After two consecutive years of the ban on mudik (exodus), people were again allowed to follow the Idul Fitri tradition this year. Life is gradually returning to normal.
By
TATANG MULYANA SINAGA, YOLA SASTRA
·4 minutes read
When the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, Fitri Rachman (46) was struggling to survive after she had been defrauded. She did not have an income, as it was difficult to find a job amid the series of social and mobility restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
However, Fitri refused to give up. In order to cut her spending, she and her family in Bandung, West Java, rented a 12-square-meter room. She also joined the Pre-Employment Card training program to learn new skills so she could find a job.
“I did whatever I could. I even applied for a job as a domestic worker through an online recruitment platform. However, because I did have any experience as a maid, nobody called me,” she said.
Her persistence paid off. Fitri was hired as a police science lecturer at a private university in Bandung. Since then, her life has improved gradually. She and her family then left the small rented room and moved to a rented house.
Fitri's experience is one of 76 stories of recovery sent in to Kompas’s #CeritaPulihmu (Your Recovery Stories) campaign on 27 April-4 May 2022. The campaign aimed to mark this year’s Idul Fitri, which had been hampered over the previous two years by a number of social and mobility restrictions imposed amid the spread of Covid-19.
Stevanny Yosicha Putri (28) also experienced economic difficulties stemming from the pandemic while she was studying in Yogyakarta in 2020-2021. The social and mobility restrictions the government imposed to halt the spread of Covid-19 severely hurt her mother’s business. A single parent, her mother ran a food business to support her family.
Stevanny also lost her part-time job as a restaurant cashier. However, she was determined to complete her studies despite her family’s economic uncertainties.
When her subsidized internet quota, which was provided by the government to support online learning, ran out, she used the free Wi-Fi network at an office near her house. "When using the Wi-Fi, I had to sit on a terrace that was very hot on sunny days, and I would be hit by water when it rained," she recalled.
When using the Wi-Fi, I had to sit on a terrace that was very hot on sunny days, and I would be hit by water when it rained.
Despite the difficulties, Stevanny managed to continue her studies. She graduated from the School of Indonesian Literature in January 2022. She even completed her university degree in just 3.5 years.
Meanwhile, Imbran Batelemba Bonde (29) was struggling to be accepted to an overseas master's scholarship program when the Covid-19 pandemic began. He filled his time by establishing a children’s reading center in his neighborhood in Singkona village, Southeast Pamona district, Poso regency, Central Sulawesi.
ARSIP PRIBADI
Imbran Batelemba Bonde's photo of flowers sent by Imbran. Imbran is currently registered as a master's student in the international peacebuilding department at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, Connecticut, United States.
Imbran was often ridiculed by his neighbors for not being able to find a job. Although his neighbors looked down on him, he continued his activities running the reading center and searching for find a scholarship. In March 2021, he finally received a letter of acceptance to a master's scholarship program at the peacebuilding department at the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace in Connecticut, the United States.
Another person who submitted her story to #CeritaPulihmu is Veronica Gabriella, who recounted how she recovered from her grief over the death of her father due to cardiac arrest in November 2020. Her mother helped her move on by making some changes in their home in Periuk district, Tangerang, such as by changing the position of the furniture, such as the sofa in their living room.
"Maybe such a small thing helped us to heal," she said. Doing activities like creative writing helped her get over the loss of her father. Today, the wound is still there, but not as deep as it was when her father died.
Putri Riadini (38), a geologist at a multinational oil and gas company in Jakarta, recounted the mental slump she experienced from working from home (WFH) for the past two years. She, her husband, and children lived and worked in a 75 sqm apartment every day and did not interact with other people.
During that period, Putri's children often watched as their parents argued. Putri often scolded her children when she lost her temper.
Slowly, she learned to deal with the difficult situation and began to change her stance. She gradually accepted and was able to face whatever happened, whether it was good or bad.
"I got to know myself again and improve my relationship with [God]," said Putri, who lives in Setiabudi, South Jakarta.
Now, the entire world is slowly starting to recover from the pandemic. After two consecutive years of the ban on mudik (exodus), people were again allowed to follow the Idul Fitri tradition this year. Life is gradually returning to normal, as Fitri, Stevanny, Imbran, Veronica, and Putri are finding out.
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.
