Kids put election campaign in focus

By A. Hari Santosa

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The general election campaign, dubbed a 5- yearly fiesta of democracy with fanfare, with colossal and impressive processions, attracted children to the rallies of poll contestant supporters.

For kids, the attraction to the 27-day campaigning on the streets were free shows with live performances featuring top singers and musicians, as well as parades more fascinating than afternoon TV programs.

After the campaign speeches and entertainers performances, thousands of people poured into the streets, becoming hysterical crowds. This attracted children who had been waiting along the streets.

After school, the children looked for strategic points at road ends, in alleys or behind hedges and the roofs of their homes, where campaign processions could be passing by. It would not matter what party was campaigning. The children would don themselves with accessories of the respective parties, such as T- shirts, headbands, pictures, flags as well as body, facial and head painting.

The children considered these activities as experience and knowledge, no matter how minimum their sense of understanding.

If the children were freely given the opportunity to draw pictures of the campaign activities, they would visualize their own perceptions independently.

In Yogyakarta, children at a painting workshop were told to express their perceptions about the campaign activities. Many drew their views on paper in detail.

The children expressed their views honestly and creatively with some of them completing their drawings with stories.

Some of the drawings showed the children's strong desire to vent their feelings. Expressions of dislike, hate, disgust and funny comments were displayed without any qualms. These were just some of the unequivocal views depicted through this forum.

A. Hari Santosa is a supervisor of a painting workshop for children in Yogyakarta.