As we know, the COVID-19 health crisis is said to have driven up the number of Manusia Perak (silver human), a kind of street performer covered in silver metallic paint armed with a cardboard box to collect donations, making their rounds on the streets in the capital city.
The Central Jakarta Social Affairs Agency head, Ngapuli Perangin-angin said on Wednesday, as quoted by antaranews.com that the Manusia Perak phenomenon is one of the impacts of [the pandemic].
Ngapuli said that the emergence of these “silver men” had never happened before, indicating that the crisis had so severely impacted people’s finances that they were resorting to alternative means of earning an income, including by becoming silver human.
He added that he had frequently come across teenaged silver humans who were neither orphans nor street children.
In such cases, the agency usually contacted their parents to ask them to come to collect the teens and get them off the streets.
Earlier in September, the North Jakarta Public Order Agency carried out an “operation” targeting Manusia Perak in several areas, including Jl. Kelapa Hybrida in Kelapa Gading residential area.
During the operation, the agency discovered a boy covered in silver metallic paint asking for money from passersby.
Other reports said that the manusia perak disrupted traffic at intersections or accosted passersby.
Ngapuli said that manusia perak was commonly spotted in the three Central Jakarta districts of Gambir, Tanah Abang, and Menteng, which were usually bustling during office hours.
He said that the social affairs agency, along with the Central Jakarta Public Order Agency, had also conducted social welfare operations to offer assistance to people affected by the health crisis, including manusia perak.
However, many simply ran away when the agencies’ officers tried to approach them.
Ngapuli urged members of the public to avoid giving money to people begging on the streets and instead suggested making a donation through charitable organizations.
