Govt Calls for Private Sector to Work With It to Help Special-Needs Children

Govt Calls for Private Sector to Work With It to Help Special-Needs Children

The government and private sector must work together to create a more nurturing environment for children with special needs, officials said on Friday.

Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar, the minister for women’s empowerment and child protection, said the onus for looking after special-needs children should not be on the government alone.

“It is also up to the private sector to pay special attention to these children,” she said at the opening of a congress of parents of special-needs children.

“I believe this congress is a good step toward setting up a support group bringing together parents, carers and medical practitioners. It will also push the government and the private sector to do more.”

Wanda Hamidah, a member of the Jakarta City Council’s oversight commission on social and children’s affairs, said there needed to be better enforcement of the rights of special-needs children.

“We need to keep fighting for them because many of them are still being deprived of their most basic rights, particularly in terms of access to health care and education,” she said at the congress.

She added that the council had last week passed a bylaw on the protection of the disabled.

“The bylaw will provide protection for the rights of special-needs children to a proper education, health care, employment and accessibility in public places,” Wanda said.

“It also stipulates punishments, including fines and jail time, for those violating these rights. Our hope is that with the passage of the bylaw, special-needs children will receive better treatment and service.”

The councilwoman said one area that needed particular attention was education, with very few schools equipped or staffed to teach special-needs children.

“That said, the government has a fundamental obligation to provide access to education for all,” she said.

She added that sufficient funding to meet the needs of special-needs children could easily be found, but only if the political will to do so was there.

“Jakarta’s annual budget is huge,” she said. “If we could just allocate Rp 50 billion [$5.7 million] to training teachers, we would have enough to teach all special-needs children,” Wanda said.

There are an estimated 500,000 special-needs children across Indonesia, according to the parents’ group.

Kidnapped Indonesian Girl Safely Home, But a Warning for Parents

Kidnapped Indonesian Girl Safely Home, But a Warning for Parents

Agus Budiarto and Heny Marliana experienced the darkest moment of their lives in early August when their 6-month-old daughter, Cheryl Audrey, was abducted by their nanny.

They reported the case to the police and went on national television and online media to appeal for their daughter’s return. The media blitz proved to be valuable in the hunt for Cheryl.

Within two days, a couple who saw the appeal on TV brought the baby to Cakung subprecinct police station in East Jakarta and Cheryl was reunited with her parents. The nanny, Ina Asryiana, was arrested and is now in detention awaiting a possible trial.

Although the ordeal ended happily enough, the family is one of the very few to come through unscathed in such cases.

According to the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), 111 children were reported missing or kidnapped last year, only 5 percent of whom were ever returned to their families.

As of June this year, another 78 children have been abducted, according to figures from another watchdog, the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI).

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of Komnas Anak, told the Jakarta Globe that in many cases, families were unable to provide much help to the police investigating abductions.

“The police also usually only take action after the victim has been missing for more than 24 hours,” he added. “Less than that, and the police will tend not to look into the case, either because of limited evidence or a limited budget.”

Other than kidnap for ransom, Arist went on, some abductions were carried out by nannies, baby sitters or neighbors over unfair treatment by the family, perceived or otherwise.

Agus said that in his family’s case, the couple who turned in his daughter said they had bought Cheryl from Ina, whom they had only met once.

He said Ina had later claimed that she had not meant to kidnap the child, but had taken her because she could not bear to leave her behind when she traveled back to her hometown of Subang in West Java.

“But I don’t believe everything that she says,” he said.

Maria Ulfah Anshor, the KPAI chairwoman, said divorce was the main factor in child abduction cases.

“According to our data, 70 percent of child abductions happen because of a custody battle over the children between separated parents,” she said.

“That happens because someone refuses to accept a court’s decision on custody of the child.”

Only 30 percent of abductions are carried out for financial motives, she said. But the financial gain in such cases does not always come from demanding a ransom from the parents.

“Several weeks ago, the KPAI found two children working as beggars on a train,” Maria said.

“We later found out that they were forced to do that by a stranger. Unfortunately, when we asked them about the stranger’s address, they couldn’t give us any details. That makes it very hard for us to investigate the case.”

Other means of exploitation employed by kidnappers include forcing children into the sex trade or selling them to childless couples for profit.

Maria said it was important for parents and police officers to adopt preventive measures against child abduction.

“Parents must start educating their children to be wary about talking to strangers or receiving anything from them,” she said.

“The police also need to disseminate information among elementary school students about the issue, because most of the targets of child abduction are elementary school-age children.”

But for Agus, the real lesson to take away from the whole ordeal is never to entrust the care of his child to a complete stranger.

The nanny who kidnapped his daughter was hired from a maid placement agency in Senen, Central Jakarta.

“In order to prevent anything like this from happening again, I hope that the agencies that provide baby sitters and nannies become more selective about recruiting workers and train them properly,” Agus said.

“But I’ve given up putting my trust in baby sitters. I believe it would be much better for the parents to take care of their own children until they are old enough to talk and can defend themselves. Otherwise we will just be placing our own children in great danger.”

Courts Lets Smuggling Case Teens in Australia Walk Free

Courts Lets Smuggling Case Teens in Australia Walk Free

An Australian court has dropped charges against three Indonesian teenagers accused of people smuggling after being arrested in Australian waters, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta said on Friday.

“The prosecutor decided not to pursue the case against them after their lawyers presented evidence such as their school diplomas and birth certificates to prove that they are indeed minors,” Michael Tene said.

The Brisbane Magistrates Court dismissed all charges against Ose Lani, 15, Ako Lani, 16, and John Ndollu, 17. The three were arrested in January of last year during a raid on a boat carrying Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers to Australia. They were facing up to five years in prison.

The three were held at a detention center for asylum seekers before being transferred to a high-security prison for adults in Brisbane. They were released two weeks ago and put up by a local welfare agency.

The teenagers are now free to return to their homes in East Nusa Tenggara. The Indonesian Consulate in Sydney is in talks with Queensland immigration officials to arrange for the minors’ repatriation to the village of Manamolo on Rote Island.

“We expect to fly them home as soon as possible,” Michael said.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the charges against the three were dropped just hours after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to discuss the issue.

A defendant is considered a minor until 18 years of age in Australian courts. Australian regulations stipulate that illegal aliens believed to have committed a crime can be sent home without being tried in court.

There are currently 29 cases where Indonesian minors are being detained in Australia, Michael said.

News of the arrests prompted criticism from nongovernmental organizations like the Human Rights Working Group, which accused the Australian government of violating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention states that minors should only be imprisoned as a last resort, and then, only for a short period of time.

“We urge the Australian government to uphold the international practice in accordance with the child rights convention by releasing them from any immigration detention facility [or prison],” the HRWG said in a statement.

Nur Cholis, the deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), hailed the Brisbane court’s decision to release the three minors.

Ismira Lutfia & Elisabeth Oktofani

Govt Action Needed to Provide Deserted Children Protection

Govt Action Needed to Provide Deserted Children Protection

Government institutions should work together to help children who were born out of wedlock and while their parents served as migrant workers because most of those children do not have birth certificates, making it difficult for them to enter school or process other documents, an advocacy group said.

Since 2008, the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) has recorded about 215 Indonesian children of migrant workers who do not have birth certificates.

Some of the children were born out of wedlock, while some were victims of rape cases.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of Komnas Anak, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that institutional corporation was needed between the Ministry of Transmigration and Manpower, the Ministry of Home Affairs and also the Ministry of Social Affairs to insure children’s rights.

“The children of the migrant workers are often sent to their grandparents or orphanages because the parents feel ashamed or want to avoid social stigma from the neighbors for being sexually abused,” he said.

Arist mentioned that the government must be involved to help children have a better future despite of their background.

“No matter who they are, no matter what happened to their mother, the government really needs to provide a facility and services to ease those children lives,” he said.

Indonesian Celebrities Unite for Rape Victim Aged Just 8 Months

Indonesian Celebrities Unite for Rape Victim Aged Just 8 Months

The National Commission for Child Protection is “thrilled” at the success of a celebrity event that raised more than $23,000 for an eight-month-old baby girl who was kidnapped, raped and left to die.

Seto Mulyadi, chairman of the commission, also known as Komnas Anak, applauded the efforts of the public who came together for an event featuring a number of Indonesian celebrities in Jakarta on Sunday night and raised Rp 200 million ($23,200) for the victim and her family.

“[Komnas Anak] is thrilled that there are a lot of people who care about the baby,” Seto told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. “The government should not look the other way, especially the municipal government of South Sulawesi. They should make sure that the baby is well taken care of, both her future and her health.”

The eight-month old was found bleeding from injuries consistent with a sexual attack and abandoned in a boat floating in waters off Bantaeng, South Sulawesi, on May 27.

It was subsequently discovered that the baby had been kidnapped earlier that morning. The girl’s father, a poor fisherman, 24, and mother, 17, had reported the case to police.

It is understood there may be other, similar cases in the area.

Musician Fla Priscilla, who initiated the fund-raising auction and concert in the Cilandak Town Square, South Jakarta, said after hearing media reports about the attack, he confirmed details with activists and traveled to Bantaeng, a fishing village about four-hours’ drive from Makassar.

“As a mother, I only wanted to hug the baby’s mother,” Fla told the Globe. “I know how she feels because I also have a daughter and I wanted to support her family by holding the fundraiser.”

A number of Indonesian celebrities were in attendance at the event, including award-winning actress Dian Sastro, musician Melly Goeslaw and rockers Slank.