Village girl Nasiroh takes risks to earn a livelihood
Village girl Nasiroh takes risks to earn a livelihood
JAKARTA: Nasiroh, 14, looks small for her age, but she tries
to appear more mature. She always wears a loose, ill-fitting
shirt and skirt, and sandals.
Born into a farmer's family in Mariut village, Subang, West
Java, Nasiroh says she take responsibility to change her life.
Before completing elementary school, Nasiroh, the second child
of three was forced to leave school. That was two years ago.
Her parents, who work all day in a rice field, asked her to
look after her young brother, who at the time was only four years
old. Her mother would always tell her to learn to earn money
whenever she asked for pocket money.
Her sister, Nengju, left to work in Saudi Arabia after
finishing elementary school.
Nasiroh's mother only reached third grade in elementary
school, while her father never attended school.
After looking after her young brother for almost a year, her
uncle took her to Jakarta to work in a factory.
Using her sister's elementary school certificate, Nasiroh
applied for a job at PT GK in Cicadas, Bogor.
The ink marker company hired her as an operator. She was
placed in the refilling section.
Here she arranged bottles to be filled with what the company
called premix. A bottle is filled by hand, then fitted with a
ceramic lid.
If premix gets on a person's skin it can create a very hot
feeling and cause blisters.
Nasiroh worked in the refilling section for 10 months. Then
she was moved to the aerosol section where she still works.
Nasiroh is paid a basic wage of Rp 27,600 per week. She works
seven hours a day. But, if she works four hours overtime each day
she can earn Rp 60,000 a week.
Hot
Nasiroh spends her wage on food, daily needs and on rent for a
simple house.
She often works overtime to earn more money.
According to Nasiroh, her working environment is fairly clean,
but very hot, not to mention the noise from industrial machines.
The company recently started to provide safety equipment, such
as helmets, protective jackets and masks, but the workers are
reluctant to use them.
Nasiroh said she was not trained but instead learned her
duties by observing her colleagues.
"Even though my job is not too hard, it seems to be very
dangerous. But I like working here because this way I get money,"
Nasiroh said.
She said one of her friends vomited blood after accidentally
swallowing premix. Nasiroh herself said she felt dizzy and
coughed after she accidentally inhaled aerosol.
Accidents, she said, frequently occurred at her workplace,
such as when a tin exploded when being filled with aerosol.
Nevertheless, workers said the management had never explained
to workers how to avoid accidents -- except for the few signs
saying "dangerous" and "no smoking".
They said there were no medics either.
"When there is an accident, workers just report to the health
division," Nasiroh said, which gives workers pain killers.
The worker is then given about three days leave, while
management reimburses medical costs.
Worker's said they sometimes had to put up with sexual
overtures from their superiors.
"Despite everything, I'm still working here," Nasiroh says.
There is no choice, she adds, any other job requires a school
certificate.
Another 14-year-old, Ida Narsinah, works at a biscuit factory
in Tangerang, West Java.
After her parents got divorced, she dropped out of high school
and moved in with her grandfather. She had to work to support her
grandfather, three sisters and a brother.
In the factory, she works with 100 other children aged between
12 and 15. All work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. She earns Rp 3,000 a
day.
After the weekly pay day, the round-faced girl repays her
debts at food stalls around the factory.
Her wish: "In the future, every child should be able to attend
school and not have to do heavy jobs."
Aas Asnawaty, 15, has been working for three years.
"I have to work in bad conditions, there is so much noise and
so little space.
"It gives me a headache. I work overtime regularly until 9
p.m. and sometimes, if the factory has extra orders I start
working from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. the next day," Aas said.
Aas lives with her mother, a younger sister and brother.
Her mother recently lost her job and so the whole family
relies on Aas' wage, which is about Rp 150,00 per month.
The amount is not enough for all of them and sometimes Aas has
to do extra work to earn more money.
"I don't hate work, but it's not right that we, children, have
to work as hard as adults," Aas said.
Aas completed secondary school. She dreams of furthering her
education and being just a regular child.
-- Child Labor News, Kompak organization for child workers