Unattended Children Left At Library
By Sobrina Rosli

Bandar Seri Begawan - Children, some as young as two years old who have yet to be toilet-trained, are being dropped off un-chaperoned by their parents at the Dewan Bahasa Public Library every day during the current school holidays, overwhelming the librarians who have even had to give the sick ones their medication.

The library has organised fun activities such as colouring and storytelling sessions to attract children to come and stay during the school holidays. Some parents, however, have turned it into a day-care centre.

From the around 50 children who come every day, most are between five and 12 years old but there have also been children as young as two years old being left in the librarians' care. Some are accompanied by their elder siblings or cousins who are also very young. In some cases, the children come with ' no pocket money to buy food or have no food with them.

"Sometimes, we have children complaining they are hungry, and they were not given pocket money to buy any food," said Pg Siti Jamaliah Pg Mohammad. She is one of the librarians who has been there since 1984.

"There are only four librarians here and on a daily basis 50 children or more," she said. "Some who come are unwell and some don't know how to use the toilet. This is where some of us have to come in and help," she said.

"Every year during the school holiday we have children coming in here who are sick," she said, adding that the library recently had a parent sending in a sick child with instructions to the librarian about the child's medication.

"This is not part of a librarian's responsibility, but we are used to it after all these years," she said, adding that sick children would be better off at home and the other children would be spared from infectious diseases.

She also raised the issue of safety as some of the children tend to wander around the capital. "There have been near accidents when some children and their siblings carelessly crossed the roads," she added.

The librarians, she said, have done their best to keep the children at the library for safety reasons but still some of the children wander around. She added the situation has been the same every year, especially during school holidays.

"One of the reasons why, they are being sent here is because there are no one to look after them at home, but we do welcome them because they make the library more lively, and we have the opportunity to encourage reading and love for books," she explained.

Some of the children interviewed said they stayed for half a day while others stayed on until 5pm when their parents picked them up. They said they either had pocket money 'or brought food from home. Some said they came to the library to read books while some of them said they went to be with their friends.

"I get dropped off around Sam and get picked up around 5pm. Sometimes my parents give me 50 cents or one dollar to buy a bit of 'food," said Hamizan Jefri Sahtah, 11. A primary four student at Dato Osman Primary School, he said he had to be at the library as there was no one at home to take care of him.

"I don't find it boring here as my friends are here and we have so much to do," he said. "Sometimes my friends go down to the Yayasan mall but I have been told by my parents to not follow them."

Nurul Izzatul Suli, a primary two student, says "I get dropped off at 8am, sometimes I am here for half a day, sometimes until four in the afternoon. I don't mind being here as I enjoy colouring and reading with the other children who come here". Nur Shakira Rajudin, 13, Nur Nadira Rajudin, 10, and their cousin Yumni Shamini Yusuf, 8, all agreed.

"We have just started to go to the library this year as we all love reading, when we come across a word we don't know, we write it down and look it up in the dictionary at home," said one of the three. "When we don't understand a story we are reading at .the library, we bring the book home and ask our parents to explain it to us." Interviewed parents said they saw the library as an opportunity to encourage further reading and finding knowledge for their children.

"It is the school holidays and rather than being bored at home, they can spend their time wisely by reading and gaining knowledge at the same time here," said Sid Zainah Ahmad.

When asked about safety and food for her eight-year-old daughter, she said, "Well, I have heard a group of them have been seen eating at a fast food outlet near here, and it does worry me about how they cross the roads going there".

"I am glad to be able to send them to the library, as they enjoy reading books and doing the educational activities the library offers," said Romalah July who sent her nine- and eight-year old daughters to the library. "I send them here early and pick them up when I finish work." -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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