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.