Street workers remain faithful to Ramadhan fast

Street workers remain faithful to Ramadhan fast

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

This year's Ramadhan fasting month is a particularly challenging
test of faith, as the scorching sun makes the days lethargically
long and hot.

More so, for those who work outside in the sun's full glare
and still commit themselves to the Islamic practice of shunning
food, drink, and other worldly desires from dawn to dusk.

Karsim, 29, a street sweeper, said nothing had changed in his
daily schedule during the fasting month.

While talking to The Jakarta Post recently, Karsim diligently
swept fallen leaves on Jl. Sultan Hasanudin in Melawai, South
Jakarta.

"If we have set our hearts on it, then God willing, we will be
strong enough to last (the fasting)," he said. Karsim said he had
to take regular breaks because he risked exhaustion from the heat
and passing vehicle fumes.

"I only drink some water and say a prayer of gratefulness to
break the fast," he said.

Street sweepers employed by the City Sanitation Agency work in
three daily shifts, earning roughly Rp 315,000 (US$34.61) a month
and receiving a Idul Fitri holiday stipend of Rp 200,000.

Karsim, who has worked as a street sweeper for seven years,
hoped the agency would raise the stipend this year and that more
passing motorists would give him alms so he could celebrate Idul
Fitri in his hometown of Brebes, Central Java.

A gardener, Roy, 29, who was weeding and tending some flower
beds on the greenbelts of Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said in Kuningan, also
in South Jakarta, said the key to passing the fasting month was
commitment and keeping busy with your job.

"Moreover, don't they say our fasting will be more blessed if
we work under harder conditions?" Roy said.

Roy said it was understandable for outdoor workers to
occasionally end up breaking the fast before time.

"I usually skip three or four days because I cannot stand the
heat," he said. "Perhaps only two or three of us ever complete a
full month's fasting."

Roy, who has been a gardener at the City Park Agency for
twelve years, said the agency had also adjusted their working
hours from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the fasting month, from the
usual 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to let the workers avoid the midday sun's
heat.

Like street sweepers, Roy also said he and his colleagues
often received alms from passing motorists, sometimes up to Rp
20,000, adding a considerable amount to their monthly salary of
Rp 650,000.

"It's really helpful for buying snacks when breaking the fast,
early morning cirri meals, and celebrating Idul Fitri," he said.

However, not all who worked on the streets said they would
fast during Ramadhan.

Anto, 25, a scavenger from Ciledug, Tangerang, who usually
walks 50 kilometers a day under the blistering sun in search of
discarded things to recycle, said he took the pragmatic approach
of not fasting at all.

"It's quite impossible for us scavengers to fast when our work
involves real physical strength," he said.

"Please don't compare us with office workers or other
employees who don't actually work on the streets for a day's
living."