With 11 million inhabitants, Jakarta is a sprawling metropolis whose streets never seem to be empty. Despite the measures taken by the municipality, notably the installation of an unusual bus service that allows passengers to enter and leave the city via walkways in the middle of the road, nothing seems to stop the traffic from clogging up everywhere, day and night.
We’re talking about the famous Macet, which means traffic jam in Bahasa, Indonesia’s official language. The problem is such that the current government has officially transferred the country’s capital to Nusantara, a new city under construction on the island of Borneo. Although not everyone in Indonesia is convinced by the project, it has been deemed preferable to build this city in the jungle rather than remain in Jakarta, the capital since the country’s independence in 1945.
The Pope? Who is that?
In anticipation of Pope Francis’ visit (September 3-5), local authorities had asked Jakartans to give priority to teleworking during his stay. But the message didn’t necessarily get through … especially as some inhabitants of the city, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, didn’t seem to know that the Pope was coming … or even know who the Pope is!
On the afternoon of September 4, Francis had an appointment in the cathedral to meet with members of the Catholic Church in the country. And although he was heavily escorted by Indonesian security services, he arrived slightly late.
There’s nothing unusual about Pope Francis not following the program to the minute. In fact, it’s a habit of the Pontiff who has often repeated that “time is greater than space.” In Jakarta, however, space seems to have exceeded time, a phenomenon that several local journalists assured us they could explain. “He got caught in traffic,” laughs Valentina, a Catholic working for a secular TV station. “It’s a real problem here,” confirms her colleague Subandi, a Muslim.
At the same time, the street in front of the cathedral was suddenly reopened to traffic, and mopeds began to roar up and down the street, stealing the right of way from the papal convoy. Traffic was finally halted and the Argentinian pontiff eventually arrived, without the delay seeming to have disturbed anyone.
The Pope was probably not perturbed either; after all, he’s the Bishop of Rome, a city which is not a model in terms of traffic flow.
And today we celebrate...