Karangrejek village home to beggars

Karangrejek village home to beggars

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Bantul, Yogyakarta

Karangrejek hamlet on the foot of the barren hills of
Karangtengah village, some four kilometers south of the renowned
Imogiri Royal Cemetery, certainly deserves its nickname as a
"beggar" village.

Although most of the villagers have switched "profession" to
become pemulung (scavengers) or manual laborers, they only
perform their new jobs from Monday to Thursday. On Fridays to
Sundays they return to their old work as beggars.

"There are two reasons why they become beggars: poverty and
laziness," the head of the hamlet Basuki, 36, told The Jakarta
Post recently.

Karangrejek, according to Basuki, has no paddy fields. What it
has is just dry land of little agricultural use. To work in
cities, meanwhile, villagers cannot compete as most of them never
attended high school.

The old Javanese philosophy of mangan ora mangan kumpul --
staying together is important even if there is no food -- is
still very strong among Karangrejek villagers, making them
reluctant to become migrant workers in big cities and preferring
to remain beggars.

They usually leave the village in groups in the morning by
bus, heading to the provincial capital of Yogyakarta to beg for
money. On leaving they look neat, just like office employees, and
only change into their "beggar clothes" when they arrive in the
city.

In the afternoon, at about 4 p.m., they change back into their
good clothes and make their way home. By this time they have
usually collected some Rp 15,000 to Rp 20,000 for the day.

"If you work as a scavenger, you'll only get about Rp 12,500 a
day," said Basuki, explaining why most Karangrejek villagers,
including those who were no longer poor, could not just leave the
old occupation behind.

He was referring to families whose physical appearance is
considered relatively wealthy by local standards. For example,
many have their own permanent houses, television sets and they
even own cattle. Some even have a motorcycle.

Still, Basuki expresses relief that the number of families in
his hamlet who are full-time beggars has been decreasing. Of the
hamlet's 203 families, presently only seven -- or some 15 people
-- are still full-time beggars. Others are just part-timers, who
work as beggars only on Friday and Sunday.

This situation, according to senior villager Marto Redjo, 93,
who claims to be the pioneer of the 'profession' in the village,
is completely different compared to that a few years ago.

"At that time, almost all the villagers here were beggars.
Only a handful of us were not," said Marto Redjo, who said he
started as a beggar some 30 years ago.

Speaking to The Post, Marto Redjo said that he himself never
imagined that he would support his family by becoming a beggar.

"I've tried many things, including selling clothes, food, and
livestock, before living as a beggar, but all ended in failure,"
he recalled.

So, driven by economic necessity, he became a beggar. He
started in Pakuncen, Yogyakarta. He left home at 9 a.m. and went
home at 4 p.m. with some Rp 100 in his pocket.

"But at that time you could buy two kilograms of rice with Rp
50," he added.

What Marto Redjo did eventually inspired other villagers in
Karangrejek to do the same. One by one, they joined in, such that
the village later on was nicknamed the village of beggars.

The head of the hamlet said that Karangrejek's dubious
nickname was foisted upon it in 1980 following a program
conducted by the Bantul regency government for some 60 beggars
and scavengers.

The program was widely covered by the mass media, putting a
spotlight on the village. Many locals who worked as beggars were
also interviewed by the media.

"Thanks to the coverage, most beggars in Yogyakarta would
answer that they were from Karangrejek if anyone asked them where
they came from, regardless of whether they were from there or
not," Basuki explained.

Basuki expressed the hope that someday the nickname would be
forgotten as people in his hamlet became wealthier and no were
longer attracted to the beggar's lifestyle.

"I admit, it was me who pioneered the job here, but I never
encouraged others to follow what I did to make a living. They do
so because they want to do so. It's their own choice," said
Marto.

Once, he said, some 30 beggars from Karangrejek were caught
during a raid by law and order officials of the local government.
They were then gathered together and lectured to leave their
profession. They were provided with a small amount of capital to
start their own business in order to make a living.

"I chose to sell emping melinjo (crackers made of Gnetum
gnemon) but it didn't work. I couldn't sell. Besides, because my
children were hungry they ate up the emping so that none was left
to sell," Marto said.

Marto and his 90-year old wife Salimah presently still work as
beggars. But, due to their advanced age, they no longer do so
every day. Only when they run out of food.

"We just don't feel comfortable asking for help from our
children while we are still capable of getting money for
ourselves," Marto said.