illustration by Gabriella Lee Sudyatmiko 14yo

Running around the house, playing in the park, or taking a bike ride down the street are all normal and expected activities for children. But being abducted and tortured, forced to become a beggar, or being used for even more sinister purposes is something that many children face every day. Maybe it sounds a bit farfetched but sadly such situations are not just fables, and instead are harsh realities that exist even in today’s modern world.  The evidence is presented daily in the media, shown in reports by both government and non government organizations, and sometimes we even witness it with our own eyes and ears.

The culprits run the gambit fromstranger to family, non-educated to teacher, poor to rich, religious to faithless.No group is immune or excluded. 

The victims are innocent children that are coerced, forced, threatened or unaware that what is happening to them is wrong and these atrocities often go unreported. 

On occasion the tragedy is exposed, the media immediately crowd in to discuss the news, claiming to be experts on the matter.  Despite the great integrity of many journalist, the networks at their core are after ratings as that drives profit and will stoke fear, create drama, and in the end often confuse their viewers rather than educate and have useful debates.  Then the masses unknowingly pass on their interpretation of this misinformation on Facebook, Twitter, Path, Whatsappand the long list of other social media tools. While the topic has finally garnered the long overdueattention it deserves, we unfortunately bombarded with misdirected blame and anger, becoming so divided that solutions seem unattainable.

So where does that currently leave us?

Nearly every day we can read different cases of violence and child abuse but there is little to no news with regards to bettering the situation or even helping the known victims.  Instead we see accused predators taking a cue from those on trial for corruption, proudly and happily embracing the media attention, laughing and smiling for the cameras.

And now, similar to other trends, our collective attention span has been reached and we are moving on to the next topic.  You could liken us toostriches, just sticking our heads in the sand and pretending like the danger no longer exists.

illustration by Gabriella Lee Sudyatmiko 14 yo

Government and regulatory authorities may still share an opinion or provide the public with a small followup here and there, but no concrete changes are likely without continual pressure from a properly aware and educated population.And sadly, just like any other trend, the tragedy will reoccur and the process will start all over again, children’s lives destroyed by something that was largely preventable.

What's happened to our morality?  Is abuse in our nature?

AristMerdekaSirait recently pointed out that in 2013, his organization, the National Commission for Child Protection declared a state of emergency for the child abuse problem but it wasn’t deemed important enough by those with media influence to get widespread coverage until the end of February 2014 when Mr. Arist arrived with police and staff to rescue children from the Samuel Orphanage. Since then there have been a rash of highly publicized child abuse cases.  In reality cases like these have been happening all along but they have been hidden from the public, not deemed worthy of our attention, just waiting for a slow news day.

Another form of abuse that has not received appropriate attention is violence against animals.

While of late we have collectively followed the tragic cases of child abuse, we have overlooked violence against animals, especially dogs.  There is often a strong correlation between the abuse of animals and eventual violence against humans.  Samuel Orphanage had many neglected dogs on the property and this should have been a sign of what was happening to the children.  The dogs were caged, chained, malnourished, and sickly.  Yes, these are animals, but of what benefit or reason should they be tortured and treated so cruelly?  What example are we setting by participating or turning a blind eye?

Indonesia has a wonderful heritage and a very proud people with a vibrant culture but we need to take a long, hard lookat ourselves and recognize our own shortcomings.  As a people and country, we deem ourselves religious and dedicated to our Creator but we abuse ourselves, others, and the nature around us. We disrespect Him by mistreating the very gifts that He has provided.  We shouldn’t only be accountable in public or places of worship.  Our faith and morality are something we should carry with us everywhere.  If we truly believe that everything around us is His, shouldn’t we be caretakers rather than destroyers?

Apparently a lot of problems in our lives result from our own behavior. It is time for this to change, for us to take responsibility.  With that, we’d like to announce that today, #CarolineHero has united with the National Committee for Child Protection and PasukanJarikto promote child welfare in Indonesia.  Our goal is to raise awareness, keep a spotlight on the plight of the abused, encourage frank and open discussions, educate people, along with finding and promoting solutions.  Please join us in our cause.