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Beggars come to town
Beggars again have flocked to greater Jakarta during Ramadan, taking advantage of the Muslim ruling to give donations during the sacred month
Beggars again have flocked to greater Jakarta during Ramadan, taking advantage of the Muslim ruling to give donations during the sacred month.
The beggars usually place themselves at terminals, train stations, traffic lights and shopping malls. Many are old people and women with young children.
"It is better than having nothing to do in my village," Maisaroh, who was begging at Depok Baru station in shabby clothes, told Antara.
This trip is not her first. In the past, she had received Rp 20,000 (US$2.15) to Rp 30,000 a day during the month. Half of it was used for living expenses and for her ticket back to her village in West Java.
They sleep at every sheltered compound they can find, such as stations, malls, markets and in front of shops, and will return home for Idul Fitri.
"We estimate the number of beggars to have increased by 20 percent and that it will rise by another 20 percent the closer we get to Idul Fitri," the head of Bogor's Public Order Agency for bylaw enforcement unit, Faridz Wahdy, said Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Last year beggars were officially banned by the City Administration through a 2007 bylaw on public order. The controversial regulation prohibits any individual and institution from giving money or goods to beggars, buskers or car windshield cleaners.
However, many beggars still roam the city all year long and many people disregard the law and give money to beggars anyway.
Jakarta's City Mental and Spiritual Development and Social Welfare Office has identified 53 areas in Jakarta popular among the comers which they will regularly search, removing beggars and homeless people and confining them to social shelters. They will later be sent home.
Ramadan is a popular month for donations because Muslims are religiously obliged to give alms during the month as contributions to the poor. This specific donation, called zakat fitrah, was originally in the form of foodstuff intended to prevent anyone from suffering from hunger during Idul Fitri.
At the same time, once a year every Muslim must share some of their wealth accumulated during the year -- if it goes beyond the minimum threshold set by the Islamic laws -- with the poor. Ramadan is often seen as the right time to give back to society.
Other than riding on the willingness of donations, the phenomenon is the result of unemployment, Lambang Triyono, a sociologist from Gajah Mada University told detik.com on Wednesday.
He said prohibiting them was not the answer as the real solution was a livable wage and hence personal dignity through job creation -- a responsibility of the local governments.
