Begging for attention: The fate of street kids

Begging for attention: The fate of street kids

The traffic lights turn red and cars stop, waiting impatiently
for the green to reappear.

It is usually hot and sticky outside the comfort of the air-
conditioned car cubicles, but even when it rains, it makes no
difference to the children who invariably knock on the car
windows with their hands outstretched, begging. The thick, leaded
pollution only adds to the children's misery.

Children compete with the elderly and disabled for loose
change. And they are very young; sometimes all that is visible to
the driver is a little hand knocking on the window. They are
dirty, wear filthy clothes and seldom have sandals, let alone
shoes.

They pass from car to car trying to get to as many as possible
before the lights change and their chance is gone. When the green
reappears, they swiftly move to the side of the road and inhale
the fumes of the speeding cars, motorbikes and buses.

In a minute or two it will start again. It goes on every day
from morning to evening.

It is no surprise that according to health ministry
statistics, acute respiratory infections account for 14 percent
of infant deaths in Java, and according to a World Bank study, 33
percent of Jakarta's children suffer some form of brain damage
due to pollution.

Usually, drivers ignore them, but sometimes, while talking to
their fellow passenger or listening to the music, they lower the
window just enough to pass out a couple of coins. Only a few feel
generous enough to part with Rp 1,000; most feel uncomfortable or
even irritated and look the other way, extend their left arm and
lift the hand upwards to show the palm.

It is a sign that Indonesians learn very soon in life, and
foreigners pick it up in the early stages of their stay in this
country. It is a sign that has two possible interpretations: "I
have no money" or "I don't want to give you any money."

But it has only one meaning: "I don't want to know, just go
away!"

From the driver's seat no question is asked. From the
children's perspective, no future is expected.

Most of these children are slum dwellers. According to a 2004
United Nations report, the phenomenal urban growth that has taken
place in the 1990s has shifted poverty from rural areas to the
city. The difference is that in rural areas it is easier for
people to obtain food than it is in the city. The same report
states that more than 550 million people live in slum conditions
in Asia. Jakarta has its fair share of those.

A few among these children are lucky enough to work in markets
or in warung (sidewalk stalls), helping their families, but
others are forced to beg. These join the many street children
who are orphans in wandering the streets of the capital.

For these children, begging is the best-case scenario. Other
scenarios include petty crime or prostitution. According to a
report by the National Commission on Violence Against Women,
there are 70,000 underage sex workers in Indonesia but most
believe there are actually many more.

No one argues that these children should not be begging or
even worse. No one argues that they should be playing and
enjoying what is supposed to be a "careless time of one's life."
Few would disagree that Indonesia is failing its children and not
living up to the obligations undertaken by signing the United
Nations Convention of Children's Rights on Nov. 20, 1990. The
convention, approved by 190 nations besides Indonesia, advocates
basic rights for children, including education, health care,
protection from physical and emotional abuse, labor exploitation
and prostitution.

It is a fact that Indonesia faces a difficult time both
politically and financially, but today's children are tomorrow's
leaders, or tomorrow's unemployed, drug addicts and muggers.
Education remains the key, and, while it is true that it is a
mammoth task to provide funds and education for the seventy
million children across the archipelago, the hard reality is that
there are no alternatives.

Education should be prioritized. Laws are in place but
enforcement is lacking, and without it the government's mandatory
education program is a toothless tool. It looks good on paper and
appeases international organizations, but does nothing more.

A snapshot: On Jl. H.O.S. Cokroaminoto, at the traffic lights,
just outside the Indian cultural center. She is possibly five or
maybe six, pretty, but with a lost, absent gaze. She does not
talk nor smile, nor does she answer questions.

She mumbles constantly. She does not seem to care and casually
walks from car to car, pushing a plastic glass to the window. If
the car window is opened, she will hit the passengers. She is
there, day in, day out, but she is invisible to all. She is just
another child beggar. Who is looking after this little girl?

-- Fabio Scarpello