People Rendered Homeless in Jakarta by Covid-19 Layoffs
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24 April 2020 14:05 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) found a number of people in Jakarta had been rendered homeless by Covid-19 layoffs. PSI spokesperson, Sigit Widodo, said some of them are daily-wage workers who were laid off from their jobs.
"Many of them can no longer afford rent, so they end up on the streets, such as in Tanah Abang," Sigit said in a written statement, Friday, April 24.
Three young men: Reza, Raka, and Fahmi, lost their jobs because of the pandemic. The three, Sigit said, graduated from universities in Balikpapan, Medan and Padang.
They each decided to look for jobs in Jakarta, then got to know each other after renting rooms at the same boarding house. Just a few months after moving to Jakarta, the novel coronavirus outbreak started. They lost their jobs and could no longer pay rent.
"So they choose to live on the streets of Tanah Abang," Sigit said.
PSI also found a mother of four, who is pregnant for her fifth, living on the streets.
PSI held a social service in Tanah Abang on Thursday, April 23, to provide assistance for the homeless.
Sigit urged the Jakarta government to address the situation, saying that more and more people are now without roofs over their heads. "Our hope is that the Jakarta Provincial Government can do something for them because our capability is very limited," he said.
LANI DIANA