For a Better Future For Our Children: Letter to an Unknown Friend

Dear Friend,

Perhaps you have read something about "the country of a thousand islands" in South East Asia, which is called Indonesia and have formed in your mind a picture of the life of its people. I hope yours is not an impression so often gained from books written in comfortable hotels by tourists, who describe a "paradise" — a life of ease and beauty under the shade of palm trees, surrounded by dancing girls and singing children scattering flowers. Especially is the beautiful island of Bali held up to Europeans as the romantic ideal — where living is a joy and the trees are forever green ... But the reality is different.

I want to tell you a little about my country and its history and to say something about the life of our children and our hopes for a better future for them. Their life cannot be separated from the general living conditions of the people, which in turn are inseparable from the political, economic and social conditions of the country.

It is true that Indonesia is a country immensely rich in resources. Consisting of 3,000 islands and with a population of 82,000,000, it produces 90 per cent of the world's pepper, 91 per cent of all chinin (a most effective medicine against malaria), 80 per cent of the world's bauxite and 40 per cent of its rubber. In addition, great quantities of coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa-nuts and petrol are exported. No wonder that for centuries these islands have been a strong magnet for western imperialists. Multatuli, a famous Dutch writer, described Indonesia as "a string of emeralds entwined about the equator."

To understand the present situation which is an inheritance of the past we must recall some past history. In 1596 Dutch traders first set foot on Indonesian soil. They came to trade in spices and ended by imposing a most oppressive colonial system on the country. For 350 years the country was exploited through a "drainage" policy, which every year drew millions of profits out of the country and left the people in deep poverty. It kept the people ignorant and illiterate, a source of cheap labour. Because wages of workers were not enough to keep themselves and their families alive, the struggle for food was always a desperate one. Periodical famines claimed the lives of thousands of families.

In 1942, when Hitler was the nightmare of the oppressed peoples in Europe, the Japanese warlords played a similar role in Asia. They overthrew the Dutch power, but continued the oppression through outright fascist methods. They reaped the grain harvest while thousands of peasants were sent as forced labourers to Burma and Siam to build military roads. Most of them never returned. It was a common sight to see child beggars starving to death on the roadsides in those days.

Then in 1945 came news of the defeat of Japan in the war. On August 17th 1945, our President, Sukarno, proclaimed the independence of my country. Like a flame, the desire for freedom thrilled the hearts of the millions of people and found expression in an impassioned struggle to drive the Japanese from the country.

Then British troops came with the Dutch behind them, demanding "the historic right" of colonisation. They bombed open towns and villages, raining death on innocent women and children. But the spirit of freedom and resistance could not be broken by these manifestations of inhumanity and force. Years of bitter and grim fighting began. It was not easy to occupy every bit of the island, even with modern weapons.

At the end of 1949, against the wish of the people, a treacherous "Round Table Conference Agreement" was signed between the Indonesian and Dutch Governments, Holland was forced to acknowledge the Republic, but foreign monopoly capital investments remained in the country.

It was in these conditions, out of inheritance of poverty and misery of the long dark colonial years, that the Republic had to move forward, step by step, facing many difficulties, internal and external. The low degree of industrialisation made for a low standard of living. In 1955 there were still 15,000,000 unemployed and partially employed.

The hardships borne by the people affect the children most seriously. The main food is rice, but many families cannot afford to give rice to the children. As in many Asian and African countries, milk is not common in the diet of Indonesian children, only wealthier people can afford it. Serious undernourishment of children is widespread as a result of the prolonged hunger throughout generations.

Social diseases, such as dysentry, trachoma, tuberculosis and malaria are very common among children and the mortality rate in the first year of life is as high as 15 to 20 per cent. According to Professor Hindarmin, Chairman of the Indonesian Doctors' Union, there is only one doctor to every 59,000 of the population.

The majority of the people live in the countryside in small huts of bamboo and palm leaves. In towns thousands of families live in slums and we see child beggars roaming the streets or working as shoe cleaners.

In the days of colonisation, 90 per cent of the population was illiterate. In ten years of independence this figure has dropped to 65 per cent. However, it is not yet possible to introduce compulsory education, because of insufficient state funds for this purpose, the lack of teachers and school buildings. In 1955, for instance, out of 12,000,000 children of school age, only 5,000,000 could be accommodated in schools. In general, parents cannot afford to send their children beyond the primary schools and many start working at an early age as child labourers, selling cigarettes, sweets or helping parents in the fields.

Creches and kindergartens are almost unknown except in towns where the cost of sending children to them is high. Working mothers are forced to take their children with them to the markets and enterprises, where surroundings are frequently unhealthy. Books, literature and the cinema, in conditions where struggle for food is still very hard, are still far beyond the reach of most children. Children in cities who can afford to go to the cinema, watch mainly American films, which present life as a struggle for money. "Comics" imported from the United States have not yet been banned despite many organised protests.

It is in these difficult circumstances that our children are being reared. The effects of centuries of occupation with their cruel exploitation cannot be wiped out in a short time. It will take a long time. However, much has improved in the eleven years of our independence.

The annulment of the Round Table Conference Agreement in 1956 marked the first step towards saving the wealth of our country for its people. It will help to improve the living standards of the people and to provide for a decent life for our children.

Many women's organisations in Indonesia today concern themselves with the defence of children. The Indonesian Women's Congress to which are affiliated about forty women's organisations has established a Child Welfare Foundation.

Gerwani (Indonesian Women's Movement), an affiliate of the W.I.D.F., is also member of the Indonesian Women's Congress and co-operates with other women's organisations in actions for more schools, more creches for working mothers, child health measures, against bad literature and films, etc.

Women of Indonesia who, together with the whole people, have endured unbearable sufferings in the past are determined that their children shall have a better future. For the happiness and security of "this fruit of the heart", as the Indonesian calls her child, she fears no difficulty or dangers.

Much remains to be done in my country and many obstacles to be overcome, because the establishment of independence is only a bridge leading to a changed life. But the way is open and we are marching forward through all hindrances and sacrifices to win a happier life for our children.

Dear friend, I hope that reading this will help to dispel any illusions you may have had about the "care-free" life of children on these beautiful islands of South East Asia.

Wherever you are, my friend, I send you my affectionate greetings and wish you success in our common desire and efforts for a happier future for our children!

Your Indonesian Friend, Sudjinah