Evictions threaten vendors' lives

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"I sell vegetables for a living," Azizah, a 70-year-old vegetable vendor explained. The vendor displays her goods on two sheets of plastic on the sidewalk of Jl. Garuda, in front of the traditional market in Senen, Central Jakarta.

Azizah told The Jakarta Post that most of the time she only made enough money to buy herself lunch and dinner.

Another vegetable vendor, Tarono, 51, who has run his little business on the same sidewalk for 13 years, said that business is always good, as his spot is easy for pedestrians to reach.

Azizah and Tarono are among the many vendors who cannot afford to rent a space inside the market, run by city market operator PD Pasar Jaya. A 1996 gubernatorial decree stipulates that the monthly rental fee per square meter at the market is Rp 52,500 (US$6.2).

"We are only small-scale vendors," said Minto, who purchases vegetables from a wholesaler for just Rp 30,000.

The vendors realize that they could be evicted by public order officers at any time.

"We got a warning on Nov. 23 from the Senen district administration, which said we would be evicted," said Tarno. But, so far, no action has been taken.

Yumen, 26, a teacher at a senior high school on Jl. Garuda, Senen, who usually walks to work, complained about the vendors, "Their stalls take up the whole sidewalk", he said.

PD Pasar Jaya spokesman Norman Aid Permana said the management was sympathetic to the vendors' situation.

"They may open stalls on the staircases and in corridors and pay only Rp 1,000 per day for the privilege," he said.