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A Neighborhood in Depression

One laid-off woman shows small-town fallout

KNITTED BROWS Aningsih lost her job at a textile factory in West Java last year after orders from the US and Europe dwindled. She says finding a new job is nearly impossible in her small town where residents heavily rely on jobs provided by five big textile factories.
Photo by Jan Lepeltak

Last year, Aningsih dreamed of moving out of the tiny wooden house she shares with eight family members and studying at a university. The 28-yearold from West Java, Indonesia, had been earning about $72 a month stitching socks and sweaters at one of the five large garment factories that dominate the township of Rancaekek, east of Bandung.

Then orders from the United States and Europe began to dry up amid the global recession, and Aningsih was laid off, along with thousands of other workers.

Now she stays home caring for her infant son while her husband, Yantho, 30, struggles to make ends meet, working long hours stitching socks in another garment factory.

“All our plans have changed,” the disheartened young mother says. “There is no money.”

In many ways, her story is a typical one in Indonesia and around the region. According to Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno, at least 51,000 Indonesian workers have been laid off this year as businesses adjust to reduced international orders.

Finding a new job is nearly impossible, Aningsih says. “You have to pay a person money to get a job in the textile factories. For 2.5 million rupiah [$200], they will find you a position. But I don’t have that kind of money.”

Her husband faces an uncertain future as well. “He does not have a permanent job or a contract for working in the factory,” she says. “So we never know whether we still have money next month.”

Saving money is no longer possible for the ethnic Sundanese family. Prices for food and cooking oil have doubled or even tripled since last year, making life difficult for Rancaekek residents. “We can still eat lalap,” a local fish, chicken, and vegetable soup, says Aningsih’s father, Rukmin, 55, who drives a cycle rickshaw and works on construction sites. “But we cannot afford any other meat. It became too expensive.”

Many in her neighborhood suffer from depression, Aningsih says. Sometimes neighbors come to the aid of those who are especially hard-pressed. “We try to help each other.” •