Poor count few blessings during Idul Fitri holiday
JAKARTA (JP): A distinct mood prevailed during Idul Fitri in the fishing hamlet of Marunda, North Jakarta, one of the poorest subdistricts in the capital.
Children did not set off any firecrackers during the takbiran (recitation of Allah is Great) evening on Friday since it is too expensive for the 1,500 families of the neighborhood.
Almost none of the villagers joined the annual Idul Fitri exodus in traveling back to their respective hometowns to celebrate post-Ramadhan Idul Fitri with their families.
The bus tickets were expensive for many Jakartans. But for locals in Marunda, the bus fares were a luxury.
Unlike many other children in Jakarta, children from Marunda were not taken by parents to popular entertainment parks, which were crowded during the Idul Fitri holidays on Saturday and Sunday.
Children from Marunda played around their neighborhood.
People in the area celebrated simply by performing the Idul Fitri morning prayer on Saturday and later visiting neighbors.
But most adults and children wore new clothes, shoes or sandals during the holiday. Inexpensive cake could be seen at almost every house in the area.
Scores of locals were seen walking in groups to visit their neighbors after the prayer on Saturday at the sole tiny mosque in the area, the Al Alam mosque.
They passed through narrow and muddy pathways, which spoiled their new clothing and footwear. Others had to carry their shoes or sandals in their hands and walk barefoot.
"Visiting other areas would cost a lot because transportation is too expensive here," a 29-year-old housewife, Lina, said.
Lina said one spends at least Rp 5,000 (U.S. 70 cents) to reach the nearby center of Tanjung Priok by either a perahu (boat) or ojek (motorcycle taxi), the only available transportation in the area.
Such an amount might seem small for most Jakartans, but for Lina, a mother of two, and for most of her neighbors whose family income is about Rp 10,000 to Rp 15,000 per day, it is a large amount.
No entertainment
That is why, unlike other city residents, people from Marunda rarely go to popular entertainment spots, such as the nearby Ancol Dreamland or Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta on public holidays.
People from Marunda mostly work as fishermen and casual workers at the nearby Marunda bonded zone.
Asdi Ramli, a caretaker of the Al Alam mosque, said almost 70 percent of the families in the area were living below the poverty line.
"Some can't even pay zakat fitrah (tithes in the form of rice or money paid by Muslims before the end of Ramadhan)," he said.
This year, tithers at the mosque collected some 100 kilograms of rice and Rp 50,000 in cash from local Muslims, Asdi said.
Some families, however, acknowledged spending a large part of their savings on new clothing.
Nani, 40, a mother of seven, for example, spent all of her family's savings of Rp 500,000 on new clothes for her children, meals and cake for Idul Fitri.
"We have no more savings but that's okay because it's to please my children," Nani, who allowed The Jakarta Post to join her in their visit with neighbors, said.
She said the savings were collected from the salaries of her husband and their two daughters.
Muslims are suggested to dress neatly during Idul Fitri.
Mohamad Syachrul, whose modest home is located above a fish pond, said that he bought a Muslim dress worth Rp 110,000 for his wife.
"Lebaran is a special day, so buying something more expensive than usual is okay," said the caretaker of a mosque in the Marunda area. He earns Rp 200,000 per month.
But other families, like Tugiran, 65, a food kiosk owner, did not want to force himself to have something special during the holiday. He just wore clothes given by other people.
"I got this new outfit from the agents of distributors where I used to buy goods for my kiosk," he said. (ind)