Street children protest being stereotyped

JAKARTA (JP): Newspaper boy Syamsul wanted to set the record straight on what street children are actually like for an event devoted to highlighting their creativity.

To do so, he borrowed lines from the original theme song for the popular television series Si Doel Anak Sekolahan, replacing the common slurs against native Jakartans with public misconceptions of street children.

"Street children are out of date, somebody says/Street children have no culture, somebody says/Hey damn it..."

Syamsul and two of his friends sung the song at the performance organized by Centra Mitra Muda, a youth wing of the Indonesian Family Planning Institute, at Senen Youth Stadium in Central Jakarta yesterday.

Nine other street children's groups also performed.

Participants were newspaper boys, street singers and shoe polishers who usually earn their living on the city's streets.

The children, aged from eight years to 18 years, sang songs, read poems and short stories and performed plays.

It was also a forum for them to set the record straight on their lives.

"Many people view street singers as naughty kids who are frequently involved in fights or pickpocketing. We are not. We sing for our lives," said Andi, 16, a street singer who usually operates on buses departing the Senen bus terminal.

He and his friends preferred to identify themselves as "street artists" who sang for a fee, not a handout.

Lusi, a member of the organizing committee, said the performance was held in conjunction with the commemoration of the National Children's Day, which fell last Thursday. It was also aimed at providing the children with a healthy and beneficial environment, she added.

"Please give more attention to the street children. Most of them don't have parents, families and homes."

The student of the state-run Jakarta Teachers Training Institute said the public should also take responsibility for ensuring the street children's needs were met as these were not provided by the regular family unit.

"Some of these children grow, live and eat on the streets."

Mumuk, a 15-year-old street singer, seemed happy with the diversion. "I like this stage. I met other street friends," said the boy who usually operates on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta.

He was reluctant to talk about his parents. He said he always slept on the streets, mostly in Pasar Burung area, East Jakarta.

Mumuk, who plays the ukulele, and his three colleagues, who play guitar, tambourine and a makeshift drum made from a water mineral bottle, claimed to earn an average of Rp 30,000 a day.

Street singer Berry, 10, said he and his friends were often invited by non-governmental organizations to events.

"We got some money after the activity. We once spent a night in a villa after the show," said the orphan from the Kramat area in Central Jakarta.

Berry, Rony, a newspaper boy, and Nasrun, a shoe polisher, recited poems.

Lusi said that her organization gave each group of performers -- consisting of at least four performers -- Rp 100,000 after the event.

Funding for the event was from the United Nation Children's Fund (Unicef) and donations from other institutions, she said.

The organization also screened a film by noted director Garin Nugroho about a street singer's life, Dongeng Kancil Tentang Kemerdekaan (A Cheviot's Tale about Freedom). A seminar about street children was also held yesterday. (jun)