Fishermen's children suffer from exploitation

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.