Bandung Beggars #1

"Beggary" (forgive my deliberately inccorect English diction for begging or panhandling) has many forms in this city (as does anywhere else). But all beggars essentially do the same thing: they ask for donation in one supplicating manner or another and do so in public places.

The man with the guitar in the photo is "officially" called "pengamen" (a street performer who performs for tips), but the music/performance is often so bad that it has now become meaningless and secondary to the tip. Practices like this has therefore become a form of beggary than street performance. (See also how he's doing it in the traffic light junction when cars are stopping. It's very unlikely that a good piece of music can be performed in this manner.)

Street baggery is one of the bad sides of Bandung. Unfortunately, the municipal government has not done enough to control it.

PENGAMEN (Street Musician)

Text and picture ©Eki Qushay Akhwan

It's rather enigmatic to translate the Indonesian word "pengamen" into English. Originally this word means a person who sings and/or perform music on the street for tips. Nowadays, however, the performance seems to be secondary to the tips/money. While some performers are really good and worth giving the tips, many are not good at all. Hence, the translation for "pengamen" could be street performers/musicians or simply street beggars depending on the quality of the performance.

Pengamen is quite a street phenomenon in Bandung. You can find them almost anywhere: on the city buses, commuter trains, traffic light junctions, and even street side parking like this one.

Bandung Daily Photo, Bandung Streets

CIRENG (Cassava Flour Cake)

Text and picture ©Eki Qushay Akhwan

Sundanese, the people and language of West Java, is very good at making acronyms. Cireng, the title of this post, for example, is the acronyms of aci (cassava flour) digoreng (fried) - fried cassava cake. It's a kind of local traditional food.

This posting, however, is not going to talk about that food (I'll probably discuss it next time), but about these two boys selling it at the sidewalk of Asia-Afrika street in downtown Bandung. This is a phonomenon that the residents and anyone visiting Bandung will probably see on the streets of Bandung: uderage children selling a variety of things from cireng (like the ones in the picture) to stone grinders. Some uncanny adult businesspersons have apparently exploited them. Using these children as salesboys is very effective in getting the attention of potential customers. People would usually buy their merchandize not because they need it or wants it but because they sympathize with these children's hardship.

I think this is a social problem that the city's administrator needs to tackle immediately. The practice is a violation of the children's human rights. Children their age should not be on the streets making money for some irresponsible adults. They should be at the playgrounds enjoying their childhood and schools studying for their future.

THE SIDEWALK

Text and picture ©Eki Qushay Akhwan

In an ever diminishing number of functioning sidewalks, it's good to see one that's really functioning like this one on Jalan Braga (Braga Street).

A functioning sidewalk is very essential for a city. It's not only the place where pedestrians can walk safely, but also a place where people can actually meet and interact. Unfortunately, slack law enforcement has made most Bandung sidewalks dysfunctional. They are used by kaki lima (K-5 for short, literally means five feet) - street traders of all kinds who encroach the pedestrians' right of safe passage. Not only have K-5 traders forced the pedestrians to walk where they should not - the streets - and jeopardized their safety, they have also destroyed the sidewalks and made them dirty. It's high time that the city's administration did consistent and stringent law enforcement about it.

We, citizens and taxpayers, pay for the high cost of the construction and maintenance of sidewalks. Yet, when it comes to using them, we are pushed away to our perils by these K-5 traders. They make profit from the facilities we gave them and pay no taxes for the profit they are making. It's unfair. K-5 should be banished from the sidewalks and relocated to a designated place to do their business.