Dreaming of the Warm Embrace of Biological Parents

What is wrong with the babies? They were unwanted, sent to an orphanage, and then moved between caregivers. Actually, they dream of affection from their biological parents.

KOMPAS/ADITYA DIVERANTA

A number of women take care of dozens of babies in one of the rooms belonging to the Manarul Mabrur Panti, Semarang, Central Java, Thursday (30/3/2023). Most of the babies they take care of come from pregnancies outside of marriage.

Dozens of toddlers filled a white room at Manarul Mabrur Orphanage in Banyumanik district, Semarang, Central Java. That afternoon on Thursday (30/3/2023), the toddlers played, walked, and ran around while balancing in a room measuring around 8 meters by 10 meters. Several children simply toddled hurriedly to the people who had just entered the room.

They were scrambling to embrace the people they had just met, as if they already knew them. A whining baby climbed up the body of a man he was embracing. The man held the baby, who looked comfortable, like he was enjoying it. It was adorable.

The baby held the man tightly. The man holding him felt the strong arms of the baby, who didn't want to let him go. He imagined his own son at home. He hugged back, as if the baby was his own child. It was a strange moment. The two were not related by blood, but they looked like a father holding his child.

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A moment later, the baby was crying as loud as he could because the man had placed him on a mattress. The baby shook his body and yelled as crawled quickly to get back to the man. His sobbed even more, and then wriggled on the floor.

EL, the woman who took care of the babies at the orphanage, was busy comforting the baby. She persuaded the baby to stop crying. "Come on, baby, Uncle wants to go home," EL said while holding the baby so it wouldn't struggle.

Most of the babies at the orphanage were born out of wedlock. Their biological parents were not ready to have them, and so put them in an orphanage. In addition to babies, the orphanage had dozens of other children of varying ages in different rooms. They lived under the care of the orphanage’s caregivers, and have limited food and medicines. Here, one nanny takes care of five babies. This was not ideal, EL said, because the current caregivers could not give their full attention to the babies.

KOMPAS/ADITYA DIVERANTA

Babies in one of the rooms of the Manarul Mabrur Institution, Semarang, Central Java, Thursday (30/3/2023).

Hand over

As of the end of March 2023, the orphanage had 104 children. Out of this number, 52 were toddlers who were surrendered by their biological parents. The number could increase if it was not controlled. Almost every day, the orphanage receives requests to send its unwanted babies.

“The majority of the children here are entrusted. When the parents are ready, they will take them [back]. Here, our only job is to take care of the babies,” said EL, who is in charge of the orphanage’s health department.

That afternoon, we saw a young couple coming to the orphanage to visit their child, who was born out of wedlock. They planned to reclaim the baby after they finished university. They were not ready to care for their baby now, because their families were unable to accept their baby. “They are both still in university, and then they had a child. They are not ready to be parents at this time,” said EL.

The majority of the children here are entrusted.

Because of the increasing number of babies entrusted to the orphanage, the orphanage transferred several babies to other institutions in Nganjuk, East Java; Tasikmalaya, West Java; and Bali. “We can't bear to see people suffer because of a problem that they actually caused themselves. It's just because they did not know that the consequences would be troublesome for many people," said Manarul Mabrur Orphanage supervisor Rais Wibowo Hady.

In addition to capacity issues, Rais has transferred babies to other orphanages because it was not permitted to accept any more babies by Semarang city’s Social Affairs Office. As of March, the facility did not have a license to operate as an orphanage. Based on a number of considerations, the orphanage was allowed to continue operating while completing the licensing process. But the orphanage was not allowed to receive additional babies for a period of time.

That Thursday afternoon, AR and three colleagues said to be from an orphanage in Tasikmalaya collected two babies around a month old. They originally wanted to take just one baby, but the Manarul Mabrur manager handed over two babies without any documentation, such as their birth certificates and medical history.

The two babies were swaddled, while the people holding them asked the orphanage’s caregivers how to change their diapers. The nurse showed them, and also demonstrated how to hold a baby properly so it wouldn't cry.

KOMPAS/ADITYA DIVERANTA

A woman holds a baby who was just born a few days ago at the Manarul Mabrur orphanage in Semarang, Central Java, Thursday (30/3/2023).

AR and two of his colleagues transported the two babies by car to Tasikmalaya, a journey of around eight hours. AR admitted that he was moved to take the babies because he saw the condition of the Manarul Mabrur Orphanage, which was already taking care of so many children.

“This orphanage is not allowed to receive babies anymore. If we can't take in [the babies] here, where will they go? It would be better to hand over the babies to other orphanages. How could they be abandoned?" AR said.

This orphanage is not allowed to receive babies anymore.

Semarang Social Affairs Office head Heru Soekendar is worried about the babies at the orphanage. For their safety, he has forbidden the orphanage from accepting babies outside of official channels. He has advised the orphanage to return the babies it has to their biological parents.

“Maybe the orphanage has good intentions so that the babies are not abandoned. There should not be any attempt to simplify the problem [of] teenage couples having a relationship outside of marriage, having children, then placing them in orphanages," he said.

Case

SH, a man who claims to be “father of a million children” based in Bogor regency, West Java, also manages unwanted babies. He offers shelter for unmarried pregnant women and assists in childbirth. Based on the information gathered by the Kompas Investigation Team, SH has accommodated dozens of babies.

In August 2022, the police raided his house and discovered many pregnant women there. The police also received reports alleging that SH had trafficked the baby of a woman with the initials NI (26). SH said he used the money from the adoption for personal gain. Consequently, SH faces a sentence of a maximum 15 years and a maximum Rp 300 million fine. He was charged with violating Article 83 of Law No. 35/2014 in conjunction with Law No. 23/2002 on child protection.

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> Child Trafficking Involves People Around the Victim

"Even if the aim is to help, it is not allowed if it involves a transactional value," said Adj. Insp. Dua Angga Permana, an investigator from the Women’s and Children’s Protection Unit of the Bogor Police Criminal Investigation Department.

Through the TikTok account @ayah_sejuta_anak, SH posts content on the many babies at his house. In one post, the babies are huddled together on a foam mattress on the floor. From the numerous posts, it appears that SH seems to be the only one taking care of the babies.

The number of babies from unwanted pregnancies continues to grow. They are vulnerable to not receiving proper care. Who will guarantee their rights for their future? (ADITYA DIVERANTA/INSAN ALFAJRI/IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM/DHANANG DAVID ARITONANG/ANDY RIZA HIDAYAT)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.