THE weather was unfriendly. It had been raining all night. Dozens of children, jam-packed, were taking shelter on wet shabby mats in the plastic tents on the left of Jalan Raya Ketahun, North Bengkulu, a fortnight ago.

At midnight they fell asleep from exhaustion. Their clothes splattered with mud, the sarongs they used for blankets were damp with an unpleasant odor. Their light snoring was accompanied by the sounds of partying mosquitoes. At da