Kak Seto Urges Authorities to Not Call Children as Terrorists
16 May 2018 09:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Following the Surabaya suicide bomb attacks that were conducted by one complete family, child psychologist Seto Mulyadi or popularly known as Kak Seto, reminded the public that children are a group of people that need to be protected.
Kak Seto requested that Indonesian authorities should avoid describing children as terrorists; “[These children] were the victims, not suspects. These kids were persuaded, forced, and intimidated [to do it]. This must be paid attention considering that many more children might be potential victims in conducting acts of terrorism,” said Kak Seto at a seminar on Tuesday, May 15.
Furthermore, Kak Seto said that children are easily influenced, such as a positive approach that will help the child to achieve high glory and wisdom. In contrast, negative approaches [can turn children] into criminal suspects or conduct acts of terrorism,” he said.
He further urged community groups in neighborhoods to help protect children from negative influences. Society must take action against parents that treat their children suspiciously. “If nothing else can be done, people should report it to the police,” said Kak Seto.
Kak Seto argues that there are still many communities in residential areas that do not place much care towards the children that live in the vicinity of the neighborhood. He reminded that; “It needs a whole village to raise a child, not just the child’s parents.”
ANGGIANDINI PARAMITA MANDARU