The poor survive by helping each other

The poor survive by helping each other

The words ghetto and slum conjure up visions of filth,
dilapidation, poverty, misery, crime. Much of the destruction in
Jakarta's recent riots has been attributed to frustration with
social as well as political conditions. The Jakarta Post recently
visited three urban slums near the affected areas and talked to
the people to find out about their way of life, their dreams and
their expectations.

JAKARTA (JP): Bayo the dangdut singer has to pay a hundred
thousand rupiah (about US$50) a month for the privilege of living
in a small and dilapidated hut in a crooked alleyway in Tambak
subdistrict, near Jl. Proklamasi in Central Jakarta where the
recent riots took place.

The 46-year-old man works every night from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m in
a small entertainment club in Sawangan, about 50 kilometers in
southern Jakarta to provide his wife and four children with a
decent life. Every night, he takes home between Rp 10,000 (about
US$4.5) to Rp 30,000 ($14).

"It is a tiring job but I enjoy it a lot. I've tried to work
as a construction worker and as a food vendor. I'd like to have a
better job," said Bayo, who only finished elementary school.

Bayo is one of more than a million of poor urbanites who try
to survive in the metropolis of Jakarta. More and more rural
people flock here to try their luck in the big city.

For them, Jakarta beckons, with the lure of the bright lights
and a well-paid job. The luxury high rise offices, hotels and
apartments in Jakarta, which is expected to grow as one of the
world's 15 megacities along with Tokyo, New Delhi, Dhaka and
Beijing by the year 2010, tempt them.

This phenomena has resulted in the collapse of basic services,
intolerable environment degradation, excessive pollution, rising
crime, the escalation of social conflicts and mushrooming of
squatters.

Without adequate education and skills, these poor people find
they can't win, and slowly bury their dreams of a good job and
comfortable housing.

Instead, they live crammed into the city's 103 densely-
populated slums with more than 23,000 people per square
kilometer. The number of people living in wooden and raffia
shacks, in empty tea crates or simply under a sheet of plastic,
without water, toilet or electricity is growing rapidly.

"It is very hot and dirty in this kampong but this is all we
have. Thank God, we are still alive and happy," Bayo said.

When asked about the wealth gap he explained his philosophy as
follows.

"We would like to be rich like other people, but we realize
that it isn't possible. We just have to make the best of what we
have. We don't understand politics and we don't want to be
involved in politics, we just want to live and let live,".

Next to his hut, a couple live with their ten children.

"We often think of moving back to our village in Banyumas,
Central Java, but our relatives always think that we are now
happy in the glittering city," said the wife while nursing her
ten-month old baby.

The couple, however, can still enjoy the sparkle of Jakarta as
they live right just behind the city's high-rise hotels and
office blocks.

The shacks of the poor, with their dirt and stench, spoil the
view for wealthy Jakartans. But without the slum dwellers, the
rich would have to change their lifestyle.

For it is in these slums that their maids and drivers, the
small craftsmen and vegetable hawkers, and the unskilled, live.

Like other urban slums, Tambak has poor public facilities.
Shattered windows and the shells of burnt out buildings en route
to Tambak serve as a reminder of recent events.

Tambak's narrow alleys are flanked by drains and dilapidated
houses. Inside, washing hangs from every possible spot. Chickens
and cats mingle with the people living cheek by jowl in the tiny
houses. An abundance of pot plants and incessant sweeping
demonstrate the ceaseless effort made by the inhabitants to make
this densely populated area habitable.

"Many people, the wealthy, in particular, associate slums with
crime, dirt and all things bad. But they don't know our life,"
said Ismail, 49.

Here, he said, the community is still very strong. "We're
always ready to help our neighbors. If we don't have any money or
rice, we can easily borrow from them. Our houses are always open
to them. Our neighbors are our families. Rich people don't dare
talk to their neighbors or open the gates for them," ventured
Ismail.

Moch. Zen, a youth from the Salemba Tengah slum, agreed.
"There is a problem with alcohol here and people here are very
poor but the community is close and very supportive," said Zen.

"Take cigarettes for example, if we have some, we'll share
them with everyone even if we can't afford to buy more. A rich
man wouldn't do that," explained the youth.

Built on the banks of a shallow gray river, the slum offers
inhabitants a virtually unobstructed view of the cigarette packs,
shoes, bottles and unidentifiable dark lumps that bob past.
The river is thick with industrial and human waste, and reeks.

A small brightly painted pool on the river bank was
constructed by the slum youths. "We are preparing for
Independence day," he said.

Asked about the recent riots, Zen said, "Though we are
unemployed, we have an open mind. We don't want to be involved in
any political movement or any riot. If we are detained, who would
take responsibility? Would they (political leaders) be willing to
help us?"

In Tanah Tinggi subdistrict, also in central Jakarta, the
community is also in evidence.

Dullah, 56, who shares his one-room house with his two
daughters and their husbands, explained that as many as four
families live in one house.

He works in a small printing company and earns about Rp
100,000 a month. He owns his house and his sons-in-law both work
but it is difficult to make ends meet. They have one luxury: a
water pump shared with 30 other families.

"I am lucky to live in this area. The people are friendly and
helpful. Children are free and safe in this alley," Dullah said.

The high population density puts a strain on facilities in
this area.

As we leave we are shown the communal well and primitive
bathrooms.

"We have to buy all our drinking water now because the water
in the wells is so bad," he said.

Here, the only running water is the sludge in the drains.
However, their chief concern is how long they will be allowed to
remain in their shelters.

Since the 1970's the government and some non-government
organizations have been carrying out kampong improvement
programs.

But according to Siti Umiyati, an expert on urban communities
at the Demographic Research Agency of the University of
Indonesia, the current programs are still inadequate?

"The problem of the urban poor is very complex. It will
require a multi-dimensional approach to deal with the problem,"
Umiyati said.

The biggest problem facing the urban poor and the
organizations working to address their problems is the lack of
synchronicity: What the poor perceive to be their problems and
what the government and non-government organizations perceive
their problem remain quite different. (raw/Liza Kappelle)

Injustice -- Page 6