Our children and violent behavior<\/p>\n
Yulia Wardhani, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The traffic light stopped me exactly in front of two children
\nfighting on the side of the Rawamangun bypass. I was in a bajaj
\n(motorized pedicab) at the time. The children were scrambling for
\na coin, thrown by a taxi driver.<\/p>\n
They started to bite each other and cry. One boy, about seven
\nyears old intervened. He tried to separate the boys and advised
\nthem to stop fighting. One of the boys attacked him, biting him
\non the head. The fight soon resumed and didn't stop until the
\nboys were bruised and bloody.<\/p>\n
Another story recently was the violence between groups of
\nstudents along Jl. Salemba in Central Jakarta. They destroyed
\ntraffic lights, cars, public phone booths and other facilities,
\ncausing street vendors and pedestrians to flee in panic.<\/p>\n
The biggest story, however, was the bomb attack outside the
\nAustralian Embassy in Kuningan, Jakarta. The attack damaged
\nbuildings, the embassy, trees and cars on the road. But these
\ncould be repaired or replaced.<\/p>\n
What couldn't be replaced were the lives of the 10 people
\ntaken in the blast and our hearts bled as their families cried.<\/p>\n
These stories are the present reality of Indonesian streets.
\nThe stories at the traffic lights, the public markets or the
\nbusiness districts.<\/p>\n
And the message of these stories is that our children; our
\npeople -- our society -- is under stress.<\/p>\n
The poor, the largest segment of the Indonesian population,
\nhave had to contend with increasing hardship and suffering in
\ntheir daily lives. The children of the very poor must work to
\nhelp their families and feed themselves -- along the street as
\nsidewalk vendors, itinerant cigarette sellers or beggars. One of
\nthe few legitimate ways to alleviate their status, through
\neducation, is not available to them.<\/p>\n
The more privileged youth in society, meanwhile, are
\ndestroying their futures by senseless fighting, or drug abuse
\nand, like their elders, student leaders often prefer political
\nmaneuvering to studying or real work.<\/p>\n
During her tenure, Megawati's democratically elected
\nadministration could not alleviate the nation's poverty or
\nimprove the quality of life for the average citizen.<\/p>\n
Entrenching poverty has caused a parallel moral decline, which
\nis seeping into all facets of contemporary life in Indonesia,
\nespecially in Jakarta, the nation's capital. The violence and
\ninjustice of poverty begets more violence; social conflicts in
\nwhich murder, kidnapping, rape, and even terror attacks -- the
\nBali Marriott and Kuningan bombs are the three most well-known
\nexamples -- spread their poison through the archipelago.<\/p>\n
The social conflict reflects the social stress, the fractured
\nnature and the disequilibrium in our society. The youth do not
\ntrust their leaders because they seem to be concerned only with
\nthemselves and their parties. This leadership crisis affects the
\nattitudes of the young, the children, who are the most vulnerable
\nto forms of violence.<\/p>\n
And it is not just poor children that are feeling the stress.
\nBroken families, rich families, or single parents who
\neconomically have more than enough often neglect their children.
\nFighting and other antisocial behavior are a way for youths to
\nrelease their tension and gain attention.<\/p>\n
Children are our future. They are an investment in our
\ncountry. But what kind of country will this become if they are
\nstressed.<\/p>\n
Antisocial behavior among youth is a cry for help -- a
\nmanifestation of the trauma besieging the national psyche. It is
\na call to reach out, to love -- and to work -- so we as a nation
\ncan all share in a brighter, less-stressful future.<\/p>\n
We should keep these ideas in mind when we celebrate National
\nMental Health Day.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer on psychiatric nursing at STIK
\n(nursery institute) St. Carolus Hospital.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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