Indonesia: the epidemic also stops the mudik

The government has banned the traditional exodus of millions of people returning to their hometown to celebrate both Eid and the family reunion. Recent research has said that around three million are expected to perform mudik this year. Last year, the total number of pemudiks (the people of the exodus) was around 18.3 million.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesia has strictly banned mudik this year due to the coronavirus epidemic. Mudik is the Indonesian term to indicate the exodus of millions of people returning from their big cities to their hometown for family reunification during the Islamic celebration of Eid al Fitri.

Regardless of the level of traffic congestion (pictured) or how much it costs or how far you need to travel, mudik is the right time to celebrate both Eid and the family reunion.

So already two weeks before Eid, around 8-9 million citizens of Jakarta leave the city to return to their native towns throughout Java.

Mudik has never been easy, with skyrocketing airfares, train and bus tickets, and also with congested traffic on the main route through Java. Last year was the first year that mudik became cheaper, after the Jokowi administration made the road to Java free.

But today amid the coronavirus epidemic, mudik is officially and strictly prohibited, in the struggle to slow down its spread from cities to villages, because citizens may have become "potential carriers" of the virus. Today, in fact, the government has officially declared that mudik is strictly prohibited this year. This was stated a few hours ago by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. The same decision had also been made for all police, military and other civil servants.

However, a few thousand people started their mudik weeks earlier than expected, as economic activity has drastically decreased in all major cities, including Jakarta. Public transportation, the entertainment industry, and stores have been closed en masse by the local government to counter the spread of the virus. The workers on a daily basis therefore decided to leave the city for "rational" reasons. About 24% of the total residents of Greater Jakarta (about 12 million people) expressed their strong will to perform the mudik. "About 7% have already left Jakarta," said Jokowi.

Recent research has said that around three million are expected to perform mudik this year. Last year, the total number of pemudiks (the people of the exodus) was around 18.3 million. Recent research by the Indonesian Science Agency (LIPI) says that 43.78 percent said mudik is still their choice while 56, 22 percent decided to stay home.

The Jakarta-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) predicts that mudik will cause some new outbreaks.

Strict measures will be implemented for those who violate the government ban. In Surakarta (or Solo) in Central Java, Mayor Francis Xavier Hadi Rudyatmo said that severe measures will be implemented in his territory for the perpetrators of the crime. Solo has two major hubs for travelers: bus and railway stations. Everyone will be asked to self-quarantine for at least 14 days in some "isolation points" prepared in Solo. It is unclear what the Ministry of Transport will do to implement this ban.

Mudik has always offered two different contradictory results.

For the pemudiks, this exodus has always been a great time to get together with all the family members in their village. Which keeps family relationships alive.

But for those families, especially for middle-class city dwellers, mudik creates a chaotic situation, because no domestic work will be performed as in "normal" days. In Indonesia, where human work is very cheap, families often have 2 -3 servants per household for chores and to take care of children.

Hotels then become the best solution for the wealthy Indonesian family during the Mudik period. But when there is no more staff, most people will experience a "tragic" situation since many hotels are closed or partially unmanaged.

Mudik can last 2-3 weeks with pemudiks enjoying time in their hometown with the family. Some of them will return to their employer, but others may not want to return and will look for another employer to make more money.

Hence, for most Indonesians this mudik will be one of increased interest