Child Street Singers: A Symptom of Structural Poverty Requiring Solutions
In the sociology of the family, the notion of a child refers not only to an individual defined by biological age; a child also occupies a social position, with roles and status within the structure of the family and society. Children also serve several functions within the family. First, a child acts as a primary agent of socialisation, receiving and passing on the values and norms that exist within a family. Second, they maintain family bonds, acting as a link between generations and reinforcing social cohesion. Third, children contribute to caring for elderly family members. Fourth, a child continues the family line.
A child also has several rights that must be fulfilled by the family, such as the right to protection, whereby family members provide affection and a safe, comfortable space for a child’s growth and development. In addition, a child has the right to fulfilment in the fields of education, health, a decent standard of living, and recreation. In education, a child is subject to nine years of compulsory schooling, from primary school through junior and senior secondary school. In health, a child has the right to good health services. A child should also enjoy a decent standard of living, such as a place to live, a place to play, and basic needs of clothing, shelter and food. As for recreation, a child still in their formative years naturally needs time and space that support their growth and development. A child must have the freedom to play with their peers so that their socialisation with the surrounding environment also progresses.
However, not every child is fortunate enough to enjoy all these basic rights. Many children of school age are forced to drop out because their families cannot afford the cost, and are made to work by their parents. Many children choose the shortcut of becoming street buskers. Child buskers typically make their rounds along shopfronts and eating places. Armed with a guitar, a ukulele and sometimes a loudspeaker, they peddle their voices and appeal to the compassion of the people they meet. Sometimes they busk alone, sometimes in groups. There are even those who busk alongside their parents.
The phenomenon of children busking with their parents has become quite common in the city of Padang. Around the Pasar Baru area in Pauh district, almost every night one encounters mothers with several small children carrying a microphone and pulling a speaker, singing along the length of Pasar Baru road. As they sing, the child holds out a plastic bucket for passers-by moved by compassion to drop in a little of their earnings. More often than not, they receive only a word of thanks and a nod from those around them, before moving on to busk elsewhere. As a point of reflection: seeing busking children, should we give them money? Certainly, if we habitually give them money, the practice of busking will be perpetuated and will continue to repeat as a promising livelihood.
If we ponder it, the phenomenon of child buskers is not merely a matter of public order; it is a real symptom of the structural poverty afflicting their families. Children are forced to help earn a living because of economic pressure at home. The root of the problem does not always lie in parental laziness or helplessness; on the other hand, these children take to the streets because a system has failed to provide them with access — to decent, inclusive education, employment for parents and young people, health insurance, and legal protection and social security for marginal groups like them. This poverty is intergenerational (inherited); if left unaddressed it will keep repeating itself, robbing them of their future.
What concrete solutions can be offered? Naturally, it must start with the most fundamental unit: the family. Families must be able to perform their functions again, such as the economic function, whereby parents must meet their children’s basic needs, and the affectional function, whereby families must give their children love. Allowing, or even taking, children out to busk on the streets late into the night, sometimes in the rain, is a violation of their basic rights. Another approach is to strengthen the social safety net for families, especially vulnerable ones. Providing social assistance that is accurately targeted and data-driven must be done, so that it reaches those who genuinely need help. For too long, families that ought to receive social assistance have been left out, whilst families that are well-off have been recorded as receiving it. Re-registering vulnerable families is essential so that help reaches those who truly need a helping hand.
Beyond that, the existing system urgently needs reform so it can reach those on the margins. This begins with building an inclusive education system, with affordable fees, scholarships, and schools equipped with adequate facilities so that these children can access a decent education and develop themselves and their skills. In addition, law enforcement and child protection must be carried out and strengthened. Children’s basic rights must be championed and upheld. It is vital to socialise the prohibition on child exploitation, so as to foster a collective awareness that children should not yet be involved in the family’s economic activities. Another solution is creating employment for parents, through training in skills such as cooking, sewing, knitting and other creative and innovative pursuits. Once they are assessed as ready, providing business capital assistance becomes necessary so the acquired skills can be applied. Alternatively, job placement guarantees matching their skills could be provided.
A solution to the phenomenon of child buskers certainly cannot stop at removing children from the streets and taking them to orphanages and children’s shelters. What is truly needed is to build a system that ensures their families have sufficient resources and income to live decently, so that their children get the chance to learn, grow and develop like any other child. This is where the role of every stakeholder is needed — central and regional government, customary leaders, local communities, neighbours, relatives and business owners are all crucial to realising these solutions.