Children innocently enjoy fake 'parental' affection

A dozen children between the ages of seven and 13 happily watch cartoons on television while others do battle against each other in PlayStation games. Once in a while they take a break to eat delicious cookies, candies and ice cream nearby, which were prepared especially for them.

The children's "foster parent" Mike (not his real name) looks at them tenderly as if they were his own.

Bayu, a junior high school student in Klungkung, Bali, has known Mike since he was a fifth grader. "He is like my own father," Bayu said.

Komang, 17, expressed a similar affection for the middle-aged Frenchman. "Mike has always been good to us, but Bayu is Mike's pet."

Every day, Bayu gets Rp 100,000 (about US$10) from Mike.

"I usually give the money to my mother to buy rice or other household goods," said Bayu.

Other socially disadvantaged children receive between Rp 10,000 and Rp 20,000 a day. "If we give Mike or his friends sexual services, they will give us more money," Suarnaya said.

For Bayu and his friends, Mike's small but luxurious villa in Kayuputih village in Buleleng is a safe sanctuary. They are usually there from as early as 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., when they go home.

"We just play video games, swim or lay around on the carpet. Sometimes Mike takes us to Kuta or Ubud."

Nyoman said he went to Mike's house to get some money for his socially disadvantaged family. "My mother would be furious if I came home empty-handed. My mother would not allow me to eat my dinner," Nyoman said.

Several parents in the neighborhood have encouraged their children to visit Mike's house. In addition to Mike, there are several other foreigners, who were considered by these children to be caring "foster parents".

"Unlike our own parents who always scold us, they (the foreigners) are really loving and tender people," said Suarnaya.

The children said touching their bodies and genitals and having sex were not considered violent behavior by them.

"At first, I felt very hurt and shocked, but all of my friends were treated the same way and they liked having extra pocket money," Komang said.

For underprivileged children such as Komang, receiving Rp 20,000 or Rp 50,000 was like a windfall.

An American visitor shared his experience.

"Just call me John," he said in response to being asked his full name.

John said he came here to do business with Mike and his other friends in Lovina. "I thought they belonged to an international network of pedophiles because their activities were carefully wrapped up in various businesses and social activities."

John said it was easy to disclose their wrongdoings. "Just ask those children, they'll share their stories with you, especially when you are a Westerner," John said.

When he first visited Lovina, some children had innocently offered their "sexual services".

Wally Siagian, a diver in Karang Asem, said pedophiles had manipulated and sexually abused Balinese children for sexual pleasure. "We should do something to protect these children," said Wally. He said that when he discovered his German neighbor was a suspected pedophile, he immediately asked him to leave Bali.

Luh Ketut Suryani, a professor of psychiatry at Udayana University, warned parents, teachers and communities to protect children from pedophiles.

"Pedophiles will badly affect children's physical and emotional development." The first sexual encounter can be traumatic for children because pedophilia is usually associated with forceful and violent behavior, she said.

Studies have also disclosed that children who were sexually victimized were more likely to grow up as troubled adults. Studies also reported that boys who were sexually abused are more likely to become adult sex offenders, while sexually abused girls frequently develop self-destructive behavior, such as substance abuse or prostitution.

"Do we want our children to face such a horrible future? The answer is in our hands," Suryani said.

The names of the boys mentioned in the articles have been changed to protect their privacy.

-- Aditya Nusantara and Magdalena Damayanti