What Can be Done?

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

Motorcycle taxi drivers still waiting for passengers in front of Ciputat Market, South Tangerang, Banten, Saturday (03/21/2020). Appeals to stay home to prevent Covid-19 transmission do not seem to be fully implemented.

The government continues to call for physical distancing amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. However, for people already living in emergency shelters and struggling to live on the streets, adhering to such calls can be difficult.The Dayeuhkolot village hall in Dayeuhkolot district, Bandung regency, West Java, was filled with people fleeing flooding on Tuesday (31/3/2020). As the Citarum River overflowed, 174 locals were forced to leave their homes. This is especially undesirable in a pandemic. At the village hall, the gap between beds is less than one meter. Hoping to protect themselves from the flood, the villagers are exposing themselves to a dangerous disease.

“There has been an instruction to limit interaction, but what can we do? Movement is already limited. If you look at the elderly, they are just miserable,” Dayeuhkolot shelter coordinator Tita, 46, said.

Some refugees try to keep their distance from others, by taking up space on the sidewalk or parking spaces in front of closed shops on Jl. Raya Baleendah. However, physical distancing remains a distant ideal. Families of refugees are separated by only one meter.

The family of Gun Gun Gunawan, 33, of Cilisung hamlet in Dayeuhkolot slept in a retail parking area near the Dayeuhkolot district office. They slept on tarpaulin and floor mattresses.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

A woman washes her hands at a public sink provided at the “Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Sehat Hari Ini” (We will tell stories later about health today) exhibition on Thursday (19/3/2020) at the Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta. The exhibition featured archival items from the museum collection that were used to combat a past plague, and also displayed records on the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak.

Gun Gun left his home on Monday (30/3) night. He said that he was worried the flood would get worse and his house would be completely flooded. “The flood was one meter deep. I had no idea what to do. If I insisted on staying at home, I’m afraid my child would get sick from the dampness,” he said.

The seven districts are Dayeuhkolot, Baleendah, Bojongsoang, Kutawaringin, Solokanjeruk, Ciparay and Cangkuang.

Heavy rains since Monday afternoon have caused at least 10,000 homes to flood in seven districts in Bandung regency. The seven districts are Dayeuhkolot, Baleendah, Bojongsoang, Kutawaringin, Solokanjeruk, Ciparay and Cangkuang.

The flood, which has affected at least 60,000 people, is the worst in 2020 in the area. Some 1,600 people have moved to emergency shelters, while others have insisted upon staying in their homes.

Still working

In West Java’s capital of Bandung, the threat of COVID-19 lurks in local communities. Maman, 38, has kept his shop open on Jl. Djuanda in downtown Bandung. He does not wear a mask, gloves or have antiseptic hand wash. Consequently, he is in increased danger of catching the disease. Maman has been selling cigarettes and beverages at his shop for eight years.

The father of three says that he fears catching COVID-19, but he fears not being able to feed his family more. “If the government gives me daily compensation, I will stay at home,” he said.

Maman is not alone. Many are still working on the streets. Most of them wear no protective gear. Some ride-hailing service drivers are still working despite dwindling orders.

Ride-hailing service driver Roni, who is based on Jl. Asia Afrika, said that he had only received three orders by 2 p.m. On regular days, he could have finished seven orders by then.

To protect himself from the virus, Roni wears a mask and gloves. He realizes that this does not guarantee full protection. However, as his family’s breadwinner, he has no other choice. “If we have a lockdown, I’m dead,” he said.

If we have a lockdown, I’m dead.

Being adjacent to the country’s COVID-19 epicenter, Jakarta, West Java is highly exposed to the spread of the disease. As of Tuesday at 6 p.m., the province had confirmed 180 cases of COVID-19. So far, nine patients have recovered and 20 have died. Meanwhile, 723 patients are under surveillance and another 9,614 people are under monitoring.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said that his administration was preparing an aid package that would give one million families affected by COVID-19 Rp 500,000 (US$30.66) each. About two thirds of the aid will be in the form of food while the rest will be in cash.

The total funding for the aid package is between Rp 4 trillion and Rp 5 trillion, which will be distributed over the course of two months. The fund will be sourced from a reallocation of the regional budget, including funds originally for business travel and village funds. “Hopefully, this week, we can find more poor or near-poor people eligible for aid,” Ridwan said.

Amid all the limitations, the hard work of marginalized communities must not be forgotten. The government must work hard to keep them empowered in a time of disaster.