Play a rare thing for children in Aceh's refugee camps

Play a rare thing for children in Aceh's refugee camps

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

"Lingkaran kecil, lingkaran besar, lingkaran kecil ..." (A small
circle, a big circle, a small circle) was softly echoed by a
group of around 50 children living in a refugee camp in Ujong
Batee, about 15 kilometers west of Banda Aceh.

The sound was not uniform, though, as a number of children
were barely audible, while others clapped and cheered together
with child activist Kak Seto Mulyadi, who had arrived at the camp
on Saturday.

Still other children, such as eight-year-old Iskandar, were
not ready to make any sound at all -- although his eyes were
firmly fixed on Kak Seto when The Jakarta Post approached him.

"I cannot stop remembering my mother, father and two older
brothers," he told the Post in a low voice, adding that they were
all lost in the tsunamis that killed over 100,000 people and
leveled many villages and towns in Aceh.

But after talking for a while, Iskandar -- the sole survivor
of his family -- began to murmur lingkaran kecil, lingkaran besar
together with the other children.

While they were singing, six-year-old Aisyah suddenly ran
toward her mother and said, "My head is still hurting".

Her mother said she had not worked out the cause of her
daughter's headaches. Aisyah lost her father to the tsunamis.

Some children continued to be silent, but many others were
already joining Kak Seto in what he called "Play Therapy."

Besides singing, Kak Seto, accompanied by tsunami survivor and
local child activist Azyyati Himida, also played a number of
games with the children, some of whom were accompanied by their
parents -- but many were not.

According to Alwi Ibrahim, coordinator of refugees at Ujong
Batee, there are about 50 children aged up to six years there and
172 children aged between six and 15 years old -- many of whom
lost their parents in the disaster.

Children are a special concern in the refugee camps. They must
not be dragged into prolonged misery, said Kak Seto, who is also
chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas
Anak).

"I'm afraid of these children growing up in sadness, losing
their confidence and withdrawing from the activities of a normal
child's life.

"We cannot let them continue in their suffering, their sadness
-- we must play with them to help them forget their misery. This
play therapy is one way of cheering them up so that they may
regain their confidence and eventually lead a normal life," Kak
Seto said.

Komnas Anak's program officer Rachma Fitriati, said the
commission was now organizing a similar program for teenagers and
adolescents.

The program currently run for teenaged refugees mostly
concentrates on group "sharing experiences" sessions. After some
sessions, Rachma said a number of teenagers volunteered to join
the commission to help the children through play therapy.

The commission, Rachma said, was now working out how it could
help these children in the long-term. One way would be to provide
them with scholarships.

The commission is sounding out possible cooperation with
various parties, particularly the central and local
administrations, to provide scholarships.