“I want a peaceful and prosperous Madura” is handwritten on a small green sheet of paper, and hangs from a tree branch at the corner of Wijaya Kusuma Sports Building, Sampang, Madura Island in East Java.

Another note hanging from one of the branches of what has become known as the “tree of hope” says “I wish to be happy”, reflecting the hopes of child refugees from the Shiite community in Sampang.

Besides the “tree of hope” stands the “tree of anxiety”, where in contrast, notes written on red sheets of paper express the worries of these children. One note reads “Scared of being beaten. My house has been burned down. Everything’s gone….”

Untung Rifa’i, coordinator of the Sampang Children’s Committee said the children were encouraged to write their feelings down on these sheets of paper as a way to monitor their condition after witnessing the traumatic events that took place on Aug. 26 where homes were attacked.

There are now 136 children living in the sports building (GOR), Sampang, 37 of them are under 5 years old. After a one-week stay in the shelter, the small children began to experience respiratory problems, diarrhea and skin disease. According to Nira, a volunteer physician, many of them were also malnourished. Sleeping in an open space, they did not eat at normal times and water and sanitation were inadequate. Humanitarian Volunteers Network station coordinator Muhammad Muadz also noted the absence of medical personnel available for regular health checks.

Sad memory: A drawing by a child, Ahmad, depicts his home as it was burned down and “burst into tears”. (JP/Budhi Kurniawan)
The children have not attended school for over a week now. Some children were ready to attend school after the Idul Fitri holidays, but they were confronted and stopped by groups that feared they might learn Shia teachings. This incident led to the assault that resulted in nearly 50 houses being burned to the ground.

Most of the students in the refugee camp come from Karang Gayam IV State Primary School. A teacher, Sukandar, said of the school’s 278 students, 90 had to be evacuated to GOR, depriving them of an appropriate education.

Fourth grader Jamal spends his time in GOR playing football or joins the activities put on by the Sampang Children’s Committee.    

Deni from the Humanitarian Volunteers Network said several children had only been found two days after the attack. “They were hiding with their parents in the nearby forest and only consumed water because they feared another attack.” Deni added that during the first few days of evacuation, children were still scared of strangers.

Over a week later an emergency class was set up in GOR for the Shiite Muslim children, who were dressed in casual clothing and used books contributed by donors concerned about their fate. Their uniforms, textbooks and other school necessities were burned to ashes.

At Pondok Anak Ceria (Joyful Kids Arena), Sulfa, Anis, Layla and 10 other little children were singing children’s songs under the direction of kak (brothers) Ryan, Toni and Resha, who also narrated fables of friendship, imitated animal noises and performed simple magic tricks, helping to build a cheerful atmosphere. The storytelling activity is affiliated with the Storytelling Movement for Humanity (GePPuK).

GePPuK is a member of the Child Protection Task Force (Satgas PA), a “consortium” of government and children’s institutions, including the Social Affairs Ministry, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia and Gugah Nurani Indonesia (GNI).

Ilma Sovriyanti, head of the secretariat of Satgas PA, said the narrators had come to Sampang especially to entertain the child refugees in GOR. “They’ve lost their homes; they now play in fear and no longer get a proper education. Satgas PA and GePPuK are here to keep the kids happy and enthusiastic,” said Ilma, who admits most children looked miserable and traumatized during their first week of camp life.

GePPuK members who paid a visit to Sampang, supported by the Denny JA Foundation, also met children around the scene, like those in Miftahul Ulum Islamic boarding school in Blu’uran and Raudhatul Islamiyah school in Karang Gayam.

Fun for al: Storytellers entertain children at Wijaya Kusuma Sports Building, Sampang, where the Shiite community has taken refuge following the attack on their homes. (JP/Resha Rashtrapati)
A storyteller, kak Awam, joined renowned psychologist kak Seto in Karang Gayam IV primary school, where they entertained students who had been absent for a week after the attack on Shia followers in the village.

A week after the attacks, the atmosphere in Karang Gayam was still tense and the land was deserted, although tobacco harvesting time had arrived. Well-armed security personnel were guarding all corners of the village. Children did not dare to go to school because, according to Sukandar, they were gripped by fear following the death of a student in the invasion.

Iman Surahman, an initiator of GePPuK, said Sampang children, within or outside the refugee camp, should be entertained after being victimized. “They’re innocent and don’t understand Shia and Sunni faiths. We want to help guide them to become Indonesian children who love peace and fellow humans, void of vengeful feelings and having the willingness to forgive,” he said.

Zakia, a mother staying in the refugee shelter, said she was delighted to have the volunteers there to entertain children. According to her, child refugees need entertainment to relieve their distress.    

“We’re Indonesian children, free children. We have one land, one nation, one language….” So goes the song lyrics most frequently sung by the children in the camp.Their homes are now even bathed in tears. Ahmad, a child refugee, drew a picture entitled “House of Tears” that depicts a house with brown roof tiles and flowers in front of it. The GOR children have no idea how long they will stay there, but they do wish to live in peace and take pride in being Indonesian children.