Learning the Law
Last month the United Nations Development Programme organized a workshop on "Strengthening Access to Justice in Indonesia," which explored ways to provide legal assistance to the poor and the marginalized in Ternate, North Maluku. People's access to legal servicesin particular to those in the lower rungs of societal ladderis indeed minimal in this part of the country. The situation is made more complicated by the fact that Ternate comprises many small islands, while legal agencies tend to be located in the center of town. For the past 12 years, Daur Mala, a non-governmental organization, has attempted to raise local people's awareness about their legal rights by sending out teams of paralegals to the villages. Tempo English reporter Syari Fani recently returned from North Maluku and filed the following report.
November 13, 2012
Paralegal Goes Down to Village
The Daur Mala NGO has fought to eliminate violence against women and children in North Maluku. In the last 12 years they have sent teams of paralegals to handle about 800 cases.
The daily routine in Raya's house in Gambesi village of Ternate Municipality begins at nine o'clock every morning, when she feeds her 11-month-old baby with milk from the bottle. The 19 year-old mother hands the baby to its grandmother, then hur
...