Painting Bodies Silver to Outsmart Plague

The pandemic has disrupted the livelihoods of a good portion of the capital city’s residents. Some have taken to the streets to survive.

KOMPAS/STEFANUS ATO

Juniarti Sagala (30), one of the "silver people" in the Thamrin City area, Central Jakarta.

For the past year, 30-year-old Juniarti Sagala has lived the life of a manusia silver (silver human), street performers covered in silver paint that are ubiquitous to Jakarta. They have become increasingly widespread since the Covid-19 pandemic. Aside from appearing at road junctures, they are now expanding into residential areas and in crowded spaces.

Juniarti’s usual spot is in front of the Thamrin City shopping center in Kebon Melati, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. It all started when she was laid off from a confectionery business in South Jakarta.

The mother of two used to be optimistic that she would be able to find a new job because of her experience as a sales promotion girl and a hotel receptionist. However, all opportunities seemed to be closed.

“I have toddlers, like it or not, I have to keep the wheel turning. My first child is only three years old," the vocational high school graduate who majored in hospitality said on Friday afternoon (11/6/2021).

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Her income as manusia silver is uncertain at around a maximum Rp 150,000 per day, and she is now the family’s backbone as a single parent. Her husband died in February.

Since becoming manusia silver, Juniarti works every day from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. “The spending for my children can reach Rp 500,000 a week. The money obtained from this [working as manusia silver] is not enough to make rent. So after [work], I sleep on an overpass or at the market,” she said.

Juniarti heads home each morning to breastfeed her youngest child and to visit her eldest, whose care has been entrusted to relatives in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

Agus Tryono, a 21-year-old father of one, and two of his closest friends also decided to become manusia silver, they recounted on Thursday evening (10/6) on Jl. Latuharhary in Menteng, Central Jakarta. Prior to the pandemic, Agus was a janitor at a shopping center in Kuningan, South Jakarta, with a monthly income of Rp 1.8 million.

Unfortunately, he was laid off five months before his wife gave birth last year.

During his time as manusia silver, red spots began to appear on his skin. It was believed the spots were caused by the screen-printing paint mixed with cooking oil that he used. There was a burning and stinging sensation when he used it on his skin.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS WISNU WARDHANA DANY

Irwan (44) a clown in a Hello Kitty costume is resting on Jalan Kemanggisan Pulo, Palmerah, West Jakarta, Wednesday (9/6/2021) afternoon.

Behind “Hello Kitty”

Irwan took a slightly different path. He donned a full-body Hello Kitty costume to earn money as a badut kusam (sad clown). "I’m going to take a breather. It’s tiring to go around the Palmerah, Kemandoran, and Kemanggisan markets," the 44-year-old said on Wednesday afternoon (9/6) on Jl. Kemanggisan Pulo in Palmerah, West Jakarta.

He had earned just Rp 30,000 that afternoon. The father of three worked odd jobs at first, including as a construction worker. Then the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to all the projects he was working on. “I immediately agreed when my friend invited me to become a clown. I needed the money," he said.

Because his friend had invited him, he didn’t need to pay to rent the costume. They usually changed locations every day in Greater Jakarta as they worked for handouts.

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Irwan, who lives in Jembatan Lima, Tambora, West Jakarta, said he received monthly social assistance from the government. Initially, the assistance was in the form of basic necessities, and then it was replaced with cash assistance of Rp 300,000.

However, the social assistance was insufficient to cover the daily needs of his family or to cover his three-room housing rent of Rp 1 million per month. His two children are still in university.

Juniarti, Agus, and Irwan are portraits of the new poor in the capital city. As of September 2020, 4.69 percent of the approximately 10 million residents in Jakarta were categorized as poor. This was a 1.27 percent increase in Jakarta\'s poor population compared to September 2019 as a result of the pandemic.

They are tumbling in the vortex of the pandemic that has still not subsided. The majestic skyscrapers of the capital are silent witnesses to these manusia silver and sad clowns who are trying to keep their families alive.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.