'Life's been tougher since Soeharto's downfall'

With an image of offering endless opportunities, Jakarta has lured many people here over the years to try out their luck. But soon after they get a taste of the real hustle and bustle of the capital, a lot of them realize that the city is not everything they expected it to be. The Jakarta Post talked to several residents ahead of the city's 476th anniversary.

Martono, 55, is a street sweeper who cleans Jl. Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta. He lives near Jl. Juanda, Central Jakarta, with his wife and four children:

I came to Jakarta 30 years ago from my hometown in Pemalang, Central Java.

Jakarta with its rapid development seemed the right place to get a job as a construction worker.

There were so many jobs and competition was not that tough. The real value of the rupiah helped poor people at that time.

It is true that everyone could make a living and enjoyed working when former president Soeharto was in power. I was very happy to be able to get by in life.

I even worked as a becak (pedicab) driver. Driving a becak was a very lucrative job in those times.

But time went by and life became harder, particularly after Soeharto stepped down. From that point on, the city became a worse place to be.

There are no longer any free parcels of land for poor people in the city, and the streets are clogged every day with a large number of vehicles.

It's getting harder to survive, too. I have to live with the fact that two of my children have to work like me now.

I'm fed up with city life, but what would I do if I left my home here? My fate could be even worse if I went home.

So, like it or not, I have to stay here to eke out a living.

Yadi, 30, is a pushcart vendor selling meatball soup in South Jakarta. He lives in Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta, with his wife and daughter:

I have been living in the city for almost 20 years. Jakarta was quite a friendly place at that time.

I could find work and get by in life relatively easily. Even though I earned less back then, I could buy more things. Nowadays, Rp 50,000 is nothing.

Jakarta is not as friendly as it was several years ago. It's unsafe, there are less open spaces and more traffic congestion.

I promised that one day I would go back to my hometown in Yogyakarta, but I have to stay here now, otherwise I won't be able to feed my family.

I should never have taken my life back then for granted, because now I no longer have any choices, and things just keep getting worse.

Nadiar, 53, has been a taxi driver for almost 10 years. He lives in Klender, East Jakarta, with his wife and five children:

Thirty years ago I thought that Jakarta was the only place for migrants like me, due to the great opportunities here.

I was motivated to move to the city since the people from my hometown in West Sumatra tend to treat with respect those who venture outside the village to explore the world.

Generally speaking, the state of the city has improved a lot.

But corrupt high-ranking officials and security authorities, as well as people with low morals seem to have made life in the city much worse.

Needless to say, the economic crisis really hit us low-income earners hard.

I am disappointed with our family's financial situation. It never seems to change, and I have made no significant improvements so far.

The same thing happens every time the city celebrates its anniversary. The parties seem to be only a repetition of something which has lost its value. They mean nothing.

I have got to do my best in order to survive. My parents were the ones who taught me how to get by despite financial hardships in life.

-- Leo Wahyudi S