Tuesday, Nov 06, 2012
A teen is kidnapped, raped and almost trafficked across Indonesia - just by hitting a few keys on the computer.
It's a reality and a chilling reminder of the dark side of social media use.
And more victims are likely to fall for such fiends, predicts the National Commission for Child Protection (NCCP) head in Jakarta, Arist Merdeka Sirait.
He tells The New Paper on Sunday in a telephone interview: "As a nation, we are just grappling with the phenomenon called social media.
"It's a fact of modern society but parents aren't keeping pace with what's happening around their children."
The Associated Press (AP) reports that Indonesia has nearly 50 million people signed up on Facebook. This makes the nation of 240 million one of the world's largest on the social network, after the US.
Mr Sirait says that 62 per cent of Facebook users in Indonesia are below the age of 18.
Other figures add to an already grim picture.
A report by Ecpat International, an organisation fighting against child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, estimates that each year between 40,000 and 70,000 children "are involved in trafficking, pornography or prostitution in Indonesia".
The US State Department has also warned that more Indonesian girls are being recruited for purposes of sex trafficking using social media networks, AP says.
Last year, NCCP handled 121 cases of child trafficking.
Says Mr Sirait: "In the middle of October, we have already exceeded last year's figures.
"The October 2012 figure shows 129 child smuggling cases. Of these, 29 were Facebook-related or those who became victims after making friends online.
"Sadly, I expect this figure to rise further as we go into the month of December."
Parents of five other missing girls have come forward to reveal that their daughters had been victimised by people they met on social media sites, after the Depok kidnapping was widely reported.
One man, who had posed as a photographer on Facebook, was recently arrested for abducting and raping three teenage girls. He had promised to make them models.
Girls often fall prey to traffickers who make empty promises.
They are lured with the promise of better job prospects,money and even mobile phones.
The battleground in the fight against human trafficking is spread across Indonesia, with "jumping off" or transit points like Batam, says Madam Nurmadiah, the head of Women's Empowerment and Family Planning in Batam.
She told the Jakarta Globe in 2010 that trafficking had tainted Batam's official status as a special economic zone and investment region.
The many illegal harbours and the lack of enforcement resources make Batam an ideal spot for hiding smuggled women and girls.
She tells TNPS: "Batam is a transit point because this is the closest Indonesian territory to Singapore and Malaysia, their next destination."
The women, from Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan, are housed in Batam temporarily while fake documents are made.
Madam Nurmadiah, 49, adds: "One look and I can tell that their physique does not match the age on their passports.
"They say they're 23 when in reality they're 18 or younger, some of them admitted to us."
Whether the girls stay in Batam or are smuggled overseas, they face uncertainty.
Those who remain in Batam end up in karaoke bars, massage parlours or sex farms.
They have to buy their way out of this vicious circle, says Mr Syamsul Rumangkang, head of the Anti-Trafficking Agency in Batam.
And it's not always in cash.
One of the women his agency rescued owed her agent $2,000 for being allowed to work in Singapore.
She thought she would be managing a shop. Instead she was forced into prostitution in Geylang, Mr Syamsul says.
"The victim was told that she needed to pay back through sex," says Mr Syamsul.
"Her debt would be settled after she clocks up a few hundred male clients."
Mr Sirait hopes girls can be more wary to avoid being victims of traffickers. Education is key.
He warns children not to disclose personal information to strangers on social media sites.
They should also not trust what new friends say online.
Parents need to learn more about technology and take an interest in their children's activities.
For a start, Mr Sirait encourages parents to be "friends" with their children on social media sites.
