"Handayani" Children's Center Provides Social Rehabilitation to Three Punk Children from Tasikmalaya

JAKARTA (April 11, 2021) - The "Handayani" Children's Center provided rehabilitation for three punk children from Tasikmalaya. This is the result of the case response activities of the Ministry of Social Affairs through the "Handayani" Children's Center Social Worker and the Directorate of Child Social Rehabilitation at the direction of the Minister of Social Affairs to the Director General of Social Rehabilitation regarding the presence of punk children in the Tasikmalaya area, West Java.

From April 1-6, 2021, the team coordinated with several stakeholders in the Tasikmalaya area, namely the Tasikmalaya City Social Office, Chair of the Regional Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAID) Ato Rinanto, the Tasikmalaya Social Work Service Unit (Sakti Peksos) and the Social Service Agency ( LKS) which handles punk groups.

On Tuesday (6/4), three children were referred to the "Handayani" Children's Center for social rehabilitation.

DN, 16 years old, has been living on the street since two years ago. He decided to leave the house because he could not stand the violence committed by his father. DN and his younger siblings witnessed violence perpetrated by their father on their mother. He even still remembers how his father banged his head against the wall because he defended his mother.

Before living on the street, DN lived at his grandmother's house. He often tries to contact his father or mother just to ask for pocket money. Finally, he asked for IDR50,000 for treatment but they were ignored.

"I once asked my father and mother for money, but I was ignored, sir. From there I just want to take care of myself, I don't want to bother my parents anymore," he said.

This disappointment finally made DN decide to take care of his own life by taking to the streets. He became a busker, he used the money to eat, buy cigarettes, and occasionally he bought illegal drugs such as eximer pills.

Unlike DN, who has been living on the street for 2 years, SE just joined the punk community three months ago. This 15-year-old girl meets a punk community on Facebook. SE admits that she feels comfortable on the road because she has many friends who care about her, unlike when she is at home.

"When I'm at home, I don't feel comfortable, sir. because if I was stubborn I was beaten by my older brother," he told the social worker.

SE has lived with her grandmother and grandfather since she was 5 years old, her mother has been working as a migrant worker in the Middle East for a long time. Since her grandparents died, SE has been raised by her 3 older siblings.

Just like SE, RN was also raised by his grandmother since he was a baby. Among his two friends, RN is the longest punk kid. RN has been a punk since 3 years ago when he dropped out of school for economic reasons. This situation led him to meet with a punk group and continues today.

"I dropped out of school when I was in grade 6, sir, from there I started joining BM, sir," said RN.

BM is a punk term to refer to the activity of moving from place to place using land transportation such as trucks. This is also what is alleged to be the cause of the many punk kids in Tasiklamaya because of its strategic area.

Tasikmalaya is one of the main routes south of Java Island. According to the Chairperson of the Tasikmalaya Regional Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAID), Ato Rinanto, this easy access means that many punk kids in Tasikmalaya come from outside, such as the city of East Parahiyangan, namely Garut, Ciamis, Pangandaran, Banjar and Central Java. The locations where the children stopped were Ciawi, Indihiang, Kawalu, and Cikurubuk.

"Punk kids here (Tasikmalaya), not only come from Tasik but also come from other areas. These punk kids have high mobility. They will move around or we often call them nomads, yes because of the free behavior they want," said Ato Rinanto when met by a social worker at the Handayani Children's Center at his office (1/4).

The Tasiklmalaya government also received assistance from the local community in dealing with punk children, one of whom was Kang Tana. He made his private home a place to live for punk kids. Currently, there are 73 original Tasikmalaya Punk children who are raised by Kang Tana, including RN, SE, and DN. However, if you add up all of the punk kids from all over Java who have stayed at his house, he has accommodated hundreds of children.

"Many people think when they see children sleeping on the street, it's inappropriate, but for me, it's even more inappropriate when I let them," said Kang Tana.

Besides Kang Tana, there are two Child Service Agencies (LKSA) that are ready to provide services to punk children. The two LKSAs are LKSA Islam Darussalam in Rajapolah District and LKSA Jamiyatul Abror Al-gaza in Cigalontang District. The case response team visited the two LKSAs to find out their experience in raising punk children.

"Our LKSA is always ready to support the handling of punk kids in Tasikmalaya. We also have experience in dealing with them," said Haji Aep as Chair of LKSA Islam Darussalam.

The phenomenon of punk children is one of the social phenomena that is the focus of the Ministry of Social Affairs, especially the Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini. Risma assigned the Ministry of Social Affairs offices to respond to the case of punk children in Tasikmalaya.

The three punk children from Tasikmalaya have received social rehabilitation services at the "Handayani" Children's Center in Jakarta.

"We have provided them with residential-based ATENSI services. When we arrived, we immediately carried out a medical and psychological examination. They have also participated in psychosocial therapy and counseling with a psychologist,” said the Head of Handayani Children's Center, Hasrifah Musa on Friday (9/4).

The children will also receive vocational skills training and will be facilitated to take part in the package pursuit program. There are several vocational skill activities at Balai that you can choose from, such as welding, automotive, cooling, screen printing, handcraft, and mixed farming.

Currently, the Center is focusing on the process of changing behavior. The children are given intensive counseling both in groups and individually by Social Workers, Psychologists, Social Counselors, Nurses, and Religious Advisors.

“The children feel comfortable living on the street, even when they first arrive some of them cry because they are not used to the facilities in the hall. He said too fancy. This is what we want to change first, children must have the perception that living on the street is not a good solution for their lives," explained Hasrifah.

Balai Anak "Handayani" has also prepared alternative care for the 3 children if they have finished receiving rehabilitation. One way is by placing children in permanent facilities that can support their growth and development process into adulthood.

"Yesterday, during six days in Tasik, we coordinated with two LKSAs, namely LKSA Islam Darussalam and LKSA Jamiyatul Abror Al-Gaza. They said they were ready to provide care for the children if they were given the trust," he said.

The Ministry of Social Affairs through the ATENSI program will carry out family, community, and residential-based interventions in supporting the settlement of groups, punk children, especially in terms of accessing children's growth and development rights so that every child can use their maximum potential without exception.