Exodus in a gloomy time

The country may have been hit by crisis but for the majority of our people the show must go on. The hectic days have arrived when people elbow their way into overcrowded buses, trains, cars or any other means of transportation available to return to their family village in time to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday.

This annual exodus from our larger cities is a part of our culture and makes the celebration of the Moslem post-fasting festival look much more monumental compared to that of other Moslem countries.

Three million people journeyed out to the provinces last year from Jakarta alone, while the government estimates that as many as 3.5 million may exit the city this year. Most travel to parts of Java or cross the Sunda Strait to Sumatra to celebrate Idul Fitri.

The hardships and inconveniences these people endure during their trip to the rural areas of the country might sound unbelievable to newcomers in Indonesia, but for our people the love for their family is above any sacrifice.

It is important to try to celebrate all of Idul Fitri, which is called Lebaran here, with the family because it is a time for people to ask their parents and elders for forgiveness and pay their respects to their ancestors by visiting their graves.

Their stay in their village is also marked by the joy of telling their relatives how much better off they are following their struggles to make ends meet in the urban jungle. To show their success, they also present relatives with luxury electronic products.

With this expression of love and the virtue of forgiveness, the sentimental journey caps people's spiritual cleansing experiences, which they started at the beginning of the Ramadhan fasting month. And after spending special days with their family, they always expect to return to their urban home with renewed strength and a sense of relief.

But not this year.

The current financial crisis has victimized regular Indonesians the most. Unskilled workers and street vendors find it difficult to see what the future holds for them, though they know it will be bleak.

Their homecoming this time will be marked with a discernibly decreased ability to spend much money during their visit and an absence of generous gift-giving since many have recently lost their jobs. Some of the luckier among them have been allowed by their employers to take a holiday until April, but with no guarantee for better days afterward.

However bleak their future, many are still determined to encourage relatives to leave their village and accompany them back to the city to find employment. At least, they think, the shinier urban centers promise better living conditions than many rural areas which have been devastated by the long drought. Many people living in rural areas are not only experiencing food shortages, but are also finding it difficult to get drinking water.

With increasing problems foreseen as a result of a zero economic growth, 20 percent inflation and increasing hunger and unemployment, the inflow of newcomers to Jakarta will undoubtedly worsen the already fearsome social problems experienced in the capital.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief, after hearing details of the Jan. 6 draft budget which projected a 4 percent growth, said that this country would soon have 6.5 million unemployed people. One can only imagine the impact of a zero growth economy.