Poor kids sit down with politicians

By Emmy Fitri

JAKARTA (JP): What did we really expect from a discussion between impoverished children and top politicians? Surely not a heated debate on recent political stances, leaked political secrets or who was going to be the next president?

No, the children talked freely about their routines -- friends, school, parents, playgrounds -- and dreams of becoming president and one day having a peaceful and prosperous country.

Some however, complained about their parents' situation, many of whom had lost their jobs due to the crippling economic situation and violence at their work place, such as bus terminals or markets.

In reply, the political figures, who met some 30 street children aged between five and 15 years old on Thursday evening at the main plaza of Cafe Tenda Semanggi, sympathetically responded but added campaign style remarks to the children's stories.

The kids from several slum areas of the city met National Mandate Party's (PAN) general secretary Faisal Basri and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI Perjuangan) vice treasurer Novi during the Thursday gathering, organized by the group Susu untuk Anak Bangsa (Milk for the nation's children). Noted children's rights campaigner Nafsiah Mboi also attended.

The high spirited children vied with each other to speak up in front of the well-known figures and their friends.

Racing

Raising their hands was not enough. They often ran on to the stage and stood still until they got a chance to hold the microphone and talk.

"My school building is good but my classmates are naughty. Some male students like to draw pictures on the school's walls. If I scold them, they'll chase me and kick me," school girl Monik of state-run SDN 1 elementary school in Pulogadung, East Jakarta, said.

She said her mother was often unable to meet the deadline to pay the Rp 15,000 (US$1.90) monthly school fee.

"But I'm not ashamed anymore," she said.

Monik continued by saying that her female teacher often cried before her pupils as she failed to control them.

"She rarely comes to school to teach us now. My friends say she also teaches at SDN 4, so she has little time for us," Monik, who's parents are factory laborers, said.

Fourteen-year-old Boyo, an elementary school dropout, said he now had to earn money for a living by pushing luggage carts at Pulogadung bus terminal in East Jakarta since his father could no longer afford to pay for his school and his other three siblings.

If the school fee remained expensive and his parents would not be able to pay the monthly fee, Boyo said he would rather join the military.

"If I can't go to school anymore, I want to be an ABRI personnel," he said, triggering laughter and applause from the audience.

Herawati, 15, whose father was formerly a public minivan driver at Pondok Kopi, said she loved her school but she had to quit her sixth year class as her father had been dismissed and was still unemployed.

"I now work for many people from washing clothes to cleaning houses," she said.

Herawati said, her dream was to see Indonesia become a prosperous country so there would be no more laid-off fathers and all children could go to school.

Blame

Faisal Basri, father of two children, said that the bitterness expressed by the children was the result of an unfair government system.

He hoped that in the future, education would receive better attention from the government.

"Your teachers, with their limited monthly salaries, (sometimes) threaten you with degrading your marks if you don't go to their extra courses. Or they have to leave your classes to teach somewhere else, just because they need additional income," the noted economist said.

He said the poor attention to children and education could be blamed on the mounting corruption allegedly committed by state officials, military and police.

"We have heard from all of you and I hope we can take up your fight and help you," Faisal told the children.

Novi of PDI Perjuangan agreed with Faisal's opinion. She pointed out the mushrooming number of school brawls in the capital's streets.

"Have you ever seen your big brothers fighting on streets? How do you feel, sad or happy?" Novi asked the children, who quickly picked the first option as their answer.

The children's need for spacious playgrounds and better arrangements of the school curriculum were vital for the country's basic education, she said.

The three-hour program exhausted the children. When Nafsiah Mboy came up on the stage and invited them to sit around her to listen to her speech the children apparently became bored.

Some of them moved slowly to leave the stage and only started to cheer when Nafsiah asked them to sing and promised not to give a long speech.

Nafsiah, wife of former West Nusa Tenggara governor, explained that she was not a politician and could not promise anything to the children in reply to their sad stories.

Nafsiah, who recently became a member of the United Nations Committee on Children's Rights, said she was deeply touched by the children's honest stories.

"I adore your honesty. Do not stop being critical and telling true stories," she said.

"All your names and stories are kept in my book. I'll do my best to be on your side," she pledged.

Closing the program, the children were given pieces of paper to write down their hopes for the country.

After being completed, the "papers of hope" -- mostly with wishes for free schooling and a halt to rioting -- were tied to balloons and then released into the city's dark sky.