240,000 children in East Java neglected

SURABAYA: No less than 240,000 children were found in neglected condition all over East Java during 2001, with over half or 150,982 comprising child refugees from restive Aceh and Maluku provinces, West Kalimantan's Sambas regency and Central Kalimantan's Sampit regency.

East Java Deputy Governor Imam Supardi said in Surabaya on Thursday that some of them were forsaken after they had become school dropouts, while others were street children with no schooling, now totaling around 5,000 in the city.

He expressed hope that the public would actively participate in promoting and providing human rights protection for the kids, particularly the children's rights.

Supardi pointed out that there were also 5,000 underage workers in the province.

According to the Director General of Human Rights Protection, the UNICEF data of 1999 showed that eight million children in Indonesia became school dropouts due to the economic crisis.

Based on a report of the Children's Protection Commission in 2001, 50,000 street kids were roaming in 12 major Indonesian cities, besides 400,000 local child refugees facing social problems and 10.6 million handicapped children.