By Alan Sipress: The Washington Post; April 25, 2004
The fear passed after a few weeks, but the reality of her difficult life
remains. Inah, her husband and five children live crammed into a cell-like
dwelling deep in the muddy catacombs of a Jakarta slum dubbed "Gembel
Tol" or "Poor People of the Toll" by its 3,000 denizens.
The full extent of the slum, which was built on swampland underneath the
highway, is concealed from the surrounding
But a small break between two shanties opens up into a dark, cramped
labyrinth of packed mud alleys. The passageways weave between claustrophobic
hovels, some stacked, one atop another, upper rooms reached by crooked wooden
ladders. In places, the alleys turn to fetid marsh, which is almost impassable.
In the faint glow of a small neon light, fastened to a plank running
alongside a bridge-support pylon, Inah, 34, stirred eggplant and cabbage for
her family's lunch.
"Though I live under a toll road, I try to cook properly. Once a
month I try to have chicken." she said, tugging an old, pink knit cap down
over her brow to keep her dark hair from getting in the food.
She spends most of the morning preparing the makings for bakso, or
meatball soup, that her husband peddles for a living,
Inah's eyes are lively and her smile alternates between merry and mischievous
Her husband, Sohidin, 39, is a slight, soft-spoken man with a thin mustache and
stringy beard. He has become one of
For generations, both of their families had been farmers, planting
tobacco that climbed the slopes of Sindoro volcano on
He built a house with a living room, two bedrooms and a kitchen. It was
simple, but they had a television, a radio and living-room furniture.
When the 1997 Asian financial crisis struck, the cost of fertilizer and
other farm supplies skyrocketed. Sohidin could not make ends meet. He held on
until 2000, but then gave up the tobacco farm and sold off a small family rice
paddy to pay the debt, which had grown by half with interest.
He took his family to
A neighbor taught the couple how to make meatball soup. But Sohidin
needed cash for the initial purchase of meat and vegetables. He turned to his
oldest son, Hendro, 12, for a loan.
Each day, Sohidin had given him about 10 cents for lunch and the boy had
spent less than half of it. He managed to stash away just the amount his father
needed: six dollars.
“My son is very clever. … He knew his parents were in a very difficult
financial situation," Sohidin said.
Inah and Sohidin moved to a better room under the toll road, one with
electricity, for 12 dollars a month in rent.
They began to convert the hovel into a home. They hung a pair of
calendars - gifts from rival political parties - and an electric clock on the
concrete-block walls.
They fashioned a makeshift birdcage from a discarded screen and some
cardboard, held it together by rubber bands and suspended it from the low
ceiling. The twittering of three little sparrows, dyed bright green to make
them cheerier, carried into the alley.
At night, the sole bed is shared by Inah, two daughters, an infant son,
a stuffed bear and a stuffed dog. Sohidin and two boys claim the floor,
including the space under the bed. When it rains and the swamp floods, they
said, the floor soaks up water like a sponge.
Their, youngest son was born here six months ago.
Hendro, the oldest son, dreams of speaking English. He has al-ready
taught himself the English names for vegetables. He asked his parents for
language lessons but they cost 60 cents per session. His parents said they can
barely pay the school fees for their three oldest children totaling nine
dollars a month. They cannot afford schoolbooks
“I hope they can go beyond elementary school, do better than me,"
Sobidin said.