Development + Journalism + World

fotojournalismus:

From series Land for Sale.

Tourism is very important for Indonesian economy. It has much to offer, from natural beauty to cultural diversity including numerous luxury resorts, hotels and bungalows.
Majority of investors in infrastructure are foreigners, but the people who build it come from all over Indonesia. The average monthly wage of a worker is around 200USD, which is almost the same amount you have to pay for one night stay in some of the hotels they build. They work and live in bad and dangerous conditions.
Since tourism is for many indonesians the only source of income people easily sell their land underprice but the one time amount of money they get raise many questions. What will happen in the future, what will their successors do and what does all this mean for the environment?

The series is an on going project.

Matjaz Rust

www.matjazrust.com
http://matjazrust.tumblr.com

Padi di Jawa Barat 

Malaysia Couple Charged with Maid Murder

Every year, dozens (maybe hundreds?) of domestic workers die in countries that are foreign to them. Many of these maids and caregivers come from Indonesia and Cambodia. They are “exported” by their countries (which of course PROFIT from exporting them) to work for people who often treat them like animals.

Mey Sichan was found dead by paramedics called by her employers on March 31. When found, she weighed 26 kilogrammes (57 pounds). She also had bruises on her body.

Police said she died from acute gastritis and ulcers likely due to lack of food over a long period. The maid had been working for the family for eight months.

Why do Indonesia and Cambodia encourage their young women to go abroad and risk this kind of abuse?

Source: Agence France Presse, in The Jakarta Globe (April 13, 2012)

More street vendors, less poverty: Indonesian Minister

uncdan:

The government says it wants to help more people join the ranks of the nation’s 90 million street vendors in order to promote public welfare and economic development.

“The level of poverty has been reduced by up to 8 percent due to the existence of street vendors,” Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syarifudin Hasan Syarifuddin said on Friday.

“Street vendors have an economic potential that should be facilitated and developed,” Syarifudin said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The minister he wanted to form a partnership with street vendors that would reduce their antagonistic relationship with public order officers, who often crack down on unauthorized vendors.

“They will be trained and organized and we will also provide a place for them to do business,” Syarief said. 

The bold is my addition. Because holy crap that’s a lot of people. 

Consider that Indonesia’s population is not too much over 200 million people. That means that somewhere around 45% of the population… are street vendors. And he’d like to add more. 

Can anyone else see what’s wrong with this picture? Because this minister doesn’t seem to. 

These are people with NO insurance, NO health care benefits, NO safety net. Is this the best that the government of Indonesia can do?

Pathetic!

For many Indonesians, ‘Fesbuk’ is the only Internet | via Agence France-Presse

Jakarta grinds to a halt as traffic nears gridlock

With a video report and text, Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald newspaper shows why Jakarta is not welcoming to development, progress, or foreign investors: Its own people can hardly move from one place to another.

Indonesia's young struggle to find work

This BBC article focuses on young Indonesians who lack training, skills and education.

What it does not say is that even those with a good education have a hard time finding any job that pays a living wage.

This video, from Global Post, is an excellent 5-minute documentary about street kids playing political punk music on the streets of Jakarta.

amadcap:

Why Indonesian Kids Are Crazy for Punk (by pratama1984)

harleen814:

Indonesian ‘punks’ get their heads shaved by police

Police in Indonesia’s most conservative province raided a punk-rock concert and detained 65 fans, buzzing off their spiky mohawks and stripping away body piercings because of the perceived threat to Islamic values. -LA Times

(via organizedkaos323)