I flew from Hong Kong to Jakarta and landed on the 17th. Not only did I not build my own reed boat, but the state department picked me up and drove me to the hotel. Given the traffic that was probably a good thing. Cities like Lagos, Mumbai, and Jakarta are, and have been, growing beyond the physical space or government's capacities. For me to write about it leaves me open to the charge "wow, Mike went to Jakarta and realized it was large, chaotic, and poor." Well, I knew that but seeing is a different order from thinking.
The city has 12,000,000 people. Much of the growth has come since the 1980's. The population is very young and growing rapidly. Current estimates put Indonesian economic growth at 6.3%, which isn't bad, but the unemployment rate is 30%.
The cities physical resources are stretched to the limit. The roads are packed with cars, motorcycles, scooters, cabs, big buses, little buses, bikes, and small three wheeled orange transport vehicles. You can flag anyone down for a ride, at almost anytime, but with variable results. There are few traffic lights and drivers haven't fully grasped their purpose. This is just a blog where I'm typing quickly, and its purpose isn't to talk about traffic, but it is impossible to overestimate the chaos of transportation -- two political observations about it.
1) Mayors in the U.S. have known for a long time -- successful ones -- that gun control, war, and abortion get a lot of headlines but the day to day frustrations of a person's life has more of a political impact on opinion. People in Jakarta, without exception, talk about the traffic and it is a major frustration. No one knows exactly what to do about it, but it is on everyone's mind. Other daily frustrations include clean water, minor corruption (someone told me that Indonesia doesn't have organized crime, they have the police), and slow progress on construction projects.
2) People deal with it. Human beings are remarkably flexible and Indonesians -- and this is the most important point -- are very innovative. Scooter drivers will take people places for a negotiated fee -- there are all manners of transports and people know how to get around -- I wouldn't recommend experimenting for a tourist but if you live here -- well, you know how to live here -- and this leads me into the political part with one final observation --
2a) The place has an incredible amount of energy and a mixture of hope and disappointment. People are very proud of being Indonesian and the local area they are from, as well as being from Jakarta. All of my friends want me to like their city -- they are not blind to its faults -- but they also understand that there is hope. People start businesses everywhere -- there is a large, literate population, a decent education system, strong family culture, and a willingness to innovate at the individual level. Businesses are everywhere -- skyscrapers, malls and -- right next to them -- street huts with vendors selling everything from peanuts, boiled eggs, noodles, toys, and pirated viagra.
Small c capitalism is evident. In a city with millions of scooters there a also a lot of tiny -- tin three walled huts really -- that fix scooters. They are right on the road. A quick glance would reveal very little relationship with an "american business" -- we are talking about 5 x 10 at the most -- but I had a chance to talk to one guy for a while and it was fascinating. He has most of his own tools but scooter maintenance doesn't take much (there are a lot of reasons people have scooters). His rent is nearly zero because he isn't supposed to be there but moving wouldn't be difficult when required. He is right on the street and people can scoot in, have a seat -- he has a couple of stools -- get some noodles and meatballs or tea/soda at the stall next door -- and read a paper (people do a lot of newspaper/magazine reading) and scoot out. Because most of the traffic is either commuters or people taking commuters (or students) they follow the same patterns on the road every day and know where to find their mechanic -- so service does keep people coming back. Service, relaxation, a paper, low cost, high volume, and location. People figure things out.
I don't in any way mean this as an "everything is ok" note but writers so often focus on the negatives -- and often that is just because they don't spend enough time to see through chaos -- chaos is generally just one person not knowing what is going on yet -- and look to see where the people take their chances. I did visit a very poor area (I'm trying to avoid the word "slum" it is overused and people bring with it their own images). People lived, literally, on the margin.
It is the rainy season so puddles are everywhere and in this area they accumulated filth right away. People lived in huts constructed of metal, wood, or whatever else might be found. There was some electricity pirated off of local poles. Water was (and I never figured this out) either from a local well where people waited in line, a group shower -- again where people waited in line -- or collection systems to process rainwater. Jakarta is mostly BELOW sea level (think about that) and so you don't have to go down very far in your water search to find brackish, not fresh, water. There is no discernible pattern (again, to me, a quick visitor -- people knew where they were) and a lot of people with very little to do. Basic sanitation was an issue.
All of this is old news but, again, to see it -- and have a guide so you could talk to people -- was, at least for me, different. No one knows who will decide "the future of the world" or even whatever the hell that means -- but as much of the world looks at Bush, Kosovo, Terror, elections, etc. a lot of our the critical issues of our time == environmental questions; issues of political stability; demographics, health and disease and the romantic drama that can always be played out between the demagogue and desperate -- is happening in these megacities. George Orwell said "To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." so I feel a little less guilty making some observations that so many have made before me.
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