The World

Jakarta report

Indonesians are struggling to pay for basic food items and although the government is trying to control prices, the effort is not easing the pain for Indonesia’s poor, as Rebecca Henschke reports from Jakarta.

This woman’s relatives try to comfort as she mourns over her husband’s death, after he committed suicide because of rising debt due to the cost of food. the man ekes out a living of two dollars a day, not enough to feed his family. That woman is not alone in her suffering. This tempeh seller says everyone is charging higher prices and life is getting even harder. He’s worried that tempeh is going to rise in price again. In February thousands of sellers went on strike to show their anger and in response the government cut costs and is subsidizing basic foods at local market. However the help has come too late for many families.