CITIZEN JOURNALISM

The story of marine scavengers in Kendari who survive without help

By Rijal Yunus

KENDARI, PARTNERSHIP – In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of women who scavenge plastic waste at sea are trying their best to stay afloat. They only rely on rubbish to meet their daily needs. Because, even though the government distributed trillions in aid, their names were never included as recipient groups.

As a participant in citizen journalism initiated by the Partnership, one of the issues I want to raise is the inequality of aid for small communities. After seeking information from a number of parties, I found that there was a group of plastic waste scavengers in Kendari Bay, Southeast Sulawesi, who had not received any assistance.

After receiving this information, I then arranged a schedule to visit these sea scavengers. They are scavengers of plastic waste in the sea who comb the waters with canoes. They row their canoes an average of five kilometers every day to collect rubbish.

In the second week of December 2021, I met Marniati (39). This mother of two children lives in RT 11/RW 05, Petoaha Village, Abeli ​​District. This neighborhood is on the coast of Kendari Bay, which is inhabited mostly by fishermen and those who seek a living and carry out activities at sea.

When she arrived at her residence, Marniati was arranging the bags of plastic waste that had been collected. The various types of waste have been sorted based on type and size. Plastic beverage packaging and oil packaging have been separated.

According to Marniati, the price of sorted plastic waste is much more expensive than unsorted plastic waste. "If it is sorted it can be up to IDR 3,500 per kilogram. If it is not sorted, the average is IDR 2,000 per kilogram," he said.

This migrant from South Sulawesi has been collecting rubbish since 2008. At that time, his family's living needs were very mediocre. After trying to find work, he felt that collecting rubbish at sea was the best thing he could do.

Since then, he started collecting rubbish. Every morning, at around 06.00 WITA, he starts rowing his used canoe towards the mouth of the bay. I carried the rubbish I found into the canoe. He only rowed home at noon, or when he felt he had enough trash to carry. A bottle of mineral water and a piece of bread are his provisions when he works.

"Sometimes I just bring water if I don't have money," he continued.

When searching for trash, a number of obstacles are faced. It was not uncommon for him to return home with little results, or for his canoe to capsize. He had to swim, turn the canoe over, and return to collect the scattered rubbish.

Collecting rubbish is his main income. Her husband, Juhanis (41), who is a fisherman, sometimes comes home with nothing. Meanwhile, his youngest child, Israfil (8), is still at school and needs money. His eldest child, Nurul Hikmah (17) just got married.

Moreover, during Covid-19, earning income is increasingly difficult. Plastic prices at collectors are uncertain. Not to mention the restrictions that took place in Kendari. He had to go out secretly looking for fish or shellfish in the sea to eat.

"It can't be helped, because there is no help at all. If we don't collect rubbish, we don't eat," he said.

In his entire life, said Marniati, he had never received assistance from the government. During Covid-19, where various forms of aid were distributed by the government, he was not included as a recipient of aid. In fact, he deposited countless files to become a recipient of aid.

"If you ask me about the files I deposited, maybe my data is already at the ceiling in the office there," he said, smiling sadly. "Three days ago I was asked to fill in the form again, but I said no need. I'm tired of waiting for help."

Not only him, a number of marine trash scavengers in this area also had the same fate. Some of them are elderly citizens, as well as widows. At a young age, they also experience a number of health problems. Starting from hypertension, diabetes, to stroke.

In early January 2022, I returned to this area. Even though I had previously talked to several scavengers, I wanted to take a closer look at their daily lives and verify their stories.

Hanafiah (60), a woman who has been widowed for decades, said that when she ran out of money, she looked for shellfish or octopus in the bay. If he produces enough, he sells some of the produce to collectors, and the other part is taken home to eat.

"This morning I took a fish floating near the auction. It was dead but still good, the gills were still red. There were three of them, I ate them with my grandchildren and grandchildren," said this resident of RT 10/RW 04.

He then took him to the back of his house which functioned as a kitchen. On the stove, there was only a half-filled rice pot. There are no more side dishes for dinner.

"We only sprinkle water so it doesn't get too dry. It can't be helped, we don't get any help," he said.

Seeing the condition of the plastic waste scavengers in Kendari Bay is certainly ironic. This is because the government has poured hundreds of trillions into aid to the poor and those affected by Covid-19. None of the various types of assistance has touched them.

Since many years ago, various aid has been distributed by the government. Apart from the Family Hope Program (PKH), during Covid-19 there is a Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) program. This assistance is in the form of electronic money amounting to IDR 200,000 which is exchanged for food. Not only that, there is also a BPNT-PPKM program in the form of basic food assistance for the poor. During 2021, a total of IDR 110 trillion in aid will be disbursed by the government for the poor and those affected by Covid-19.

I then met with the local environmental government to find out the main problem.

Chairman of RW 04 Petoaha Syarifuddin said that in his area there are 80 families with a total of 258 people. Of this number, 30 families received PKH assistance, 14 families received BPNT assistance, and 17 families received BPNT-PPKM assistance.

"Almost everyone has received assistance. Because every time there is an announcement that there will be assistance, we definitely ask all the residents' families. Moreover, here almost all of them are low-income people," he said.

Even so, he does not know exactly why a number of marine scavengers in his area do not also receive these types of assistance. A number of things could be the cause, one of the main ones is data that is not verified at the center.

According to Syarifuddin, everyone's data must be in sync from the regions to the center. The data must be completely appropriate, both on the Family Card (KK) and the Population Identity Card (KTP). This data must be checked at a government office to find out whether it is valid and verified.

"The problem is, we also don't know what is valid and what is not. If we have received assistance, it must be valid. That's why we tell residents who have not received assistance, to check their files at the sub-district office or sub-district office," said Syarifuddin. "If you don't receive it, you don't have any luck. What is clear is that every time there is assistance, we ask for all residents' files without exception," he added.

Chairman of RT 10, RW 04 Petoaha Zainuddin said the same thing. Every time there was assistance, he immediately met all the residents to ask for population documents, in particular, Family Cards.

Not only that, he admitted that he often helps people organize files if someone feels unable to handle them. Management of files to find out whether they are valid and validated against central government data.

"Especially for social assistance, everything is made easier down to the sub-district. But if we are not asked to help, we also cannot directly process the data," he added.

From this conversation, I see that there are fundamental problems related to community data collection. Residents and environmental administrators do not know whether the data submitted is valid and verified at the center.

When met separately, the Head of the Social Protection and Security Division of the Kendari Social Service, Ishak Bulo, said that all social assistance disbursed by the government is intended for poor people, or those who have been included in the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS). This assistance targets those who are most economically challenged, have limited access, and have difficulty meeting daily living needs.

"Be it PKH, to BPNT, everything is for small communities. This includes the marine scavenger groups on the Kendari coast," said Ishak. If so far they have not received assistance, he suspects that the residents' data has not been validated by central data. As a result, even though they were entered several times, the names of residents were not included as recipients of aid.

Therefore, he suggested that residents or family representatives immediately check the names and files at the government office. This is to find out whether the data of all residents in the KK is truly valid and verified at the center.

The head of the Mutmainnya Coastal Women's Group said that a number of problems were found regarding the distribution of social assistance to poor communities. So far, many women who are also heads of families have not been touched by aid for years. Mutmainnya actively organizes women informal workers, scavengers and housewives on the Kendari coast. Some of them are heads of families, as well as senior citizens.

Based on initial investigations, there are at least 20 low-income families who are having problems receiving assistance, especially in Abeli ​​and Nambo Districts, Kendari. "Specifically for scavengers, our data shows that there are six people who did not receive any assistance at all. The rest are those who also have not received assistance, or have been on the list but cannot disburse it," he said. "But it's difficult for them to even take care of the files because they have to work to meet their daily needs. The government should check names that cannot be registered online, and immediately take care of them, especially for poor people who have difficulty accessing them," he added.

He hopes that the government will pay more attention to the poor so that they are not increasingly burdened with basic needs, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.