Weekly Gallery: Protests and Prayers

Fri, November 13, 2020 / 11:39 am

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Visitors look at a video display on Nov. 1, 2020 during the "Immersive Affandi: Human, Space, Nature" exhibition, which runs from Oct. 26 to Nov. 25 at the National Gallery of Indonesia in Jakarta. JP/Seto Wardhana
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Residents undergo a swab test at the Genomik Solidaritas Indonesia (GSI) Laboratory in Cilandak, South Jakarta, on Nov. 2, 2020. Singapore’s Temasek Foundation International is cooperating with Tanoto Foundation to provide the GSI Lab with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instruments, reagent kits and other testing equipment as an act of solidarity during the COVID-19 outbreak. JP/Dhoni Setiawan
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Protesters gather outside the French Embassy in Jakarta on Nov. 2, 2020 to protest against French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments considered to be insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and Muslims. JP/Dhoni Setiawan
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Members of labor unions take to the streets on a vehicle at Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan near the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Nov. 2, 2020. They were protesting against the controversial Job Creation Law and demanded an increase to the minimum wage in 2021. JP/Dhoni Setiawan
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A farmer plows rice fields using the help of two buffaloes on agricultural land near a rest area of the Bawean-Salatiga toll road in Central Java on Nov. 2, 2020. Ahead of the rainy season, farmers have begun preparing for the next crop of rice. JP/PJ Leo
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Graft defendant and former fugitive Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra stands trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Nov. 2, 2020. He is accused of bribing a number of officials, including police generals Insp. Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte and Brig. Gen. Prasetyo Utomo, through his partner Tommy Sumardi in an effort to remove his name from an Interpol wanted list when he was still a fugitive. JP/ Dhoni Setiawan
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A technician repairs an analog television in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, on Nov. 3, 2020. Article 60A paragraph 2 of the newly enacted Job Creation Law mandates the migration from analog to digital television for the next two years. JP/Seto Wardhana
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A worker cleans handwashing facilities at Rawa Buaya low-cost apartment in West Jakarta on Nov. 4, 2020. Private water operator PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (PALYJA) granted handwashing facilities to subdistrict offices and low-cost apartments across the capital to commemorate Global Handwashing Day, which falls every Oct. 15. JP/Dhoni Setiawan
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A Confucian follower releases sparrows at the Kim Tek Ie Temple in Glodok, West Jakarta, on Nov. 4, 2020. Devotees offer prayers and release sparrows to commemorate the birthday of Kwan Im, the Chinese goddess of mercy, which falls on the 19th day of the ninth month of the Chinese calendar. JP/P.J. Leo

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the eighth month of the outbreak, the end is not yet in sight. In spite of the ongoing pandemic, life for many Indonesians has started to return to a sense of normality, as offices, art galleries and courtrooms reopen their doors to the public.

More protests rage on, as trade unions took to the streets to protest the Job Creation Law and demand wage increases. In addition, people gathered outside the French Embassy in Jakarta to protest against French President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial statement.

Meanwhile, Confucian devotees across the country released sparrows to honor Kwan Im (the Chinese goddess of mercy). In another part of the country, farmers started plowing their land ahead of the upcoming rainy season.

In the same week that saw Indonesia plummet into the country’s first recession since 1998, compassion and the rainy season are a welcome addition as a symbol of better days, amid all of the pandemic’s doom and gloom. (dio)