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Child beggars seen in post-disaster Aceh raises concern over long-term mental health
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Floods and landslides killed more than 900 people on Indonesia's island of Sumatra in December 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MEDAN – More than a month after a hydrometeorological disaster swept across northern Sumatra in late November 2025, children can be seen begging on the roadside in Aceh, carrying empty cardboard boxes and seeking a helping hand from passers-by due to limited humanitarian aid.
One of the children, Bustaman, 12, said he was forced to beg to fulfil his daily needs.


