Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Banten
Watching a squad of sunburnt teenage boys diving after coins may be an entertaining spectacle for ferry passengers at Merak port in Cilegon, Banten.
For those who frequently cross the Sunda Strait from Merak to Bakauheni in Sumatra, the coin-diving boys are a familiar sight. These children all live around this busy crossing port.
They dive into the water, ignoring the risks while scrambling for coins that ferry passengers throw.
The boys know the rules of this game. They climb to the top of the ferry, even scaling its chimney, as it rests at anchor at the wharf. They wait for many passengers to board the vessel.
Once a crowd lines up along the vessel's railing, they start diving into the sea, one by one. Looking up as they tread water, they appeal to the passengers to throw coins.
If passengers do throw their coins from the deck, they boys dive like cormorants racing to get to the coins before the others.
This occupation is quite dangerous, but the coin divers, ranging in age from 10 to 20 years old, say they enjoy the activity. Some see it as a routine job since they have dropped out of school.
Sadri, 10, a coin diver who lives with his parents in Pulomerak district in Cilegon, said being a coin boy required bravery as well as caution.
He said if they were not careful, they could be dragged too close to the ships' propellers which could slice them into pieces.
"We have to be quick when retrieving coins from the bottom of the sea," Sadri a coin boy since the age of eight, told The Jakarta Post.
Sadri said he and his fellows coin divers were aware of the dangers lurking beneath the surface.
They often had to dive below moving ferries but they would not stop retrieving the coins because they said the activity was fun and they made money.
"I am scared about getting hit by a boat or pulled into its propellers. That's why I swim fast when diving for coins," Sadri said, adding he could earn between Rp 5,000 (54 US cents) and Rp 10,000 each day.
Palar, 13, another coin diver, said he was proud of what he earned this way.
"It's not so bad, we can earn money to buy snacks on our own without having to ask our parents," he said.
Palar said he was also scared of drowning or getting hurt by a propeller, but he had to do this for money because he had no other skills besides swimming and diving.
"The fun and challenge in snagging the coins crushes my fear. Me and my diver friends, we can earn 12,000 a day from hunting for coins," he said.
Sadri, Palar and some 50 other coin divers at Merak port claimed they could earn Rp 50,000 each day during the Idul Fitri holidays because the ships are ferrying more passengers with each crossing.
"I hope my friends and I can earn more money so we can buy new clothes for the Idul Fitri holidays coming up," Palar said.
"We have to be fast because we compete for each coin a passenger throws; if we're slow we get nothing at all," he said.
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