Street children protest being stereotyped<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Newspaper boy Syamsul wanted to set the record
\nstraight on what street children are actually like for an event
\ndevoted to highlighting their creativity.<\/p>\n
To do so, he borrowed lines from the original theme song for
\nthe popular television series Si Doel Anak Sekolahan, replacing
\nthe common slurs against native Jakartans with public
\nmisconceptions of street children.<\/p>\n
\"Street children are out of date, somebody says\/Street
\nchildren have no culture, somebody says\/Hey damn it...\"<\/p>\n
Syamsul and two of his friends sung the song at the
\nperformance organized by Centra Mitra Muda, a youth wing of the
\nIndonesian Family Planning Institute, at Senen Youth Stadium in
\nCentral Jakarta yesterday.<\/p>\n
Nine other street children's groups also performed.<\/p>\n
Participants were newspaper boys, street singers and shoe
\npolishers who usually earn their living on the city's streets.<\/p>\n
The children, aged from eight years to 18 years, sang songs,
\nread poems and short stories and performed plays.<\/p>\n
It was also a forum for them to set the record straight on
\ntheir lives.<\/p>\n
\"Many people view street singers as naughty kids who are
\nfrequently involved in fights or pickpocketing. We are not. We
\nsing for our lives,\" said Andi, 16, a street singer who usually
\noperates on buses departing the Senen bus terminal.<\/p>\n
He and his friends preferred to identify themselves as \"street
\nartists\" who sang for a fee, not a handout.<\/p>\n
Lusi, a member of the organizing committee, said the
\nperformance was held in conjunction with the commemoration of the
\nNational Children's Day, which fell last Thursday. It was also
\naimed at providing the children with a healthy and beneficial
\nenvironment, she added.<\/p>\n
\"Please give more attention to the street children. Most of
\nthem don't have parents, families and homes.\"<\/p>\n
The student of the state-run Jakarta Teachers Training
\nInstitute said the public should also take responsibility for
\nensuring the street children's needs were met as these were not
\nprovided by the regular family unit.<\/p>\n
\"Some of these children grow, live and eat on the streets.\"<\/p>\n
Mumuk, a 15-year-old street singer, seemed happy with the
\ndiversion. \"I like this stage. I met other street friends,\" said
\nthe boy who usually operates on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
He was reluctant to talk about his parents. He said he always
\nslept on the streets, mostly in Pasar Burung area, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Mumuk, who plays the ukulele, and his three colleagues, who
\nplay guitar, tambourine and a makeshift drum made from a water
\nmineral bottle, claimed to earn an average of Rp 30,000 a day.<\/p>\n
Street singer Berry, 10, said he and his friends were often
\ninvited by non-governmental organizations to events.<\/p>\n
\"We got some money after the activity. We once spent a night
\nin a villa after the show,\" said the orphan from the Kramat area
\nin Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Berry, Rony, a newspaper boy, and Nasrun, a shoe polisher,
\nrecited poems.<\/p>\n
Lusi said that her organization gave each group of performers
\n-- consisting of at least four performers -- Rp 100,000 after the
\nevent.<\/p>\n
Funding for the event was from the United Nation Children's
\nFund (Unicef) and donations from other institutions, she said.<\/p>\n
The organization also screened a film by noted director Garin
\nNugroho about a street singer's life, Dongeng Kancil Tentang
\nKemerdekaan (A Cheviot's Tale about Freedom). A seminar about
\nstreet children was also held yesterday. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/street-children-protest-being-stereotyped-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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