Porters the backbone of Sunda Kelapa Port

Porters the backbone of Sunda Kelapa Port

By Muninggar Sri Saraswati

JAKARTA (JP): It is morning and the Sunda Kelapa Port in North
Jakarta is busy. Several cargo ships are docked and dozens of
porters are waiting nearby, enjoying this brief moment of rest.
When a truck arrives, they rush to the vehicle. Minutes later,
they are busy hauling goods to a ship.

It is a daily scene at the port. Some porters carry goods from
a truck to a ship, while others haul goods from a ship to a
truck.

The porters are essential to the operation of the port, and
without their backbreaking labor business would grind to a halt.

One of the porters is the 35-year-old Arifin, a native of West
Nusa Tenggara. Physically, he is not what one would expect from
someone who earns a living with his muscles. Arifin is a thin
man, with skin darkened by the sun and a tired face. But he is
strong enough to lift hundreds of kilograms of goods on his back.

He has been a porter for more than four years. Before this, he
was a crewman on a ship, but he quit because he could not stand
being away from his family for months at a time.

"I can make enough money for my family from this job," Arifin
remarked, saying he earned as much as Rp 30,000 (US$3) a day and
usually worked five days a week.

Each working day, along with some 30 other porters, he loads
or unloads at least two big trucks. The porters mostly handle
cement, logs and staple foods, though sometimes they also move
imported motorcycles.

In his years as a porter, Arifin, a father of three, has never
had an accident.

He realizes the risks of his job, but he believes all jobs
have their own dangers.

Asked how he maintained his strength and stayed healthy, he
remarked: "I stay healthy by eating a lot. Lifting heavy items is
also exercise, right?"

Another porter, Parlindungan, 21, was quick to admit that the
work was hard, though he said he was happy to have the job.

While Arifin is an elementary school graduate, Parlindungan,
who has been working as a porter for over six months, graduated
from high school in Porsea, North Sumatra.

He struck out for Jakarta right after Christmas two years ago.
He spent almost a year looking for work to no avail. When a
friend offered him work as a porter, he jumped at the chance.

"At first, (each day) I could only lift several bags of
cement, which weighed 50 kilograms each. It felt like my body was
shattering. But I can manage it now," he said.

He now moves at least 50 bags of cement a day, and is happy to
earn Rp 30,000 for his labor.

Parlindungan said he was still looking for a better job and
was confident that sooner or later something would come up.

Jhoni, one of dozens of foremen at the port, said each foreman
was responsible for about 100 porters. He said the work was well
organized to avoid any conflict between the porters.

The foreman acknowledged that working as a porter was risky,
considering that an accident could happen at any time.

When a porter is injured, his colleagues never fail to rally
around him, especially in helping him and his family out with
money.

A staff member with the Sunda Kelapa Port Administration,
Mohammad Ali, said there were about 2,000 porters loading and
unloading the five to 10 cargo ships that docked at the port
every day.

The ships come from as far away as Kalimantan and Sumatra,
delivering lumber, kaolin and other items to the port, while
ships from Jakarta are loaded with cement, vehicles and daily
goods for delivery to the regions.

Sunda Kelapa Port has a rich history, and played a central
role in the development of the city. At one time, the port was
one of the biggest business centers in the world, visited by
ships from all parts of the archipelago, as well as from China,
Vietnam, Thailand, India and a number of Middle Eastern and
European countries.

Though its glory days may be behind it, the port continues to
play an important role in the movement of goods around Indonesia,
a role that would be impossible without the hard work of the
porters.