'Alang-alang' children scrape by on the docks

'Alang-alang' children scrape by on the docks

BATANG, Central Java (JP): The fish auction center at Batang
Port swarms every morning with brokers and, during holidays, with
women customers looking for bargains.

Hardly noticed among the throng are groups of boys, nearly all
of them under the age of 12, who have made the dock their second
home. Carrying black plastic bags, they keep an eye out for the
boats mooring at the dock about 50 meters from the auction
center.

They are part of the port scenery and are known as bocah
alang-alang, a term which means the kids who look for fish that
fall to the ground when the fishermen pack their catch in plastic
crates ready to be carried to the center.

The kids run after the fishermen who are lugging around full
crates, hoping to pick up some fish which, if they are lucky,
drops to the ground. If they are more desperate, they may even
try to grab fish from the crates. Sometimes, they have to
struggle among themselves for the fish and fights are
commonplace.

Those caught taking fish from the crates are driven away with
hand gestures but not scolded or beaten. Seconds later, sure
enough, they return. It happens over-and-over again, like a
choreographed routine.

Some of the hired fishermen collude with the children by
purposely dropping the fish that will fetch high prices at
market. After collecting sizable quantities, it is sold and the
profit shared equally.

Small-scale brokers, mostly old women, usually buy the fish
for sale in surrounding towns.

The boys come from several nearby villages like Seturi
(Karangasem) and Klidang (Klidang Lor). They are generally
fishermen's children and school dropouts who need to make money
to support themselves and their families.

Every day, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., they can make from Rp 5,000
to Rp 10,000, a tidy sum and too tempting for them to resist
avoiding a day in the classroom. But some of them claim they
still go to school.

Nardi, 12, said he was in sixth grade at elementary school and
only visited the port during school vacations and holidays.

"I never play hooky, my dad would be mad at me," asserted the
boy from Seturi.

He said his father also warned him against stealing any of the
fish and only to take what falls out of the buckets. He earns
from Rp 6,000 to Rp 8,000 daily which he said went toward school
expenses.

"I do it just to continue my studies and help relieve my dad
of his financial responsibilities," he said.

Another of the boys, Agus of Klidang, said he did not think
about the ethics of right and wrong in what he was doing to eke
out a living.

Small and dark skinned, the boy said, "I've got to snatch fish
from fisherman or middlemen if none is dropped. I have to be
careful that they're not paying attention though."

Agus' father is a fisherman and he only sees him about twice a
month, a common problem for fishing families, in which the
children are often neglected and have to live in harsh
conditions.

Most of the young here only speak coarse Javanese, unable to
converse in the more refined language which would help them in
getting ahead in life. They appear restless and excitable, given
to sudden fits of emotion in their tough daily lives.

But most of them will go on to become fishermen like their
fathers, believing that it's better to make a great deal in one
profitable catch than working at other menial jobs with erratic
earnings.

It has been a cycle of toil and trouble for many generations,
with children forgoing school and being destined to live the hard
lives of their parents. It's time to educate residents of fishing
villages about the importance of education for their children.

Of course, this measure will only work if there are schools
where the kids can study. The local administration needs to build
elementary schools near the fish center so there will be no
problems about transportation to the sites. In this way, the
local children and their parents will know there is more to life
than scraping by. (Ahmad Solikhan)