Indonesia jails parents for leaving children on the streets to make a living
The Karimun district government in Indonesia's Riau Islands province recently announced that it will jail parents who force their children to wander the streets and do jobs such as begging, shining shoes or selling newspapers.
Children begging in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: SP.
Mitrayati, head of the Karimun district Women Empowerment and Child Protection Department, said parents would be given two weeks to rectify the warning and face jail terms under the Child Protection Act if their children continue to roam the streets. The government would provide free education and medical care to help eradicate street children.Meanwhile, the head of the Karimun District Social Security Agency branch said the organization will continue to receive children who are homeless due to unavoidable reasons into social care facilities, in order to support the district government's goal of completely eliminating street children in 2013.
Karimu is an archipelago of 27 islands in the Java Sea, with a total land area of 78 km2, of which the main island is Karimun, with an area of about 2,700 hectares. In 2011, 22 islands of Karimun were recognized as a marine reserve under the general name “Karimunjawa National Park”. The remaining five islands are privately owned and controlled by the Indonesian Navy.
According to VNA-M