Floodwaters trigger fear of widespread poverty crisis

Damar Harsanto and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many flood victims have been left homeless, jobless, sick and penniless as a result of the recent floods. Some have returned home, while others are still staying in inadequate makeshift shelters.

Kuswanto, a resident of Kampung Melayu, has left the evacuation camp. A street vendor who sold mechanics' tools in front of Jatinegara railway station, Kuswanto says he lost all his goods during the disaster.

"I have nothing left. I don't have a penny to reestablish my business," he told The Jakarta Post his eyes brimming with tears.

Before the flood hit his neighborhood, he had just spent Rp 200,000 to buy some goods to be sold on the street.

To feed his wife and two children, Kuswanto now acts as an unofficial traffic warden who "directs" traffic for a tip.

As a vendor, he got Rp 15,000 a day, now he can only earn between Rp 5,000 to 7,500.

Being out of pocket is not the only problem facing many flood victims.

Hundreds of evacuees were seen on Saturday cramped in tattered tents alongside Jl. Jatinegara Barat, East Jakarta, next to a pile of garbage exposed to rain and wind. In Manggarai subdistrict, South Jakarta, the victims took shelter in schools and open shelters.

"I am suffering from diarrhea right now, while my two children have a fever," said Amran, a resident of Kalibata subdistrict in South Jakarta, adding that they had taken medicine.

Irwanto, a sociologist of the Center for Societal Development Studies at Atma Jaya University here, warned that the recent calamities could further impoverish those people who had been burdened by the country's economic crisis.

"Those who are between the lower income to middle income bracket are those who have felt the impact of the massive floods as they've lost their source of livelihood," Irwanto said.

As they are living in squalid conditions, Irwanto said, they could easily fall sick, which prevents them from working. They are in dire need of an income.

Irwanto said such a difficult situation could prompt the parents to send their children out to work.

"Besides a massive number of unemployed people, there will be a huge number of jobless young people who are unable to attain a high level of education as they have quit school," he said.

"That will be a trigger for protracted poverty as the chain of poverty grows longer and becomes unbreakable," Irwanto said.