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