Play a rare thing for children in refugee camps

Ruslan Sangadji The Jakarta Post/Banda 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.