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View all search resultsEye on the prize: Sea of customers swarm Tanah Abang, sellers couldn’t be happier
While many Indonesians avoid crowds due to the coronavirus, Tanah Abang Market in Central Jakarta remains packed with people hunting for Ramadan outfits. The Jakarta Post talked to sellers to ask a simple question - Is good business worth the risk of catching a deadly virus?
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outheast Asia's biggest textile market Tanah Abang is always jam-packed with customers, and a ramp-up in numbers nearing Idul Fitri is always expected. So it may be of little surprise that not even a pandemic could stop customers from flocking the market in Central Jakarta. (The market was closed during last year’s Ramadan due to the pandemic).
Photos and videos showing how particularly swarmed Tanah Abang was on May 2 went viral - a tragicomedy meme that people both lamented and made jokes about. An estimated 87,000 people visited the market entering the third week of Ramadan, as confirmed by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.
Inside Blok A of Tanah Abang, where most of the retail stores are housed, people were shoulder-to-shoulder. As the virus is transmitted through droplets, it increases the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus at an alarming rate.
So is the consumer boom considered a boon or impending damage in the eye of the sellers? Is the glimmering revenue stream worth the risk of catching and spreading the virus?
A much-awaited comeback
The early days of the pandemic last year brought a halt to many business sectors, including the ever-bustling Tanah Abang. Feri, 40, who has worked in Tanah Abang for nine years, was told to stay home by his employer around this time last year.
"I had to make ends meet with what I had in my savings. Meanwhile, I have a 5-year-old daughter and my wife to feed," Feri told The Jakarta Post.
