Poor kids sit down with politicians

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.