Satay sellers hardly have time to whine about life

Satay sellers hardly have time to whine about life

Text and photos by Imanuddin

JAKARTA (JP): Dear Mom, I'm settling down in Jakarta. During
the day I sit and swivel my feet and at night I sit and enjoy the
fan. I couldn't ask for more ...

This is a well-known joke among people from West Sumatra about
a young man who migrated to Jakarta to make ends meet. He sounds
like he's having the time of his life. But the young man was
describing his profession as a tailor (swivel the feet to get the
sewing machine going) and a sate seller (fanning the charcoal).

But 24-year old Syafrinal from Pasaman, West Sumatra, will
tell you immediately that you cannot hold both jobs at the same
time. Selling satay is a chore that takes a lot of your time,
almost the entire day.

There are two different kinds of satay -- meat grilled on a
thin skewer -- that are peddled in Jakarta's streets. One is
satay Padang, which uses tongue or liver as the meat and is eaten
with a thick yellow turmeric-based sauce. This is the kind
Syafrinal makes.

The other is satay Madura, which uses chicken meat and is
eaten with brown peanut sauce.

In most parts of Jakarta you can still see these satays being
peddled in the streets in the evening. The satay Madura you can
hardly miss noticing because of the loud, often shrieking, whine
the seller makes. "eeee ......" which is short for satay.

Satay sellers, either the Padang or the Madura kind, however
hardly have time to whine about life.

Hosen, who hails from Sampang in Madura and peddles his satay
in the Utan Kayu area in eastern Jakarta, will also tell you that
a satay seller hardly has time to whine other than when they
work.

Luck

Both Syafrinal and Hosen are two typical satay sellers who are
trying to make it in this jungle of a city. Both men decided to
leave their home villages and try their luck in Indonesia's
largest metropolitan, Jakarta.

Hosen is 16 years old and the youngest of five children. Both
his parents died when he was still at junior high school. Left an
orphan, he was forced to quit school for lack of money. He began
helping his older brothers with the family rice field but found
the job too tedious. Besides, the money was simply enough to get
by but nothing else.

On the advice of his friends in the village, he decided to
come to Jakarta seven months ago. "I didn't think that I needed
to remain a farmer. I let my brothers take care of the paddy."

He came armed only with courage. The primary school diploma
hardly counts in Jakarta.

He found himself a three-bedroom house in Utan Kayu which is
shared by people from Madura. All the other tenants have the same
profession -- selling satay. Naturally Hosen got the chance to
learn the ropes in selling satay Madura from them.

One month later he was working on his own.

Syafrinal, 24 years old, in contrast is the more responsible
type. He is the oldest of five children.

He quit school after high school because he knew that his
father's income as a low ranking civil servant in Pasaman could
not support the education of all five children.

Someone had to give in and, being the eldest son, he decided
to help with the family farm. After five years on the farm he
decided that farming did not suit him.

"I've got to stand on my own two feet," Syafrinal said.

At the suggestion of his relatives he came to Jakarta, almost
at the same time as Hosen moved here.

He rented a house in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, with two
relatives. Together they pay Rp 100,000 ($45) a month in rent.

Syafrinal already knew how to prepare satay Padang before he
came. Yet he needed to know Jakarta first, so in the first month
he accompanied a relative peddling satay in a housing complex in
East Jakarta before deciding to branch out on his own.

He learned quickly.

Syafrinal found himself a convenient and strategic spot near a
movie theater in Rawamangun. He settled there and did not have to
walk the streets like others.

Both men borrowed from friends and relatives to raise the
necessary capital. Syafrinal's start up capital was Rp 200,000
while Hosen began with Rp 150,000.

While it did not take long for either Hosen or Syafrinal to
settle in, their work is very demanding day in and day out. There
is hardly any time to relax, they say.

Hosen says he does his rounds between seven and 11.30 at
night. In the morning he wakes up at around 6 o'clock to buy
supplies for the day and cut and marinate the meat. He also has
to cook the lontong (rice cake). This he completes by 11 a.m.
Then he takes a nap until 3 p.m. before getting ready for another
night.

It is almost the same routine for Syafrinal. Making the
preparations in the morning, taking a short rest in the afternoon
and selling in the evening. Syafrinal however makes a point of
taking one day off every 15 days.

Hosen said on average he makes a net profit of around Rp
12,000 ($5.50) a day from a turnover of around Rp 25,000.

Syafrinal says his turnover averages Rp 90,000 a day and,
after deducting costs, his profit comes to Rp 50,000 ($24). With
that sum he can afford to send Rp 150,000 each month to his
parents back home and help support the schooling of his younger
brothers and sisters. "I notice that they have more opportunity
to go to university."

Hosen says he does not feel any need to send money home. "All
of my brothers have their own income, I don't need to support
them."

Both men say they have not thought of any other profession.

"Selling satay is the only thing I can do," Hosen said.

And they've been so busy trying to settle in that they have
hardly had time to think about girlfriends.

"No girls would like a satay seller for a boyfriend," Hosen
said pathetically.

"I am already occupied with my business," Syafrinal said when
the question about a girlfriend was posed to him.