YES YOU! Where was your young teenager on Saturday night?
Think you know? Are you sure? At the movies? A friends place
perhaps? On a sleepover maybe? Think again. They were probably
at Paddies or Embargo.
Our 12 to 16 year olds are strutting their stuff around Kuta
nightclubs, and either we do not know about it (choosing to
believe the excuses and alibis) or do not want to know about
it. And why are they there? THEY HAVE GOT NO PLACE ELSE TO
GO and NIGHTCLUB OWNERS / MANAGERS ARE TURNING A BLIND EYE
TO UNDERAGE PATRONS.
I’ve been saying and heard it said too often now “we
should do something about this”. Where do young teenagers
go to “chill” if not to the computer game centers,
or Malls? You can only watch so many movies before the cinema
is no longer a thrill, and bowling or billiards can only entertain
for so long. There are enough teenagers out there at a loose
end that are pushing their limits, for us as a community to
think seriously about providing a space for them.
Just think about it for a minute. For the amount of dollars
that come into this Island, shouldn’t these multinationals
be giving something back to the future of this Island? How
much would it really cost to set up a center where kids could
shoot some basket, play a game of pool, or chill out to their
kind of music? Or perhaps it is that a facility like this
would not bring in enough (if any) profit for anyone to be
interested?
Personally I have no idea where to begin on this one so I’m
putting it out there. Expatriate and mixed children are in
a subset all of their own. They often do not have the support
of extended families, the banjar, or local communities. They
are creating their own niche and it’s up to us to guide
and provide a facility especially for them. They need a place
to go for support and counseling when things go awry. A center
that will provide free and confidential information on sex,
teenage pregnancy, disease, drug and alcohol addiction etc
etc.
You don’t believe this to be so? Let me tell you a few
true stories that I have personally witnessed.
- A 14 year old girl (expatriate) once came to me feeling
very scared (almost paranoid) and unwell. When I questioned
her she had taken 2 ecstasy tablets with her friends at a
Kuta nightclub. This was her first time (she said) and she
could not concentrate to sit her final year’s exam later
that day. After assessing that her condition was stable, I
told her that she could go home as long as there was someone
to observe her until the drug wore off. I was totally shocked
when she told me that she lived alone in a villa in Kuta.
Her house staff would leave at 2pm and she drove her own jeep!!
Both her parents were usually away on business and sent her
enough money to live a very comfortable (but loveless) life
in Bali. Surprised!? So was I, but this situation is not uncommon
here.
- A thirteen year old girl (expatriate) came to me one morning
holding a makeshift dressing to her head. She had been riding
around Seminyak on the back of a motorbike when the bike slipped
and she fell hitting her head on the ground. The girl had
been intoxicated (alcohol) and concussed, but there was no
adult at her home to take her to a medical facility.
- I was woken at 3 am one Sunday morning by SOS asking me
for consent to treat an intoxicated 15 year old girl who had
been stabbed in the head with a stiletto shoe outside a Kuta
nightclub. Why me? I didn’t even know the girl, but
my son had assisted her and escorted her to the clinic and
I was the only contact they had. The girls parents could not
be (or would not be) contacted.
Don’t get me wrong here. I realize that there are two
sides to each tale and most teenagers would prefer that their
parents are not contacted when they get caught in bad situations.
That’s when the stories get very interesting! But how
many of these kids could avoid the situation in the first
place if there was SOMEWHERE FOR THEM TO GO.
“Kim Patra is a qualified Registered Nurse and Midwife
that has been living and working in Bali for almost twenty
years. She now runs her own private practice and medical referral
service from her Kuta office. Kim is happy to discuss any
health concerns with you and she may be contacted via e-mail
at info@chcbali.com or Hp. 081 2366 0000”.
