, eight and four, have decided to stay "until we hear of the fixed decision ... besides, my children go to school here".

The girls are studying at a school supported by a foundation run by the humanist twin sisters, known as Ibu Kembar, affectionately known as the Twin Ladies, who pay the tuition.

Muhidin, who formerly ran a food stall in Cibitung, Bekasi, decided to become a scavenger because of a friend's account.

"My friend said that, as a scavenger, I could make better money," he said. If Bantar Gebang dump was closed, Muhidin has decided to return to Indramayu and work as a contract laborer.