Dodon ferries passengers for a living

By Johannes Simbolon

JAKARTA (JP): The little boy was rowing his sampan across the Cisadane river in Kali Pasir village, Tangerang, West Java.

He seemed to be a strong and healthy boy and did not appear even a little tired after paddling for about a half an hour. He was too young to be muscular.

Plenty of household waste was floating along the edge of the river, where some villagers were washing clothes and bathing. The men, wearing only pants, and women in sarongs bathed together. Some of the women's breasts were visible. They seemed to feel no embarrassment in each others' company.

Nearby were toilet stalls on stilts, where people were defecating. Excrement from the toilets dropped into the river.

We were perturbed by the view, but the boy was not. It was his world, something he sees every day.

He focused his attention on his rowing and only looked towards the riverbank when he heard his friends calling and clapping their hands.

"Dodon! Dodon! Anak Seribu Pulau (Children of One Thousand Islands)," they shouted.

Anak Seribu Pulau is a popular TV series about the lives of children across the archipelago being broadcast every Sunday by both state and private TV stations.

Dodon is not in the series. Perhaps he thought we were going to put him in it.

Anyway, he looked proud of being interviewed and photographed by The Jakarta Post.

It was not easy interviewing him. He first refused to take the Post in his sampan upon seeing our photographic equipment. He even shyly tried to run away. Yet, after being persuaded by dozens of adults, he agreed to go provided that his sister, Dewi, a primary school sixth grader, came along.

Then we stepped into his sampan and went upstream.

We gathered very little information from him. He mostly smiled in response to our questions.

Dodon, whose real name is Ramdan, is in second grade at the village primary school. His mother, Siti Rohmah, said that because Dodon had a reading problem, he took two years to get through first grade.

Siti Rohmah sells coffee and noodles, while her husband, Mi'san, is jobless.

Dodon does not know his age, when his birthday is, or what his dreams for the future are. What makes him rather special among his peers is that he is one of only two children in the village who dare to row a sampan on the river. The other child is Dewi, his elder sister.

People were reportedly afraid when Dodon first piloted the family-owned sampan a year ago. Today, the fear has disappeared since passengers have always been safely carried across the 50- meter-wide river.

The cost for each passenger is Rp 300. Dodon can reportedly earn Rp 2,500 a day, Dewi about Rp 1,500. The difference in their earnings is because Dodon is more diligent in operating the sampan. His diligence is understandable since, unlike Dewi who always delivers her earnings to their parents, Dodon mostly keeps his for himself.

"I buy ice cream," he smiled shyly.

When it is not being used, the sampan is tied up and padlocked to a wooden pole on the riverbank near their house. The key is kept at home, on a nail high on the wall. Their ailing grandfather, Buncu, 75, who lives with them is responsible for the key and neither child is allowed to take it without his permission.

Dewi always follows the rules, but Dodon does not. He knows how to take the key without his grandfather knowing.

"I am often surprised at seeing the key is missing. Then I look out and see Dodon taking passengers across the river," he said.

Buncu does not get angry with his grandson. After all, he is proud that the little boy, unlike many children in the village, is not afraid of the river. He only gets mad when Dodon is unwilling to share his income with him.

"He sometimes lies to me, saying he didn't have any passengers. We argue. Then, he gives me half of his income," recalled Buncu, smiling.

We handed him a sum of money for the half-hour trip on the river and his eyes lit up.

We also promised to give him newspapers containing the article about him. We don't know if the article will make him proud. His mother told us that, aside from taking passengers by boat, he also earns extra pocket money by selling used newspapers to mosquegoers on Fridays.

Maybe, he will also sell our papers.