COVID-19 and Mutual Aid

2021/03/25

It has already been a year since the new coronavirus began raging across the globe. Looking back, I was in Indonesia around this time last year. At that time, no cases had been confirmed there yet, and I remember feeling bewildered by wearing an unfamiliar mask in the midsummer heat. Since returning to Japan in mid-February, I have been unable to travel for nearly a year. For someone who regularly conducts field research, not going into the field for a whole year is a first since my master's studies when I first aspired to research, excluding the year I gave birth. On the other hand, communication with people on the ground has been surprisingly active. With internet environments established on both sides and more time spent at home, I have become completely accustomed to exchanging information and holding discussions online over the past year.

Among many new discoveries, I am once again amazed by the practice of mutual aid among the people of Indonesia. In Indonesia, almsgiving based on Islamic teachings—practiced by nearly 90% of the population—and mutual aid systems within local communities still function to a certain extent today. During the COVID-19 pandemic, donations have been collected through various channels such as religious and social organizations, workplaces, schools, and local communities, with various goods and funds being sent to those in need. Even at the mosque of a famous national university, which is one of my research sites, donations are collected from faculty, students, and local residents to provide continuous support, including food distribution to the poor, smartphones and internet costs for struggling students taking online classes, and medical supplies for hospitals and healthcare workers. It is said that the implementation of a system allowing people to easily donate with simple smartphone operations has also been successful.

When I expressed my admiration for the people's agility in helping one another, a mosque administrator I know told me, "That's the difference from Japanese people, who place their expectations on public support. Since we can't expect anything from the government from the start, we support each other ourselves." In Indonesia, one can see how a safety net functions at the resident level without relying on administrative services.

Incidentally, Indonesia continues to fail in containing the virus. The cumulative number of infected people has reached 1.15 million, and new cases exceed 10,000 every day. While hoping that the power of social mutual aid can somehow compensate for a government unable to effectively implement infection control measures, I spend my days longing for the day I can travel there again.