Youths need place for recreation

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The poor condition of most Gelanggang Remaja (Youth Halls) across the capital has been partly blamed on the trend among teenagers to hang out in shopping malls and cafes.

Youth observers have also cited the lack of facilities for youths to express themselves in sports and the arts as a cause of juvenile delinquency, which they say should not be the sole responsibility of parents and society but also of the city administration.

Observer Arist Merdeka Sirait, who is the executive director of the National Commission on Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said on Sunday that the administration had violated the basic rights of children to develop talents in sports or the arts.

According to the Children Rights Convention, children are those below 18 years of age.

"The administration should not commercialize such facilities. It should provide more free facilities for youngsters. I think the administration prefers to spend its money on inconsequential things rather than on children," Arist told The Jakarta Post.

"Such a condition has negative drawbacks as more and more children, who don't have many activities, can easily become involved in drugs and crime."

There are seven youth halls across the city. They are Planit Senen in Senen, Central Jakarta; Sunter, Yos Sudarso and Bahtera in North Jakarta; Grogol in West Jakarta; Bulungan in South Jakarta, and Polonia in East Jakarta.

Except for Bulungan Youth Hall, which is undergoing renovation worth Rp 6 billion (US$705,882), the youth halls have been neglected in terms of maintenance and function.

Planit Senen, for example, has become a shelter for the homeless.

Another youth observer, Robby Chandra, suggested the administration provide more facilities for teenagers from the middle-to-lower economic bracket "because the haves can always go to private sports and art facilities".

It has become common to find teenagers hanging out in shopping malls and cafes on afternoons or weekends. Other teenagers can be seen playing soccer on the streets or swimming in murky ponds in city parks.

The increasing number of teenagers involved in street brawls, which often prove fatal, and other various crimes such as drug possession, rape and even murder worry many parents.

However, teen psychologist Yulia Suleeman argues that youth facilities alone are not enough to keep teenagers crime-free.

"They need adult figures who can understand them and give them a chance to develop their talents. But, nowadays, with no role models -- not their teachers or national leaders -- most of them turn to unreal characters in comic books and movies or actors," she said.