Beggars have tough time at Ramadhan

Beggars have tough time at Ramadhan

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Contrary to the assumption that beggars receive more charity
during the Ramadhan fasting month when people are more generous,
several beggars and street singers in the capital claimed to face
tougher days due to intensified raids by the city public order
agency.

"On most days I can get more than Rp 20,000 per day, but now
it's hard," Mak Ei, a beggar at Karet intersection, Central
Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post while resting under the flyover
construction.

Uum, 16, added that they are forbidden to ask for money from
motorists driving from the intersection leading to the Shangri-la
Hotel because the public order officers have proclaimed the area
as a beggar-free zone.

"Previously, I could bring at least Rp 500,000 back home to
Sidoarjo, East Java. Now we can only work a few hours each night,
so I don't know if I can collect enough money to celebrate Idul
Fitri this year," said Uum, who has been living in the area for
the last eight years.

She added that together with her husband, a street singer,
they could make up to Rp 30,000 per day.

Since the first day of Ramadhan on Nov. 6, public order
officers, under a special task force established by Governor
Sutiyoso, raided beggars, the homeless, street singers, and
street car washers in a bid to uphold order in the capital.

They also raided 3-in-1 jockeys, those people who offer
themselves as additional passengers for private cars to travel
along certain roads, like Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin in Central
Jakarta, between the 6-10 a.m. rush hour.

The raids and the shortened working hours may be the main
causes of the beggars' income loss, despite their high
expectations that people would be more generous during Ramadhan.
To compound the problem, the influx of seasonal beggars from
outer Jakarta -- the administration has estimated an additional
3,000 beggars -- has heightened competition.

Although Mak Ei and Uum can shift their operations to areas
nearby, they are reluctant to "disturb others who usually operate
in that area".

Besides, at least six public order officers guard each city
zone, such as at the Cawang intersection in East Jakarta and
Slipi in West Jakarta, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Baden Bazrun, one of the officers guarding the Karet
intersection, said the officers are on duty for 24 hours although
most left their posts around 9 p.m.

"If we catch (beggars) red-handed, we will send them straight
to Kedoya, where the office of social affairs will provide them
skills training for home businesses before sending them back to
their hometowns," he told the Post.

Kedoya is an area in West Jakarta where rehabilitation center
Bina Karya Bangun Daya 02 is located. The center focuses on
sheltering beggars, the homeless and commercial sexual workers.

Encing, a street singer under the Slipi flyover, said three of
his friends who used to operate in the area had been taken to
Kedoya. The center, he said, requires Rp 250,000 per person for
bail.

"Business is bad now. I can only operate freely for a few
hours late in the evening, and have to be fully alert during the
day," he said.