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HIV kids repelled from their new home in Surakarta
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Illustration.(Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra) (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
Illustration.(Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
A week after the world commemorated 'World AIDS day' on Dec 1, nine children living with HIV have been rejected from their new house in Surakarta, the home-town of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, in central Java.
The children were physically unable to enter, nor bring their packing truck to the newly-rented house as the road had been blockaded before they arrived on Monday.
Some residents displayed posters illustrating the rejection, proclaiming such statements as; 'Protect the kids in neighborhood unit (RT) 4', 'Kedunglumbu ain't a HIV kampong' and 'Good men don't make their neighbors worry'.
'We didn't expect that resident antipathy against HIV-sufferers would be this harsh. I can't see the reason behind it because HIV/AIDS awareness programs have been run on a massive scale,' explained Yunus Prasetyo, Rumah Singgah Lentera founder, on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
The nine children, aged from one to 13 years, initially stayed at a house rented by Lentera in Bumi village, Laweyan district, Surakarta. However, they had to move out as the leasing period had ended and the lessor rejected to extend the lease term due to pressure from local residents.
Lentara had managed to lease a new house in Kedunglumbu village, Pasar Kliwon district, Surakarta. However, upon their arrival at the new location, the children and their moving truck were stopped at a barricade that had been made by local residents.
Head of neighborhood unit 4 Kedunglumbu, Awud Basbul, admitted that most of the residents rejected the HIV children and neighborhood officials ultimately defended this stance after a vote showed a unanimous result.
'Three, of 23 residents who joined the meeting agreed to let the children move into the neighborhood while 20 others had rejected their inclusion,' he explained.
Surakarta acting mayor Budi Suharto acknowledged that the government has missed the opportunity to prevent the expulsion of the HIV children. According to him, the AIDS prevention commission (KPA) had failed in their attempts to illuminate the society with regard to correct HIV/AIDS understanding.
'If they had succeeded, there would not be such rejections. KPA has been narrowly dealing with medical checks and AIDS prevention, but has yet to handle matters concerning those living with HIV [in society]. We will summon KPA for further explanation. We will not let the children be abandoned,' he said.
As a temporary solution, he continued, Surakarta municipality would accommodate the children in the Pondok Boro social home, owned and run by the municipality. He called on the public not to discriminate or reject HIV sufferers.
Lentera, a non-government organization, provides a social home for children suffering with HIV, to provide them with assistance, counseling, free medical checks and HIV/AIDS awareness programs explained Yunus, further.
Discriminate action against these unfortunate children sets a bad precedent for Surakarta, a city which had previously ran campaigns under the guise of being Kota Layak Anak (child friendly city), said Yunus. (ags)(+)
