The Young Unemployed in 21st Century in Indonesia
If you are lucky enough for not being unemployed in Indonesia
then you are lucky enough. Perhaps for western people being unemployed in
Indonesia means ‘no life’: we don’t have social welfare or jobs allowance that
can keep us at least able to buy a bus ticket.
Young and unemployed is not the worst situation at all in
life. But young, unemployed and with no opportunity is like a doom.
If you’re unemployed in Indonesia you have to know how to
keep your life stay longer as there will be nothing you can get from government;
you might be able to get some helps from your family or friends. The only
common thing you can do is keep searching a job, until then you just keep
waiting. I call this situation is an uninvited ‘pension’ – it’s the lack of
unable going nowhere.
Some very encourage people from coach life events comment: “this
is not the end of our world”. I like it. It raise those young unemployed a
hope. But as the hope raising the unemployed rank in Indonesia is also
ascending.
I know it would be simply to answer why the young unemployed
have no opportunity: because Indonesia isn’t a rich country. Well, Indonesia is
actually rich enough to be called a rich country. The world know it how rich
natural resources Indonesia is and how greatly in need its resources by many
country over the world. This is the story what we got from media, anyway.
In the reality, young people desperate looking a job.
A young man named Doni has been very frustrated looking for a
job. Since he got cut he hasn’t still got a job. Doni was B.sc engineering graduation;
according to him he’s glad enough if he can get any job. After his unsuccessful
looking a job in Jakarta, he’s back home because he’s running out of money. Young,
unemployed and live with parents is something that a young Indonesian man would
hardly to face with.
Doni then become so sensitive in some situations although his
mother unintentionally hurt his feeling; however Doni perceive it that he’s useless.
Doni is a bright young man, but still doesn’t get the right
job in accordance with his education background. He once works in administrative
at a private school where give him small paid, but yet Doni still accept it.
Sadly, there still many young Doni in Indonesia who
unemployed. Keep seeking a job and waiting is the only hope for them.
When I walk on a district area in Jakarta with building being
built most of the builders are young and even some of those of are too young to
do that job. If in Ireland many young people prefer to seek a job or travel
than going to college, then the young unfortunate people in Indonesia have no
choice to seek a job to survive from the hunger, or simply for the self-esteem.
It’s such as a sad phenomena to be seen in a country where can
provide a lot of employment opportunities. But young people just make it
through, for example the young entrepreneur, Sandiaga Uno, has proved himself that
a success could begin from zero. Sandiaga Uno starts his business since his
back from USA; being cut off and used to with bigger paid, particularly need use
to with Indonesian wages, I don’t think it something that somebody would easy
to d. Yet he breaks the crisis.
Sandiaga often comments to his successful that he is just
being lucky to be one of the successful young and richest men in Indonesia. For
me, successful isn’t just luck. It’s toil.
Last but not least is being unemployed is not something to be
embarrassed with. If being unemployed is something that we can’t avoid then the
good way is to accept it. Don’t worry
about what people think about your new status (it’s not your fault of being
unemployed). Give yourself time to rest and be in your own world -- this maybe
could give ideas.
You don’t have to be like Sandiaga Uno but see the message
behind of his successful story. You might like this ads from Unicef, when I
read this ads on a train station in Dublin, I stood front of the ads and
thinking about it a lot: ‘Believe in ZERO’.
It’s uneasy to keep going on the unemployed situation, but as
what Obama favourite quote says “We can do it!”
DBLN, 21.51-200811
Copyright© JengSri’s Blog
