SIGHT FOR SORE EYES: Director general of correctional institutions at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, Untung Sugiono (third left), Tangerang Penitentiary chief warden Haru Tamtomo (fourth left) and head of the Banten office of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, Sutarmanto (second right), look at cartoons drawn by inmates. (JP/Tifa Asrianti)  Juveniles from the Tangerang Penitentiary cartoon community (KOLAPS) are displaying their work in a three-day exhibition at Galeri Cipta II at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Cikini, Central Jakarta.

The exhibition, which runs through today (Saturday), is divided into several themes, including "Self-Understanding", "Understanding Friends", "The Beloved Ones" and "Memorable Experience".

Bearing "hope" as its main theme, the cartoons in the exhibition express the children's wishes to be with their families and promises to be better people after their release from prison.

"It's our third cartoon exhibition. We want to continue holding this event to help children communicate through art," Haru Tamtomo, the penitentiary's head, said during the exhibition's opening Thursday.

He said creating cartoons taught the children to work in teams and cooperate with their friends.

"We will also hold a cartoon workshop here for the juvenile inmates on Saturday afternoon," Haru said.

"We will save the money for the cartoonists and give it to them when they are released," Haru said.

Rahman, a tutor at KOLAPS, said the making cartoons helped the juveniles learn to draw, read and write.

He said one inmate said that he couldn't draw but wanted to learn. He taught him the basic shapes, such as circle, a rectangle and triangle. These basic shapes were then joined together to depict the teenager's parents.

"His mother earns a living washing laundry, so I told the him to draw a bucket from several circles," he said.

Rahman said after the teenager drew his mother, he asked him to name the cartoon. It turned out the teenager knew the alphabet but did not know how to turn the letters into words.

Rahman helped the teenager spell and write his name and his mother's. By the end of the cartoon session, he was able to make a cartoon about his family and write his name.

The teenager was released two months later and returned to his hometown Cirebon, West Java, Rahman said.

"I never heard from him again. I think the children should have further counseling to prevent them from making the same mistakes that got them imprisoned." -- Tifa Asrianti

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