The Troll who lived under the bridge

Jakarta, Indonesia- The troll who lived under the bridge was a childhood story that haunted some young children, but in Indonesia instead of trolls under the bridge, immigrants live with families that have nowhere else to turn.  During 1996, more and more immigrants were flocking to Jakarta to start a new life where a city was beginning to blossom.  Jakarta is the capitol city of Indonesia, but is a city of slums, gangs, and violence.  For many, these bridges represent a safe haven from the trolls that are lurking, not under the bridge, but above it (Jakarta Globe).

This capitol city originally was designed to hold a little over 800,000 people, but currently there are as many as 25,000,000 people and the numbers are growing.   The government has continued to struggle to provide housing for the new immigrants resulting in people living under bridges, along rivers, and on railway lines (Jakarta Globe). 

Works Cited

Kurniwati, Dewi. “Jakarta Faces Swelling Population and Shortfall of Proper Housing.” Jakarta Globe. Jakarta Globe, 3 Nov. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2010.

Salgado, Sebastião. Photograph. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. New York: Aperture, 2000. 423. Print. 4 Mar. 2010.