Some boys learn their lesson at correctional facility

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang

The 450 or so boys serving time at Tangerang Boys Correctional Facility on Jl. Daan Mogot always anticipate Saturdays, when they are allowed outside their cells.

When The Jakarta Post visited the facility on Saturday, seven boys in bare feet and clad in blue uniforms looked happy harvesting cassava leaves from a garden east of the facility's wall.

Two guards were having tea as they watched the boys from a small hut, which was built by the farmers who cultivate the surrounding vacant plot belonging to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

"This is the second day we've been assigned to pick cassava leaves. They will be cooked to feed all the boys in the facility," 17-year-old Sumirat said.

Sumirat was working in the cassava field with fellow inmates Ferry Kurniawan, Jamal, Ari, Berto, Adi and Ucok, who are to be released from the facility next month. The seven were sentenced to a two-year term for drug abuse.

"Lexotan pills sent me here, but I can enjoy the rest of my life because I have made many friends. I've also learned a number of skills, like auto mechanics, sewing, silk screen painting and farming," said Sumirat, who comes from Bogor.

Ferry came to the facility in 2002 for drug abuse and dealing. He was arrested in Bintaro, Tangerang, as he picked up a new batch of drugs to sell.

"This correctional facility is very rigid and is a good rehabilitation facility for drug addicts. I've promised to stay away from drugs from now on," he said.

He said he did not regret his arrest and sentence at the facility. "If this didn't happen to me, I might still be using drugs, which would have been a great loss for me."

During his two-year term, Ferry was able to finish his high school education, which is compulsory for all detainees. He plans to pursue his studies to university this coming academic year.

Ferry discovered his passion in the library, which he says has a good collection, and he also learned to write articles.

"I even started an in-house magazine, Majalah Prodeo, along with other inmates," he said. Prodeo means prison in Bahasa Indonesia.

The day approached dusk, and the boys left the yard, called by the guards to fall in line back to the facility.

As they entered the facility's premises, several mothers emerged from visiting their sons, perhaps in the hope that the boys would rejoin society as model citizens at the end of their terms.