Seasonal beggars on the rise in Jakarta

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Beggars can be found on almost every corner of the city. But these days, they can be spotted more easily. This is a common phenomenon during Ramadhan.

This annual scene is obviously related to the fact that Muslims are expected to be more charitable during the holy month.

Outside the Istiqlal mosque in Central Jakarta, hundreds of beggars wait for their luck on Friday.

They sit, hands outstretched, in groups at the entrance gate targeting passersby entering or leaving the mosque.

A beggar told The Jakarta Post that for the past few years, she and many other people from Subang, West Java, come to Jakarta to beg during Ramadhan. This season, she arrived here with 10 others.

"I always come here during the fasting month as I can get a lot of money," said Nimah, who was not fasting.

Besides Ramadhan, Nimah and her colleagues also flock to the capital ahead of the New Year and Chinese New Year.

Nimah, 47, claims that during Ramadhan she can earn as much as Rp 20,000 a day. She makes more money on Friday, when Muslims say Friday prayers. She usually begs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Most people give her Rp 100 or Rp 500 each. But if she is lucky, someone may hand her a Rp 1,000 or even a Rp 5,000 note.

"In my hometown, I wouldn't get that much money. I find many rich people here," said the woman, who usually works as a laborer in rice fields in Subang.

A man, Nimah said, had helped her and her colleagues to come here from their hometown. She paid him Rp 20,000 for travel costs. He also arranged accommodation for them in the Kota area, North Jakarta. Nimah has to pay Rp 5,000 a day to the man for the accommodation.

Nimah, who has no family, said that some of her friends brought their children along to also beg.

She told the Post that she would be here till three days before Idul Fitri. She also expects to receive zakat (a tax that Muslims are obliged to pay) from the mosque's management before returning home.

Istiqlal mosque staff member H. Suhendar acknowledged that the number of beggars outside the mosque increases during Ramadhan.

"We can't evict them," he said, adding that the management can only stop them from entering the mosque if they were not intending to pray.

The city administration estimates that around 50,000 seasonal beggars entered the city during the fasting month last year.

Deputy governor Abdul Kahfi has pledged to evict them, warning the beggars to leave the city or face arrest.

Nevertheless, beggars still operate openly here as many people continue to give them money.

"I don't mind giving them Rp 100 or Rp 200 (each). The money is nothing to me but it means a lot for them," said Memed, an employee of a state-owned company in Central Jakarta.

Memed, who regularly conducts Friday prayers at Istiqlal mosque, concedes that giving money to beggars could make them lazy.

"(But) I take pity on them. Besides, I am in a better financial position then they are," he remarked.