To be combined with a story on Aceh children

To be combined with a story on Aceh children

Meanwhile, the chairman of the National Commission for Child
Protection, Seto Mulyadi, emphasized the importance of adopting
effective approaches for handling traumatized children to allow
them to have fun and be happy.

"Having fun and feeling happy are rights of children and we
must honor that," he told the Post.

Therefore, he said, play therapy is necessary for traumatized
children. "Play therapy is aimed at helping traumatized children
in Aceh regain their confidence," said Mulyadi.

Children can also learn through creativity studios and mobile
schooling instead of formal education, he said.

Acehnese schoolchildren are in a difficult situation and thus
should be exempt from curriculum-based education, he said.

Mulyadi regretted that many schools in Aceh required students
to take the national final examination, saying the examination
would only add more stress to them.

"At least 50 percent of Acehnese students who took the final
examination failed the exam. As a result, many of them have lost
their self-confidence and have a negative self-image," he said.

Using the wrong approach to treat children who have been
through a trauma can create new wounds, he said.

"Until next year, Acehnese children should be exempt from
curriculum-based education because many of them who have lost
their parents and relatives are still confused and traumatized,"
he said.

According to Mulyadi, continuous attention should be given to
these children so the do not feel alienated. "Alienation can lead
them to destructive actions like committing suicide."

A correspondence program between Acehnese students and other
children across Indonesia and around the world launched by
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in January should be
intensified, he said. "Writing letters to other children is an
effective way of helping them overcome their trauma."

Mulyadi also warned that poverty and desperation in Aceh and
Nias could lead to child trafficking. "Parents might end up
receiving offers and advice that their children should leave Aceh
and move somewhere else for a better life," he warned.