Fishermen's children suffer from exploitation
By Rita A. Widiadana and Fitriyanti Djoni
Despite the fact that Indonesia has ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, there are still many children living in exceptionally difficult conditions. The growing number of child workers, street kids and juvenile delinquents are serious problems faced by the Indonesian government in its attempts to manifest the convention into national policy. The government also needs to pay more attention to children in fishing villages whose living conditions may be just as bad, or perhaps much worse than that of child workers. Since most fisherfolk live below the poverty line, their children are subject to economic exploitation. Poverty has also affected their physical, social and mental development. In conjunction with National Children's Day, which falls on Wednesday, The Jakarta Post examines the lives of children in several fishing villages in the Seribu Islands; Muara Angke and Muara Karang in North Jakarta; Teluk Naga in Tangerang; and Labuan in Banten, West Java. More stories on Page 6 and 7.
JAKARTA (JP): The sky is bright, the sea gentle. A dozen young boys emerge from a labyrinth of wooden huts at Cigondang village, one of three main fishing villages in Labuan, Banten, West Java.
The barefooted boys rush to the shore to welcome their fathers and elder brothers, hoping they have come with abundant yields from the sea. Their young siblings are busy running around the mud which smells because of the scattered garbage, animal and human waste.
Wives and daughters help the men bundle the fish. The boys will take them to an auction center in the center of the village.
This is a typical daily scene in every fishing village in the country. All family members are involved in this work which occurs 24 hours a day. Children know exactly what their duties are: to help their parents.
Forget about their rights to access to basic health and education. Their rights to live in a warm, healthy and comfortable environment or their rights to be protected from economic exploitation; these hardly exist in these villages.
In Teluk subdistrict of Labuan, home to more than 8,000 residents, there are only four public toilets, one elementary school and one community health center.
The fishermen live in hovels, mostly without a bathroom. Subdistrict head Muhaimin said it is very difficult to change the fishermen's unhygienic habits. "They let their children wash and defecate along the beach or in front of their dilapidated huts," he said.
Garbage is dumped all over the village, sunlight rarely touches their homes.
Adjat Sudrajat, a health official at Labuan Health Center, said skin disease, respiratory infection, dengue fever and diarrhea are common among fishermen's children, especially during the dry season.
"People have a very low awareness about leading healthy lives," said Adjat.
He said he has to persistently tell women to take their babies and children to Posyandu, an integrated health center, for immunization and other health facilities.
Education
Most fishermen's children obtain an insufficient education.
Marunda Pulo fishing village, North Jakarta, has a high rate of elementary school dropouts. Many elementary school graduates are unable to continue their studies because there is no junior high school nearby. The nearest junior high school is located in Marunda Baru village, which is five kilometers away. They have to take a boat and ojek (motorcycle taxi) to reach the school. They each need at least Rp 2,000 a day for transportation.
Amin, 12, complained, "I actually want to go to school but my father cannot afford the transportation."
Amin's friend, Sulaeman, has ways to cope with financial problems. Before and after school he operates a small boat to transport people from his village to other places. Sulaeman, 13, earns about Rp 7,000 to Rp 10,000 a day. He saves Rp 2,000 and gives the rest to his father.
"My father never asked me to do this job. It was by my own initiative. I want to save enough money to continue my education," said Sulaeman, who dreams of becoming a naval officer.
Teacher Enis Nuraida of SD 2 elementary school in Marunda Pulo said there are 400 students in the school. "The kids are actually diligent, but their parents desperately need their help at work. They give no support for any school activity."
To give these children an adequate education is almost impossible, said Nuraida. "Schoolbooks are rarely found on this island. We have only one text book for each class. The students cannot afford to buy it," she added.
Children are offered the opportunity to buy the necessary books and other school equipment in installments, yet their parents are unable or unwilling to buy them, she said.
The school receives a donation from the Mitayani Foundation for the monthly school fees for 80 students. So far, it is only the foundation that cares about these children's future, Nuraida said.
Many children enter the workforce at the age of nine or 10.
A large number of boys work as deckhands on boats and earn half as much as adult fishermen. The others help their parents produce fish nets and other fishing supplies, repair boat engines and take catches to fish markets.
A lot of the girls are needed by their mothers to help run the household. Some also help bundle the fish caught by their father.
Aliman, 12, a boy from Kelapa Island in the Seribu Islands, runs a tight schedule. He gets up at 4 a.m. to prepare freshwater and food supplies, salt and large blocks of ice for his father who goes to sea at dawn. He is also responsible for checking the boat engine and making sure the kerosene lamp works properly.
From 9 a.m. until noon, he helps his mother dry salted fish on bamboo racks in front of their shabby hut. "I wish I could go to junior highschool in the afternoon, but I am too tired to follow any lesson," said Aliman who just graduated from elementary school.
Aliman and other children prefer to watch outdoor movies at nearby villages or chat on the beach while playing cards until midnight.
Amat bin Akra, 11, has a job collecting unsold fish and shrimp outside the auction center at Cigondang in Labuan.
"Everyday I come here to collect the unsold fish. I can take home between Rp 3,000 to Rp 5,000," said Amat. He spends the money on cigarettes, soft drinks and inferior liquor.
Three years ago, he took the job just for fun. As time goes by, he tastes more freedom and money at the auction center. "I couldn't bear sitting in a classroom, and I particularly couldn't stand homework. My father did not go to school but he can survive," added Amat.
Victor Manurung, an expert at the Ministry of Agriculture's research center is alarmed by the high rate of dropouts, young marriages and social misbehavior of fishermen's children.
"Education and the provision of health and social facilities are urgent. If we can improve these children's education and welfare, they may become smarter and tougher fishermen, or seek other professions which allow them to improve their living standards," Manurung said.
If the government and other related agencies do not take immediate action, these children will most likely follow their parents' seafaring life and grow up just as a poor and powerless.