No quiet rules at Indonesia’s flyover library

Parents and even street gangs warm to idea of open-air reading park

South Tangerang (Indonesia), March 25: Singing and laughter briefly drown out the roar of cars under a Jakarta flyover, where an unlikely library for kids is thriving despite choking fumes – and opposition from menacing gangsters.

There's no quiet rule at this open-air reading park wedged between two lanes of traffic just outside Indonesia's capital, a city of some 30 million that is notorious for having some of the world's worst traffic jams.

Despite its unlikely location, the Taman Baca Masyarakat Kolong has been a hit. A shortage of public libraries means it's one of the few places where kids from this area can read books outside school.

“We wanted to bring books closer to the community,” Devina Febrianti, a library coordinator,

■ Library is wedged between two lanes of traffic just outside Indonesia's capital.

said as car horns blared accompanied by choking exhaust fumes.

Several years ago, the flyover

■ Today, it's not uncommon to see up to 70 kids attending after-school sessions there.

■ Library volunteers admit the street-side location poses potential health problems.

in suburb Ciputat, part of Jakarta's greater metropolitan area, was strewn with rubbish and roamed by intimidating street thugs, Febrianti said.

But armed with books and paint, local organisations set about transforming its down-and-out reputation.

Artists painted murals on the walls, installed planter boxes and a futsal pitch, and a library with several dozen books was built on site.

Still, it wasn't met with universal acclaim when it opened for business in

2016.

“In the beginning not everyone was supportive when we came with books because there were already other residents here,” Febrianti said.

“We asked for forgiveness first from the gangsters who were here and then the 'angkot' drivers,” she added, referring to cheap and ubiquitous minivans that provide public transport. –AFP