Militarizing the Youth: When Neglect Is Mistaken for Delinquency
As of June 13th, some area in Indonesia, especially West Java, will have ātroubledā students put under the management of the military. According to the regent of Purwakarta, not every ātroubledā child can be put inside, only those who needs serious interventions. The goal is to fix the degradation of the youthās moral. The big red-line of the solution here is constant brainwashing, disguised as discipline. Inside, they will have physical exercises, educational materials delivered by teachers, and counseling. Whether you agree or not, this is clearly the act of child negligence disguised as juvenile delinquency. This will not result in the students saving their morals, but they will be rigid, cannot think critically or creatively; just like a yes-man, a soldier. And not to mention, it is only 14 days.
Most people in Indonesia agree with this new policy by the governor. Saying that itās for the best, because some counseling guidance at school is not working āhardā enough. Send them to the barrack, they say. Itās not new, because there was another saying, āSend them to the boarding schoolā. What can we learn from this? Yes, the root of the problem is their parents.
Child negligence is one of the most prominent cases in Indonesia. You will hear how many children missing schools because of works., just to be able to eat. Iāve heard this story before, when I was teaching in middle-school. Parents are the most important element in the upbringing of a childās personality and moral. Just imagine, throughout your early years, your parents didnāt acknowledge you, didnāt give you enough love and affection ā of course itās going to affect their mental state. What needs to be done here is to fix the educational system and laws on child protection in Indonesia. By sending them to the barrack, theyāre taking advantage of your children by turning them into souless soldiers. How can I say it like that? Because they wear camouflage clothing, akin to the military.
It is fair to see, for the eyes to see, that the military shouldnāt have any authorities on handling the educational sector of the country ā NEVER. As of now, Indonesia is starting to put the military into other sectors of work, farming, business, etc. This is clearly an act of militarization, endorsed by the president, of course, because he didnāt do anything to stop them.