Minggu, 30 Januari 2011

The Fate of Street Singer and Draft of District Roles Public Order “Tibum”


Everyone has been prohibited:
a.       to order the other to be a  beggar, a street singer, a street seller and a car washer;
b.       to be a beggar, a street singer, a street seller and a car washer;
c.        to buy from a street seller or to give a lot of money or good to a beggar, a street singer and a car washer
Draft of District Roles “Public Order “/Tibum” No.8 year 2007, line 40

Mi (21 years old), a woman street singer—which always stands by in a traffic light—seems she did not know about the draft above. The same experience as Mi, Rn, an adolescence who sits in the street, Rn (23 years old), he is just frown to express his ignorance. When he was asked how to get on with their life after the draft to be already constituted—which implied to prohibit of singing in the street—both of them was hopeless. They will not know what an occupation they will get in the future. If the draft, Public Order, “Tibum” will be constituted, what happen with the fate of the street singer, indeed. By implementing the draft, it means to restrict them to be more powerless and suffering. This opinion is going to get an description about the possibility of their fate as the draft has been constituted.

The powerless of Street Singer                                                        
For Mi, his job as a street singer has been a business to fulfill some need of her eating and baby. The living cost which is so expensive can be highly impact to women as herself. She has to consider the cost to take care her baby which is just born and her’s living cost. For eating a times in “warteg”, she has to expend some money as amount of 4000 rupiahs. In addition, singing in buses from 11 am to 18 pm, she is able to get some money around 10.000 rupiahs each day. Hasn’t she with the earnings approximately 10.000 per day make content with herself and her baby?    

Despite it is not as high burden as Mi, the earnings of Rn from singing in a day can get 15.000 rupiahs. If he eats in one times, he will expend his money around 4.000 rupiahs. Consequently, if he eats 3 times, it means, he will expend the money around 12.000.  In stead of high cost of eating, in his view, he will pleasant to eat by owing to the warteg, hence, it is simply for him to allocate the other cost.   

From education view, Mi and Rn are just graduated from elementary school. You can see the fact of how the living of people who graduated from elementary school recently. because of elementary school graduation, they must choose a profession as singer in the street as the only of their job. When they were asked about their living in terms of prohibition of singing in the street, Mi was wrinkled smiling and said, “O my Goodness, I did not know my fate then? So what else can be ate for my baby?” 

In the meantime, when Rn was discussing about their fate about prohibition of singing, with a pitiful voice, he said, ’Is there anything job for me? May I be a collector of a glass of residued aqua? Listening that the answer was the same as the singer at all, he thought for a while. Then, he said, “Ah ha..may I be a pickpocket?” how awful the reality as he thought! 

In a relationship ethics of the street, violence has been a part of their daily habit. Rn had told me that he and his friend have been captured by Pamong Praja Officer. The moment was in the morning when they were sleeping. Rn was pushed to go along with the officer, if he would had not do as the officer said, he would get punch by the officer. Some of his friend were not go, so they were dragged and get punch by the officer.  

Besides, getting drunk, taking a drugs and having a free sex seems to be a way of life of them. Ek, 23 years old, a street singer admitted that he himself got Sexual Transmitted Disease (IMS). Having a relation in free sex could be a consequence to himself to be infected a disease of Gonore. According to Ek, in a neighbourhood of street singer, there is many of them who often bought and got STD. however, after get the disease, some of them took a treatment by himself.   

The story of Mi, Rn and Ek can be a miniatur of big story of the street singer which is in Jakarta streets. economically, their expend could not be enough for themself and their family. From an education level, the narrow of their thinking have a consequence to their narrow minded to see their life. From a health level, they could not understand exatcly of urgency, basic health and specificly reproductive health. Falling down to the economic, education, and health sources, they are becoming to the powerless.  

The Consiousness and The Opressed Mentality
They, street singer which is powerless, generally fall down in a basic need. Their concern is how they can eat. Their consiousness is a biological consiousness, a consciousness in Freire terminology is a consciousness of naif-transitif. This consciousness is simbolized by an attitude which is in focus on the weird things without analize reality that is cause of their opressed. It has a consequence of their thinking which is a magical way (Pendidikan sebagai Praktek Pembebasan, 16-17). 

Their mental growth seems to be a stagnation condition. For a while, they might see a glimp to be a chance of their wok. For a while, their mind is closed to fullfil of a biological need. In Whitehead terminology, their mental is in romance level, which is a mental condition which is a part revealed and the other part closed in viewing the naked reality without explore the things related to (The Aims of Education, 29-30).  

In the powerless condition, a critical consciousness to analize a reality that opresses them could not be realized. In the powerless which is  multidimension ways, Mi did not able to think a relation of cause-effect from opression that experienced by her. She could not able to analize social condition that makes her poor.  

Besides, Rn who has a pesimistic character, seems not to aware that her desperate way is a magical attitude that submits to a nature. Because of her frustration of capturing by police continuosly, he goes to a conclusion to submit that condition. ”What else my job?” is a kind of question that gives up themself to their situation. He could not only able to convince himself, but also he submits to social condition. 

The same as Ek, he dosen’t know that his sexual transmitted disease’s is the impact of closing mentality of the opressed, so that he will not able to explore a relation between the disease and the social reality. In the meantime, his understanding to cure himself is come to the mind for a while, so he tries to go to the clinic, instead of healing his Sexual Transmitted Diseases (STDs) by himself. For a while his mind has been closed because he does not know the effect of free sex can be STDs. In addition, how could possible for him to reach reproductive health service if the service is just a few thing. If it exists, the service will be enough expensive to them.      

In that condition, each contact between the singer and the social reality has impact the singer to be sensitive. Their social relationship to the singer had been painted by a jealousy and an arrogant attitude in their job problem. There is a community which organize them, but it respons by materialist awareness. It is the same as empowerment that has been doing by NGO issued on HIV AIDS, is seen as a project which could produce money for them. Community organizing and empowerment has been a chance for making a profit indeed.  

The way of their thinking is not their fault. Social system which opresses them is the way that come to and exist to them. They are just a victim that is formed from the system. As a victim, they aren’t able to strengthen or empower by himself. Who else can understand them if not we that are the revolusioner which can see the problem of street singer as a humanity matters?

The Revolutionarist roles is needed to assistance of growing a critical consiousness of them. It can possibly stimulized by dialogue and not by a push (pendidikan sebagai praktik pembebasan, 105-113). So, the prohibition of singing is the same as the killing of the singer consiousness. In a weakness of singer consciousness, can we constitute the line above and thus be practised to them? That question should be a reflection of all the decision maker in the draft!   

Alistair Steven Simbolon
This opinion based on self reflection & outreach experience when I worked at IPPA (PKBI) Jakarta Chapter in 2008

This writing was translated from Indonesia, titled on Nasib Pengamen Jalanan & Raperda Tibum posted in this blog on 17 Jan11. please see the previous.





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