Crisis a bar to annual family reunions

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Like most migrants, Sumirah, a traditional herbal medicine vendor, dreamed of going home for the Idul Fitri holiday this year.

In previous years, a number of herbal medicine and cosmetic companies provided free Idul Fitri transportation for hundreds of herbal medicine vendors and their families in Jakarta.

But suddenly Sumirah's dream was shattered. The herbal company which used to supply her with free travel recently announced it would not be able to continue the tradition because of financial difficulties.

"We, the poor herbal vendors, are really disappointed. Everybody is suffering during this krismon (monetary crisis), including that big company," said Sumirah, a single mother of three.

Working as a traditional herbal medicine seller, Sumirah does not enough money to bring up her daughters as she sees fit.

"I earn between Rp 15,000 to Rp 20,000 a day. These days such an amount of money really means nothing because of the soaring prices of all basic needs," Sumirah said in her rented house in Ciracas, East Jakarta.

In the past, she could save a small amount of money to buy new clothes for her teenage daughters when they successfully completed their fasting and finished reading the Koran during the holy month of Ramadhan.

"The new clothes were just gifts to motivate them to always do good deeds, especially during the fasting month. Now, I don't have anything for them," Sumirah said.

The ongoing economic crisis has made the lives of people like Sumirah miserable, especially in the capital city of Jakarta where the cost of living is very high.

"I previously planned to leave Jakarta permanently and start a new life in my village after Idul Fitri, but how can I possibly buy four bus tickets for me and the kids?" Sumirah muttered.

Even though she would not be any richer at home, she is sure she could rely on close relatives and friends in the village in times of hardship.

"How sad it is living far away from our families, especially during Idul Fitri holiday. Here in Jakarta we live like strangers. I know only a few people, most of whom come from other villages in Central Java," she noted.

In most villages, people, regardless of their social status, are very happy celebrating Idul Fitri. "Villagers in my hometown are usually willing to help the poorer groups in the community by sending food, cakes and even good secondhand clothes for us," she said.

Every household warmly welcomes guests and serves various traditional Idul Fitri meals. Children get money and candy whenever they visit better-off villagers.

"I have no idea how to tell my kids that we will not have any Idul Fitri meals in Jakarta. Or that they won't be going anywhere because they have neither friends nor relatives here," she said.

Sugiono, a taxi driver from Tegal, Central Jakarta, has a similarly sad story.

"People are now reluctant to take taxis because of krismon and because of the negative attitude of a small number of irresponsible drivers," Sugiono explained, referring to reports of robberies involving taxi drivers.

At this time of the year, taxi drivers usually pick up many passengers at downtown shopping centers and malls.

"Now, sometimes I only manage to pick up five to 10 fares a day. I can't even pay for the gasoline," he said.

With such a meager income, it has become impossible for him to visit his family during Idul Fitri festivities. "I've sent a package of Khong Guan biscuits, a bottle of syrup, candy and cheap, new clothes for my wife and my toddler," he explained.

He said he decided to stay in Jakarta in the hope of earning more money during the holiday. "Even though living in Jakarta is very tough, I still prefer to work here. You cannot do anything in my home village. This year's harvest was completely destroyed by flood. All the farmers cried," Sugiono said.

Sugiono hopes that someday his company can provide free Idul Fitri transportation to its employees.

"Noodle vendors in Jakarta are lucky this year. They can go home using safe and comfortable buses provided by the Indomie producer," he added.

Knowing the importance of celebrating Idul Fitri with relatives at home, a number of large companies including PT Indofood and PT Unilever Indonesia have prepared free Idul Fitri accommodation for the needy.

Apart from financial causes, many people have chosen to celebrate Idul Fitri in Jakarta for security reasons.

Irmayanti, a resident of Bintaro housing complex in South Jakarta, said that it would be risky to leave her home unoccupied.

"The rising trend of crime has made us so frightened. My housing complex is usually empty during Idul Fitri because almost everybody leaves town," Irmayanti said.

The number of thefts and burglaries are increasing in many of Jakarta's housing complexes, especially in upmarket ones.

With about 1.4 million Jakartans expected to leave the city ahead of this year's Idul Fitri holiday, there will be many empty houses. This could attract burglars.

Norman Sasono, a resident of Kemang Pratama housing complex in Bekasi, hit on a practical idea to celebrate Idul Fitri without reducing its meaning.

He said he picked up his parents a month ago from Surabaya so that they could celebrate Idul Fitri with their children in Jakarta.

"My brothers and sisters are now married and most of them work in Jakarta. This year, we begged our parents to spend the holiday here," Norman said.

Traveling to the eastern part of Java island could be risky for young families with small children, he said.

"We can still celebrate Idul Fitri with our parents and that is the most important thing for us, to have their blessings," he said.