Images

One of the wonders of the human spirit is the way people can find some cheer in any moment of sadness. Why is this? Because they become wise to the world, or merely accustomed to misery?

Consider these girls in the flooded area of Bukit Duri in South Jakarta. With little worry about the alarming flood - or the state of their uniforms - they play around a road barrier on a street in their housing complex after school. The flooding is serious, but looking at them, well, it actually looks kind of fun.

Their neighborhood, near Ciliwung River, was flooded during the torrential rains of the past few days. Following, as always, was a flood of accusations. Some blame the people living on the riverbank for throwing trash into the watercourse, effectively turning the canal into a huge garbage dump. The city administration blames the fervent construction of villas in the resort area of Puncak in West Java for reducing the water catchment area.

There's little chance of a real solution coming out of the blame game. But as for these girls, they have other games to play.

- Text and photo by JP/P.J. Leo