Young scavengers urge free education
Young scavengers urge free education
JAKARTA (JP): Young scavengers who had gathered for three days
at the Cibubur camping ground called on the government yesterday
to heed their demands for public health care, free basic
education and more humane treatment in rehabilitating them.
On the last day of a three-day summer break, hundreds of
street children, beggars and vendors from slum areas throughout
the nation made a modest, but cheerful carnival at the camping
ground.
The children, divided into several groups depending on their
places of origin, paraded and carried banners with slogans and
images that reflected sadness and a desire for a better future.
"Ole, Ole, Ole! Duren Sawit ngetop (the best)! We want a
playground, because we don't have anyplace to play," children
from Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, gaily chanted.
A small group from Medan, North Sumatra, demanded justice.
They said officials who had cruelly treated one of their friends,
whom later died, should be brought to court.
"We know he did wrong, but authorities should educate us and
give us understanding instead of severe punishment," the group
yelled while displaying their friend's enlarged picture.
Children from a slum area in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, who said
they were forced by their parents to work, called on the
government to organize a counseling program for parents on the
importance of education.
Health center
The 17 children also asked the government to provide an
adequate health center for them and put off plans to demolish the
slum area where they live.
The annual camping event was organized by the Jakarta Social
Institute, a non-governmental organization, to promote public
awareness in impoverished children's education, health and
security.
Thirteen-year-old Suminto, who maintains his living by
singing in the streets and polishing shoes, stressed the
importance of education.
"I want to continue my studies because I don't want to always
live like this," he said, adding that his mother was still living
in East Java. He also said he sometimes fell prey to people with
sexual aberrations.
Suminto said the three-day camping event had enlightened him
and encouraged him to exchange stories with other children.
Some street children were addicted to sniffing glue to get
high in times of despair, Suminto said.
A 14-year-old girl from a polluted industrial area in Cakung,
East Jakarta, said she worked at a garment company and earned Rp
180,000 per month.
"I'm not studying anymore because I have to help my mother and
step-father," Tarini said.
She complained that, aside from the wage, the garment factory
did not give her extra money for food and transportation.
She told The Jakarta Post she wished that the government
backed off of its plan to demolish the Cakung slum area to make
way for a new toll road. (10)