can we ever stop THAT tradition??

Topik ini baru aja dibahas di kelas Child Abuse gua tadi, menanggapi soal tradisi penjualan anak atau lebih tepatnya pengeksploitasian anak di bawah umur sebagai pelacur yang mendarah daging di Indramayu. it was started as a myth that came up like this:

Once upon a time, there was a king looking for a girl to be his wife. then he announced to the civils in a village called Bangos Pentil (correct me if I'm wrong) that he was going to hold a contest to find the most beautiful girl to be married with.

On the other side, there was a small family wanted to join the contest, but unluckily they don't have a daughter. looking at their 'beautiful' son, they dressed him in women's clothes and sent him to the contest. He looks perfectly beautiful and the king fell in love with him from the very first time he saw him (sounds strange, no?). And so the king married him.

At the first night they were going to make love, the king soon knew that he was ripped off. he got mad and cursed the village: "The girls in this village will not be married if they don't work as a prostitute while they were young and virgin!

That is it. legenda itu pun dipercaya oleh masyarakat setempat sebagai kutukan yang gak bakal bisa hilang. Dan ironisnya, legenda itu malah dijadikan alasan buat mereka tetap melangsungkan 'tradisi' penjualan anak perempuan di bawah umur sampai detik ini! imagine, by the time the girls have had their very first period, they will be sold in a certain price that's been negotiated since they were born!! peculiarly insane!

pertanyaan gua saat ini adalah, apakah kita bisa menghentikan tradisi penjualan anak seperti itu? siapa juga yang rela berjuang yg mana mengancam nyawa demi menghapus tradisi kayak gitu? apalagi ini menyangkut ekonomi masyarakat setempat. very interesting, mengingat merebaknya kasus penjualan anak di penjuru Indonesia yang sebenernya dari jaman dulu juga udah ada dan belom ada yang bener-bener bisa menghentikan tindak kriminal kayak gini.

kecuali pemerintah bisa lebih tegas dalam ngatasin masalah kayak gini. coba deh tiru Inggris yang bisa dengan tegas memberikan sanksi hukum ke orang-orang yang melakukan tindak kekerasan atau eksploitasi pada anak. I have to be skeptical this time, since the ones who paid the money are those so-called PEJABAT!! I wish they could be arrested soon. no buyer no seller, right?

what a life.

pic courtesy: unicef.org