Twins fight for free IDs, education for the poor

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Double the trouble, with twice the fight. That could be the motto for activist twins Rossy Admiral and Rian Feisal, who continue their struggle to improve the plight of the poor amid constant bureaucratic neglect.

For the past three years the identical twins have been running the Kartini Emergency School to help equip the poor with skills so they may at least have the opportunity to better themselves.

But frustratingly, their experience reveals that red tape is as much of a hindrance as a lack of vocational skills.

In their latest campaign they have pledged to go straight to legislators to gain support for a program that would allow the poor to obtain free identity cards and education.

Without identity cards, the poor cannot access the job market to make a living and better their lives.

"We don't have any other choice but to go to the House of Representatives. We've asked the Jakarta administration to give them free identity cards, but it has never materialized," Rian told a discussion over the weekend.

Instead, Rossy complained, the city administration seems to embark on even more vigorous evictions against the urban poor.

"How are we supposed to help them?" Rossy asked.

Recounting their experience, many of their students, despite the additional training, cannot obtain jobs not because of insufficient skill but simply because they do not possess the all-important identity card.

Identity cards are a mandatory requirement for all Indonesian citizens, usually issued by the respective subdistrict or village chiefs where an individual resides.

Such cards are indispensable in most administrative affairs, from opening bank accounts to job applications.

Rian said one of her students had taken driving lessons to train to be chauffeur. However, ultimately he could not obtain a driver's license because he did not have an identity card.

"These people are supposed to be able to make a living because they have skills. But because of this problem, they don't even have access to the job market," she added.

The dilemma, however, is that identity cards are only issued to local residents.

Migrants from outside Jakarta, for example, must prove they have become permanent residents of the capital before they can officially obtain one.

Most of the urban poor here live in makeshift shelters in slum areas.

Rossy and Rian were first moved to help the poor in 1972, when they began providing free lessons.

The Kartini School was established after they saw how the economic crisis was debilitating so many, with the poor being the hardest hit.

They set up classes under flyovers, on riverbanks and near railway tracks where many urban poor dwell.

Apart from teaching vocational skills, such as sewing, and sponsoring a limited number into auto repair and driving courses, they also provide basic elementary education to children whose parents are mostly scavengers, street vendors and construction workers.

Rossy slammed the government's hollow promises of providing free education and vocational courses, saying that it was mere lip service.

"In reality, we still have to pay for the courses. They are empty promises," Rossy added.

To fund their activities, Rossy and Rian, who are 51, rely on charity from friends and their own personal funds.