Adopting new habits has helped Indonesia survive the Covid-19 pandemic. However, challenges still lie ahead, so the people of the nation must continue to support each other.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·6 minutes read
Kompas/Priyombodo
A sunset view at the Emergency Hospital of Wisma Atlet Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, at the end of 2020, Wednesday (30/12/2020). This emergency hospital has become a symbol of the Indonesian nation\'s struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic that has not been completed. Entering the New Year 2021, the Indonesian Government will start Covid-19 mass vaccination.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Covid-19 pandemic has made 2020 a very tough year for Indonesia. However, many people are grateful for being able to adapt and survive.
Among those who have experienced difficulties throughout the year is La Udin, 20, who is a student enrolled in a Package C school equivalency program in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. He tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday (28/12/2020), and has since been placed in isolation at the Balikpapan Haj Departure compound. La Udin is temporarily unable to continue working at a beverage stall in Balikpapan.
"I have to recover so I can go back to school and [my job]. In 2021, I will pass the Package C [program] and want to continue my studies," he said on Wednesday (30/12).
Meanwhile, 2020 has been a test for Zubairi Djoerban, who is serving as the chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) Covid-19 Task Force in the midst of the pandemic. As a matter of fact, he belongs to the high-risk group because he is 73 years old and a survivor of heart disease.
Zubairi must therefore stay healthy so he can continue to fulfill his duties. He must also ensure that his family is protected from the risk of infection, as he is exposed to the virus while he carries out his activities at the hospital.
"After getting through this extraordinary year, I am grateful that God has continued to [bless me with] health and the capacity to work, both at the hospital and at IDI [headquarters]," he said.
KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI
The patient is seen from the window of one of the towers of the Covid-19 Emergency Hospital (RSD) Wisma Atlet, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, Tuesday (29/12/2020).
We still have a long way to go.
Even though the number of confirmed cases in Indonesia has continued to increase from day to day, Zubairi is optimistic that the Covid-19 vaccines will be distributed to the public and that the coming year will bring hope.
"We still have a long way to go. Therefore, we must keep our eyes open to this pandemic and help each other, regardless of [our] religion, ethnicity or politics," he said.
Continuing to serve
Irfiyanti Ramadhani, a 29-year-old nurse at a private hospital in Bandar Lampung, said that she had to take extra care in maintaining her health while on duty during the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, she has been working for the last nine months while pregnant.
"Honestly, there is anxiety, but we have to think positively. Helping people is the responsibility of health workers,” said Irfiyanti.
I am grateful to have survived until now.
Serving the public is also the reason why 26-year-old teacher Septhianti Mangundap has continued to teach students at a private kindergarten in Manado, North Sulawesi. The educational foundation that runs the kindergarten where she works has been having difficulties raising funds to pay her salary since the middle of the year.
Septhianti once felt that she wanted to quit. Even so, the call to teach was too strong for her.
"I believe teaching is a noble duty. Even though I have to teach online without a phone credit allowance from the school, it is impossible for me to leave my students,” she said. “Distance learning during the pandemic has indeed been a challenge. However, I am grateful to have survived until now. This would have been impossible if it weren\'t for my students.”
Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO
Family and close relatives after a funeral with the Covid-19 protocol at Pondok Ranggon Public Cemetery, East Jakarta, Tuesday (29/12/2020). The Task Force for Handling Covid-19 on December 29, 2020 reported the addition of 7,903 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Indonesia in a day.
Adaptation efforts
Many students have experienced difficulties, including Adriansyah Yasin Sulaeman, a 22-year-old studying abroad. The Covid-19 pandemic had an immediate impact on his internship and his thesis in March 2020.
The student was unable to conduct any field research for his urban planning program at the Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Adriansyah also found it difficulty to come up with ideas on how to continue his research or even to change the subject of his thesis that he had already started. In the end, he redesigned his thesis in just a month.
The problems continued to mount for Adriansyah, who originally hails from Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta. He was also beset by anxiety when he learned that a number of his colleagues had contracted Covid-19.
“The early days of the pandemic were a headache for me. The pandemic was spreading and I could no longer continue my field research. Fortunately, my lecturers in the Netherlands were very understanding about the current conditions. Finally, I completely overhauled my thesis [to] a new subject that could be completed during the pandemic,” he said in Jakarta.
Adriansyah successfully completed his thesis while attending to other activities and attended an online graduation ceremony.
The activist of the Jakarta Transportation Discussion Forum (FDTJ) also took part in campaigning on road safety for cyclist. He also drafted a general guideline for safe and civil road cycling. In addition, he is actively assisting in making directional signs for the public facilities at Tanah Abang Station in Central Jakarta.
Kompas
Number of Covid-19 Cases in Southeast Asia
Achmad Jati Santoso, 27, also went through hard times. The employee of an automotive accessory company could not have imagined that the pandemic would have such a big impact on sales. The company\'s brilliant performance in February 2020 suddenly slumped in April. As a result, the company laid off half its employees, while the other half, which included Achmad, were retained but worked for reduced salaries.
Because his income had dropped, Achmad had to find an alternative source of income, so he started trading betta (Siamese fighting) fish with his brother. The business, named Sairin Betta Farm, has been running since September and is slowly making a profit of Rp 300,000 to Rp 400,000 per day.
Sairin Betta Farm is also supporting several other relatives and a number of neighbors who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
"The ornamental fish business that I developed with my brother has helped restore family ties. We are encouraged to look for new business opportunities after this," said the founder-owner of the ornamental fish business.
Adipayanti, the 27-year-old manager of the Kebun Kumara learning farm, has also had to adapt, and is looking for a way to conduct online gardening courses.
“During the large-scale social restrictions [PSBB], I thought hard about exploring the format of educational videos. In the past, Kebun Kumara focused on direct training, [but] now what is needed is [the full capacity] to offer online training that is still interactive," she said. (CIP/DIV/ERK/FAI/OKA/VIO)
/https%3A%2F%2Fkompas.id%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F12%2F20201230RZF02_1609334601.jpg){kind=logo}
