The Rescuers
ON Sunday two weeks ago, over 3,500 people spilled out onto Jalan Asia-Afrika in Bandung. They were armed with sapu lidi (coconut-leaf brooms) and paintbrushes. They happily swept the streets, painted the sidewalks, fences, and buildings white. The citizens of Bandung City, the 'Paris of Java', were enthusiastically and vigorously beautifying their city for this week's grand celebration: the 60th annual commemoration of the start of the Asia-Africa (AA) Conference. The communities' voluntary work extended to Pasir Kaliki, Lengkong, and Burangrang streets.
Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil is the initiator of this mass action. That day, he was seen busy painting a pedestrian pathway along with a number of Bandung's public figures. Volunteers also streamed in from Bogor, Tangerang, Depok, Bekasi, and Jakarta. This was just a part of the move by Kang Emil, as Ridwan Kamil is familiarly known, to mobilize large numbers of people.
April 21, 2015
ON Sunday two weeks ago, over 3,500 people spilled out onto Jalan Asia-Afrika in Bandung. They were armed with sapu lidi (coconut-leaf brooms) and paintbrushes. They happily swept the streets, painted the sidewalks, fences, and buildings white. The citizens of Bandung City, the 'Paris of Java', were enthusiastically and vigorously beautifying their city for this week's grand celebration: the 60th annual commemoration of the start of the Asia-Africa
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