Scavengers find windfall in the ruins of Glodok

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of scavengers scoured the burned shell of the Glodok electronics market in downtown Jakarta yesterday, collecting what was left of the buildings set ablaze by rioters on Thursday.

The electronics market, billed as the biggest in the country, consisted of four main buildings located on Jl. Gajah Mada, Jl. Hayam Wuruk and Jl. Pinangsia.

The scavengers, some of whom came from other cities, collected wood and iron fragments and loaded them onto their carts.

One of the scavengers, Nawi, said he decided to come to Jakarta from his hometown of Pandeglang, West Java, after watching a television report about the burned area.

"I came here for the sake of feeding myself," he said.

Nawi's friend, Amat, said that a buyer from Pluit in North Jakarta lent them a cart and agreed to buy the items they collected.

He said the iron sold for between Rp 100 and Rp 200 a kilogram.

The two claimed to have collected 75 kilograms of iron yesterday.

Most of the scavengers said they were not forbidden from taking the items from the gutted shops in the buildings.

No military officers, backed up by their tanks or armored vehicles, were in evidence.

Several security guards at the market occasionally warned the scavengers not to enter particular areas.

Conspicuously absent were the shop owners.

Glodok, which is known as the city's Chinatown, was the worst- hit area during last week's rioting with hundreds of shops destroyed. At least 11 people were found dead in the market.

Glodok was established as a residential area in 1740, mostly by Indonesians of Chinese descent with European and Chinese- influenced architecture as its most specific characteristics.

It was later developed as a business center in the early 1950s. In line with the rapid development of electronic technology and increasing demand for electronics, it shifted into a trading center for electronic goods in the early 1980s.

With daily trading value of no less than Rp 50 billion (US$11.2 million), the subdistrict was undoubtedly the busiest and most liquid trading site in the city.

Glodok's supremacy in the sector went along with its image as a complete and cheap electronic center with a large variety of goods available.

Now, only the charred rubble of the buildings remain. Some have warned it will take many years for the area to recover. (jun)