I’m happy they’re safe & told them to stay at my house if the flooding gets worse.
After that, & a quick trip to the store with Lydia, I found my favorite Ojek driver (scooter taxi), and we set off around the city to see where the flood hit.
Jakarta has been blessed with 2 days of no rain (today being the 2nd). The flood waters came quickly, with 3 days of torrential rains (starting last Friday), but in many places- the flood waters receded quickly, leaving trails of high water marks around the city,,, and dunking the city with a nasty mixture of mud, sewage, waste & brown water. This flood cocktail ruined homes, vehicles, furniture, potable drinking water from wells, cooking equipment, and killed many people… estimated in the dozens today.
Many survivors have flocked to neighborhood mosques for support: shelter, food, water, a meeting place, help to get back on their feet. I visited a couple.
I think most people thought I was working with some NGO, because I carried my camera & was wearing white pants & a collar shirt. (= When asked where I was from, I always said, “I’m a U.S. Marine, just trying to help.” They were happy because I was there. I left 500,000 Rp ($50) with the folks at the mosque closest to my house in Kemang.
Interesting to note,,, several people warned me to be careful about giving aid directly to people… even those who claimed to be mosque or neighborhood leaders- because the ‘corruption’ effect frequently means the money I gave with the intention of helping the many, will disappear into the pockets of a few.
My aim was just to travel around the city & see how things looked during the sunlight hours… but you can’t help but want to help these people when you meet them. I think it leaves a positive impression for them to see an American non-Muslim take the time to visit their mosque & spend a few moments talking with them, and sometimes leave a little money from my pocket, so they can buy some food for the night.
Just a little further down the road, I stopped at another mosque & visited a poor neighborhood across the street. The people I met there showed me how high the flood waters had come in their homes. Between 4-5 feet! They were lucky that waters receded fairly quickly after a day & a half of no rain, and no-one died here… but now a new set of considerations sat on them. Cooking is done on small propane grills. Between the 15 households in this complex, only 2 were salvaged… so the ladies were sharing & cooking rice & vegetables for everyone. They got bottled water from the mosque across the street.
Beds & furniture were ruined in the muddy ooze of flood waters. Several were able to save clothes, a TV & small things by throwing them on top of other furniture or up in the rafters of their home…
Here, you can see what their homes look like. Even with nearly everything they own in ruin, people here can still smile, and are tickled when a Westerner comes to visit them & pay a little attention.
After that, & a quick trip to the store with Lydia, I found my favorite Ojek driver (scooter taxi), and we set off around the city to see where the flood hit.
Jakarta has been blessed with 2 days of no rain (today being the 2nd). The flood waters came quickly, with 3 days of torrential rains (starting last Friday), but in many places- the flood waters receded quickly, leaving trails of high water marks around the city,,, and dunking the city with a nasty mixture of mud, sewage, waste & brown water. This flood cocktail ruined homes, vehicles, furniture, potable drinking water from wells, cooking equipment, and killed many people… estimated in the dozens today.
Many survivors have flocked to neighborhood mosques for support: shelter, food, water, a meeting place, help to get back on their feet. I visited a couple.
I think most people thought I was working with some NGO, because I carried my camera & was wearing white pants & a collar shirt. (= When asked where I was from, I always said, “I’m a U.S. Marine, just trying to help.” They were happy because I was there. I left 500,000 Rp ($50) with the folks at the mosque closest to my house in Kemang.
Interesting to note,,, several people warned me to be careful about giving aid directly to people… even those who claimed to be mosque or neighborhood leaders- because the ‘corruption’ effect frequently means the money I gave with the intention of helping the many, will disappear into the pockets of a few.
My aim was just to travel around the city & see how things looked during the sunlight hours… but you can’t help but want to help these people when you meet them. I think it leaves a positive impression for them to see an American non-Muslim take the time to visit their mosque & spend a few moments talking with them, and sometimes leave a little money from my pocket, so they can buy some food for the night.
Just a little further down the road, I stopped at another mosque & visited a poor neighborhood across the street. The people I met there showed me how high the flood waters had come in their homes. Between 4-5 feet! They were lucky that waters receded fairly quickly after a day & a half of no rain, and no-one died here… but now a new set of considerations sat on them. Cooking is done on small propane grills. Between the 15 households in this complex, only 2 were salvaged… so the ladies were sharing & cooking rice & vegetables for everyone. They got bottled water from the mosque across the street.
Beds & furniture were ruined in the muddy ooze of flood waters. Several were able to save clothes, a TV & small things by throwing them on top of other furniture or up in the rafters of their home…
Here, you can see what their homes look like. Even with nearly everything they own in ruin, people here can still smile, and are tickled when a Westerner comes to visit them & pay a little attention.
posted by jonathan adventures at 4:36 AM
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