Thousands defy hardships to get home for Idul Fitri

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many thousands of people clogged bus terminals and railway stations here on Sunday, braving the hot weather and the unpleasant maddening crowds, ready to take a long, uncomfortable journey to celebrate Idul Fitri in their hometowns.

Carrying souvenirs and valuables they had collected during a year of hard work in the city - including huge dolls and television sets - the travelers waited for hours for their departures.

Suratno, an employee at a mechanical workshop in Cipinang, East Jakarta, carried a 21-inch television set wrapped in a bed sheet on his shoulder.

"I was afraid the television would be stolen if I left it in my rented house," he said.

Suratno was traveling to his hometown, a small village in Magelang, Central Java, with his wife and son, in an economy class bus from Pulogadung terminal.

"Although it's hot, I chose the non-air conditioned bus because I can smoke. And besides, my wife can't stand the air conditioner," he said.

A huge number of bus passengers sat on the floor in the open waiting room which was heavily polluted by black smoke emissions from hundreds of buses at the terminal, which serves 138 routes throughout the country.

A terminal official said Sunday that a total of 18,619 passengers had left in 498 buses from the terminal on Saturday. There was no significant increase on Sunday while the peak was predicted to occur on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The train station in Senen, Central Jakarta, was also packed with thousands of passengers waiting for economy class trains, which would take them to 20 destinations in West Java, Central Java and East Java.

They struggled to get aboard the train. Many entered the train through the open windows as there was a huge crowd at the doors. Some passengers even had to stand in the train's toilet.

Normally, an economy class train car holds about 150 people, including non-seated passengers. Now, the number reached to between 200 and 250.

"What's important is that none of them sit on the train's roof," Yadi, a railway employee, said.

About 25,000 people left from the station on Sunday, while on Saturday, the number reached 13,800.

Kadir of Madura island off East Java said he had to go home because it was an obligation.

"It's like a struggle. Meeting parents and relatives during Idul Fitri is an obligation after a year of hard work," Kadir, a food vendor in the National Monument (Monas) Park, Central Jakarta, said.

Therefore, he was ready to take all of the pain during the trip to Surabaya, the capital of East Java, for the trip to Madura.

Usually, it takes 12 hours by economy train to Surabaya - three hours longer than the journey by executive train - but the trip can take 24 hours, or even more.

Economy trains are not equipped with air conditioners and the fans are often out of order.

That's why Hadi and his friends, who worked as construction workers here, brought a guitar for the journey.

"It's for entertainment," Hadi, who was traveling to Surabaya, said.

In an effort to entertain would-be passengers, the station put on singers accompanied by a organ.

"It just started today and only in Senen railway station," Yadi said.