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DEPOK, Indonesia – Indonesian single mother Puryanti tilts stiffly like a robot, as she and her five-year-old son, bodies shining in silver paint, appeal to passers-by for an occasional coin at a very busy crossroads. frequented outside the capital Jakarta.
They are part of a group of people known as ‘manusia silver’ or ‘silver people’ who use this strategy to gain attention, while struggling to make ends meet after the coronavirus pushes Asia’s largest economy. Southeast in recession last year.
“Some give, some don’t,” said Puryanti, 29, after three months of daily performances, accompanied by her nephew Raffi, 15. “Sometimes someone gives enough.”
On a good day, the Javanese, who was a housewife before her divorce, can earn around 70,000 rupees ($ 5), enough to pay the rent.
Puryanti uses homemade paint, a mixture of screen printing powder and cooking oil, to coat their bodies and add drama to the robot act. She says the silver paint does not cause any ill effects.
“I’m not ashamed to work like this,” she added. “The important thing is that this is all for my children.”
The pandemic, which led to Indonesia’s first recession in more than two decades, with an economy shrinking nearly 2.2% in the fourth quarter, has been difficult for millions of people in the informal sector who have to leave their homes for win their life.
Indonesia’s poor represent 26.42 million out of a population of over 270 million, according to government statistics, a number that increased by 1.63 million between September 2019 and the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Puryanti has checked with police that she can continue working as a ‘money person’ for now, as long as she follows coronavirus measures such as wearing a mask, but she has ambitions higher.
“I want to have my own business,” she added. “I want to open a small shop but I don’t have the money for it.”
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