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.

THE SCAVENGER

Text and picture ©Eki Qushay Akhwan

No. This man's not a terrorist or a criminal (despite the black mask). On the contrary, he could well be an urban hero. In the plastic bag he's lugging around are the refuse of our urban consumerist lifestyle: plastic bottles, cans, and other throwaways - things we don't want anymore, things that become the sore of our sights and smell.

He's a scavenger. He walks the streets, picks up the trash that can be recycled (from the trash bins and streets), and renders a service most of us barely recognize: helping the city to clean its streets and do the costly work of dumping and recycling its garbage. In other words, he helps us - citizens and taxpayers - clean our city and save our tax money. He - and many others like him - is another invisible hero of our society.

True. They don't do it out of philanthropist spirit. They make a living from it. It's all the more reason to consider what they do as an honorable job and them honorable members of the society. Now, what other jobs are there that earn a living while at the same time render a great service to the society? To me, these scavengers should be put at par with teachers, doctors, policemen/women and other professions whose services help make the world a better place.

THE GASIBU STORY 01

Text and pictures ©Eki Qushay Akhwan


Of all Bandung icons, Lapangan Gasibu, or the Gasibu Square, is probably the most symbolic. Located just accross the street from Gedung Sate (the West Java governor's office mansion) and the Provincial Council Offices complex, it is literally the center of everything's going on in Bandung. Political ralies and demonstrators go here to have their voices heard, entertainment events are staged here for the Bandungese to enjoy, mass prayers are held here at least twice a year during the Moslems' holidays of Idul Fitri and Idul Adha. Think of any activities you like (or don't like), and chances are you can find people doing them here: from the spiritual to the mundane, private to public, philantropic to commercial.


And every Sunday morning, this place and its surrounding areas are bursting with life. Bandungese of all walks of life go here to exercise or just stroll and shop. Yes, shop! Stalls and street traders of all kinds selling foods, clothes, home accessories, toys, and even pets are found here. One day in a week, this place turns into a marketplace where you can find everything and anything. Here are some snapshots.




Young enterpreneurial spirit at Gasibu: Two youngsters selling rabbit pets to an eager buyer.




A juggler offers a free entertainment to the Sunday walkers.




Colorful scarfs - one of the many wares sold at Gasibu.




As if symbolic of the real life, poverty and social problems are also represented here.