Fishermen's children suffer from exploitation<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana and Fitriyanti Djoni<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that Indonesia has ratified the International
\nConvention on the Rights of the Child, there are still many
\nchildren living in exceptionally difficult conditions. The
\ngrowing number of child workers, street kids and juvenile
\ndelinquents are serious problems faced by the Indonesian
\ngovernment in its attempts to manifest the convention into
\nnational policy. The government also needs to pay more attention
\nto children in fishing villages whose living conditions may be
\njust as bad, or perhaps much worse than that of child workers.
\nSince most fisherfolk live below the poverty line, their children
\nare subject to economic exploitation. Poverty has also affected
\ntheir physical, social and mental development. In conjunction
\nwith National Children's Day, which falls on Wednesday, The
\nJakarta Post examines the lives of children in several fishing
\nvillages in the Seribu Islands; Muara Angke and Muara Karang in
\nNorth Jakarta; Teluk Naga in Tangerang; and Labuan in Banten,
\nWest Java. More stories on Page 6 and 7.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The sky is bright, the sea gentle. A dozen young
\nboys emerge from a labyrinth of wooden huts at Cigondang village,
\none of three main fishing villages in Labuan, Banten, West Java.<\/p>\n
The barefooted boys rush to the shore to welcome their fathers
\nand elder brothers, hoping they have come with abundant yields
\nfrom the sea. Their young siblings are busy running around the
\nmud which smells because of the scattered garbage, animal and
\nhuman waste.<\/p>\n
Wives and daughters help the men bundle the fish. The boys
\nwill take them to an auction center in the center of the village.<\/p>\n
This is a typical daily scene in every fishing village in the
\ncountry. All family members are involved in this work which
\noccurs 24 hours a day. Children know exactly what their duties
\nare: to help their parents.<\/p>\n
Forget about their rights to access to basic health and
\neducation. Their rights to live in a warm, healthy and
\ncomfortable environment or their rights to be protected from
\neconomic exploitation; these hardly exist in these villages.<\/p>\n
In Teluk subdistrict of Labuan, home to more than 8,000
\nresidents, there are only four public toilets, one elementary
\nschool and one community health center.<\/p>\n
The fishermen live in hovels, mostly without a bathroom.
\nSubdistrict head Muhaimin said it is very difficult to change the
\nfishermen's unhygienic habits. \"They let their children wash and
\ndefecate along the beach or in front of their dilapidated huts,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Garbage is dumped all over the village, sunlight rarely
\ntouches their homes.<\/p>\n
Adjat Sudrajat, a health official at Labuan Health Center,
\nsaid skin disease, respiratory infection, dengue fever and
\ndiarrhea are common among fishermen's children, especially during
\nthe dry season.<\/p>\n
\"People have a very low awareness about leading healthy
\nlives,\" said Adjat.<\/p>\n
He said he has to persistently tell women to take their babies
\nand children to Posyandu, an integrated health center, for
\nimmunization and other health facilities.<\/p>\n
Education<\/p>\n
Most fishermen's children obtain an insufficient education.<\/p>\n
Marunda Pulo fishing village, North Jakarta, has a high rate
\nof elementary school dropouts. Many elementary school graduates
\nare unable to continue their studies because there is no junior
\nhigh school nearby. The nearest junior high school is located in
\nMarunda Baru village, which is five kilometers away. They have to
\ntake a boat and ojek (motorcycle taxi) to reach the school. They
\neach need at least Rp 2,000 a day for transportation.<\/p>\n
Amin, 12, complained, \"I actually want to go to school but my
\nfather cannot afford the transportation.\"<\/p>\n
Amin's friend, Sulaeman, has ways to cope with financial
\nproblems. Before and after school he operates a small boat to
\ntransport people from his village to other places. Sulaeman, 13,
\nearns about Rp 7,000 to Rp 10,000 a day. He saves Rp 2,000 and
\ngives the rest to his father.<\/p>\n
\"My father never asked me to do this job. It was by my own
\ninitiative. I want to save enough money to continue my
\neducation,\" said Sulaeman, who dreams of becoming a naval
\nofficer.<\/p>\n
Teacher Enis Nuraida of SD 2 elementary school in Marunda Pulo
\nsaid there are 400 students in the school. \"The kids are actually
\ndiligent, but their parents desperately need their help at work.
\nThey give no support for any school activity.\"<\/p>\n
To give these children an adequate education is almost
\nimpossible, said Nuraida. \"Schoolbooks are rarely found on this
\nisland. We have only one text book for each class. The students
\ncannot afford to buy it,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Children are offered the opportunity to buy the necessary
\nbooks and other school equipment in installments, yet their
\nparents are unable or unwilling to buy them, she said.<\/p>\n
The school receives a donation from the Mitayani Foundation
\nfor the monthly school fees for 80 students. So far, it is only
\nthe foundation that cares about these children's future, Nuraida
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Many children enter the workforce at the age of nine or 10.<\/p>\n
A large number of boys work as deckhands on boats and earn
\nhalf as much as adult fishermen. The others help their parents
\nproduce fish nets and other fishing supplies, repair boat engines
\nand take catches to fish markets.<\/p>\n
A lot of the girls are needed by their mothers to help run the
\nhousehold. Some also help bundle the fish caught by their father.<\/p>\n
Aliman, 12, a boy from Kelapa Island in the Seribu Islands,
\nruns a tight schedule. He gets up at 4 a.m. to prepare freshwater
\nand food supplies, salt and large blocks of ice for his father
\nwho goes to sea at dawn. He is also responsible for checking the
\nboat engine and making sure the kerosene lamp works properly.<\/p>\n
From 9 a.m. until noon, he helps his mother dry salted fish on
\nbamboo racks in front of their shabby hut. \"I wish I could go to
\njunior highschool in the afternoon, but I am too tired to follow
\nany lesson,\" said Aliman who just graduated from elementary
\nschool.<\/p>\n
Aliman and other children prefer to watch outdoor movies at
\nnearby villages or chat on the beach while playing cards until
\nmidnight.<\/p>\n
Amat bin Akra, 11, has a job collecting unsold fish and shrimp
\noutside the auction center at Cigondang in Labuan.<\/p>\n
\"Everyday I come here to collect the unsold fish. I can take
\nhome between Rp 3,000 to Rp 5,000,\" said Amat. He spends the
\nmoney on cigarettes, soft drinks and inferior liquor.<\/p>\n
Three years ago, he took the job just for fun. As time goes
\nby, he tastes more freedom and money at the auction center. \"I
\ncouldn't bear sitting in a classroom, and I particularly couldn't
\nstand homework. My father did not go to school but he can
\nsurvive,\" added Amat.<\/p>\n
Victor Manurung, an expert at the Ministry of Agriculture's
\nresearch center is alarmed by the high rate of dropouts, young
\nmarriages and social misbehavior of fishermen's children.<\/p>\n
\"Education and the provision of health and social facilities
\nare urgent. If we can improve these children's education and
\nwelfare, they may become smarter and tougher fishermen, or seek
\nother professions which allow them to improve their living
\nstandards,\" Manurung said.<\/p>\n
If the government and other related agencies do not take
\nimmediate action, these children will most likely follow their
\nparents' seafaring life and grow up just as a poor and powerless.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fishermens-children-suffer-from-exploitation-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}