Child Commission to visit Aceh victims
Child Commission to visit Aceh victims
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As part of the campaign to protect children in conflict areas,
the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) will
celebrate the National Children's Day, which falls on July 23, in
Aceh.
Komnas Anak chairman Seto Mulyadi, better known as Kak
(brother) Seto, said that the commission's representatives would
meet war victims in the troubled territory.
"Most children in Aceh are now under pressure and stress," he
told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, "What they really need right
now is a peaceful, comforting and loving psychological
environment."
To fill the need, Komnas Anak will establish a number of
shelters for child war victims in Aceh as rehabilitation centers.
"They deserve a life that's beautiful, one in which they can
play and study peacefully and cheerfully," said Kak Seto, a
prominent educator.
For that purpose, the commission will cooperate with the State
Ministry of Women's Empowerment, the Office of the Coordinating
Minister for People's Welfare, as well as with several private
corporations.
There are about 1.3 million children under 18 in Aceh, who
have been trapped in the middle of the war.
Many of them have been directly impacted by the ongoing
violence and upheaval, in which tens of thousands have been
forced out of their homes and put in squalid camps and watched
over by heavily armed troops.
"The words 'direct impact' there could mean a lot. Either they
are involved directly in the operations, or they must be
evacuated with or without their families," said Achmad Marzuki,
also of Komnas Anak.
Children's imaginations are built through their daily lives.
In a war, Marzuki said, they witness violence, clashes, people
getting killed and chaos, every day, which might cause them to
suffer permanent psychological damage.
Seto asked the military to be more aware of the psychological
impact that war has on children.
"If they (the children) suddenly run away or refuse to look
someone in the face, that does not mean that they are separatist
sympathizers," he said. "Such reactions would more likely be
caused by the trauma they have experienced."
Komnas Anak is now working with both child victims and
military officers in Aceh, and is also lobbying top military
officers in Jakarta to handle children in Aceh with extra care.
Lt. Gen. (ret) Kiki Syahnakri, said the military was now
trying to limit the number of civilian victims, including
children, in the Aceh war.
"However, we are talking about a cultural transformation
within the military and that is not easy to do in a short
period," the former deputy Army chief of staff said.
Kiki asked professional organizations such as the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and Komnas Anak to assist
the military with human rights and the handling of child victims.