| Subject: JP: 'Trauma
center' set up for East Timorese children in West Timor Received from Joyo Indonesian News:
Jakarta Post November 04, 1999
'Trauma center' set up for East Timorese children
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission for Children's
Protection has set up a rehabilitation center to help East Timorese children suffering
from trauma in the East Nusa Tenggara camps.
Called the "trauma center", the new
non-governmental organization will employ scores of psychiatrists and psychologists to
help the children overcome traumatic experiences which resulted from rampaging violence
and sexual abuse following the announcement on Sept. 4 of the ballot results in East
TImor.
"We just try to treat the children with affection,
love and attention, as well as collecting medicines, food and clothes from donors,"
one of the center's administrators, Lusia Sutanto, told Antara on Wednesday in Kupang, the
capital of East Nusa Tenggara.
Lusia said the center was jointly organized by the Lions
Club of Indonesia, the Santa Lusia Educational Foundation, the National Commission for
Children's Protection and the children assistance-oriented Mutiara Foundation. Lusia
chairs the first two organizations.
The center is based in Atambua, which shares a border with
East Timor. The East Nusa Tenggara town hosted more than 200,000 refugees fleeing
violence-ravaged East Timor after the overwhelming rejection to Indonesia's autonomy
offer.
Irwanto of the children's protection body said observations
in refugee camps in Belu and Kupang that took place between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 revealed
that male youths who were at puberty age were prone to sexual assaults, either as victims
or perpetrators.
Young women lacked protection from sexual harassment
committed by friends of the same age and adults around the camps, Irwanto said.
"Witnesses said a group of parents were ambushed by
armed people to ask for their daughters," Irwanto said, without elaborating when and
where the incident took place.
He said the "trauma center" was modeled on a
similar program run by Catholic priests in Atambua.
"After receiving therapy from the priests, the
children could enjoy their play, speak fluently and appeared to have returned to their
world," Irwanto said.
Seto Mulyadi of the Mutiara Foundation said the center
would help the children recover both mentally and physically. He cited the foundation's
successful work with children living in refugee camps in Aceh and Ambon.
Seto, a psychologist with many years of experience with
children, said the trauma would be healed immediately if the children could return to
their homeland.
"This is the best solution. But the problem is there
has been no security guarantee from either Xanana Gusmao, Interfet and Falintil troops if
they wish to come home," Seto said.
Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao is the most
influential proindependence leader, who also leads Falintil. Security in East Timor is the
mandate of an Australian-led multinational peacekeeping force during the transitional
period before the establishment of an independent East Timor state. (amd)
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