Seasonal beggars on the rise in Jakarta

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.