H

ave you ever wondered what people do in a detention center? Certainly they do not merely sit around, daydreaming and counting the days until they are released.

While serving their prison terms or waiting for their verdicts, detainees at the all-women detention center in Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta, participate in some activities held jointly by the facility’s management and organizations that are expected to prepare them to go back into the community after serving their
punishment.

On Thursday, the Natural Cooking Club (NCC), a Jakarta-based cooking group that also aims to help housewives maximize their culinary potential, held two-hour cooking and handcrafting courses on the second floor of the detention center.

The meals made in the cooking course that day were siomay (steamed dumpling) and batagor (fried dumpling). NCC Berbagi (NCCB) staff taught the detainees what ingredients were required, how to knead the dough and how many minutes were needed to fry and steam the dumplings.

A savory smell of freshly cooked meals was in the air as the course finished. “I did not know how to make these before. Now that I know, I am seriously considering selling siomay and batagor after being released from here,” said one detainee, Devi.

NCC co-founder Fatmah Bahalwan said the social activity had been held monthly in the detention center since February, with different dishes cooked in each course.

Such activities, Fatmah added, were aimed at building the women’s capabilities so they could use them when they were set free.

The Pondok Bambu detention center was established in 1974 by the Jakarta administration. At first, it was used as a shelter for beggars and the homeless in the capital. In 1985, its function was altered to detain women who were
awaiting trial.

A member of the detention center’s operational staff, Noor Farikhah, said most of the detainees were there because of being accused of drug use, violence and corruption.

Among them are Jessica Kumala Wongso, who is currently standing trial for the murder of her friend Wayan Mirna Salihin, and a disgraced former lawmaker from the Democratic Party, Angelina Sondakh, who is serving a 10-year sentence for receiving a bribe in connection with a project at the Education Ministry and the Youth and Sport Ministry.

During the visit, The Jakarta Post observed that a number of people were reading the Quran at a mosque inside the building, while some Buddhists, led by a monk, were praying at a worship space.

The detention center also provides worship spaces for Christians and Hindus, all of which served to guarantee the detainees’ devotion for their religions.

A Muslim detainee, Quarti, said initially she was reluctant to pray five times a day. “It is now at my own will, I wear the hijab,” the 54-year-old woman said, adding that prayer was one of the ways to prevent stress.

Aside from the monthly cooking course, operating the cafeteria and observing religious obligations, the detainees are also taught to operate a wartel (telephone kiosk) and clean up the building.

“The wartel is operated voluntarily by the detainees. Maybe it seems outdated, but since cell phones are prohibited here, it is in fact really helpful,” Noor said.