Follow your dreams, people say, which is exactly what many people from outside the capital do by coming to Jakarta in the hope of finding a better life.

For the lucky ones, their dreams do come true, but others struggle so much that they end up living in spaces under the water pipes that stretch along the West Flood Canal in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

To protect himself from the scorching sun and rain, Usup, a 50-year-old scavenger, and nine other people have set up homes in 2 x 2 meter spaces that are only big enough for one person to lie down.

To enter each room, people need to bend over as the spaces are no more than 1.5 meters high.

However, like typical homes, some of the rooms are filled with fans, stoves, beds and utensils.

“I want to have a better life but I don’t know how [to change my situation],” said Usup, who is originally from Palembang, South Sumatra.

He first came to Jakarta in the 1980s, hoping to find a good job and improve his life.

As the capital, where the headquarters of government offices and many private companies are situated, Jakarta has always attracted thousands of newcomers, particularly after the annual Idul Fitri.

Last year the city recorded 70,593 newcomers after the exodus. Meanwhile, in 2014, Jakarta welcomed 68,537 new residents — 25.5 percent more than in 2013 when 51,000 people came to the city.

This year, it is estimated that 71,000 newcomers will arrive.

Unfortunately many newcomers are unskilled workers, and many of them end up on the street.

Usup said he had tried to find a job in his hometown but to no avail. At some point the young Usup made the big decision to move to Jakarta in the hopes of later returning home as a successful man.

“But I have no skills to offer,” he said.

He said he wanted to go home and reunite with his remaining family members but was reluctant to do so as he had nothing to show off.

“It’s been five years I haven’t seen my mother and siblings,” he said.

“It has crossed my mind to leave Jakarta and return home, but I am still a nobody,” he said, adding that his income was barely enough to support himself.

He revealed that he earned Rp 50,000 (US$3) per day, which was just enough to buy meals.

He said he had long dreamed of leaving the place he called home as he realized it was unsafe.

“I am afraid that security officers will suddenly come and evict me. Besides, crooks often come and hide here,” he said, adding that he had been questioned in the past by police hunting down suspects.

Another resident of the area, Tina, who works as a laundress, said she had been living there for two years.

“I am not able to rent a house, that’s why I prefer to stay here,” she said, adding that she was divorced.

Earlier this month, the Jakarta administration reportedly raided the so-called “pipe people” and sent them to social institutions for training. (sha)

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