Chains of Madness

Pasung, the shackling of people with psychosocial disabilities,has been illegal in Indonesia since 1977, yet it remains widespread, especially in rural Java. Beyond poor healthcare access and infrastructure, the main driver is stigma: mental illness is often seen as a spiritual or moral failing. Families turn to traditional healers, faith rituals, or privately run healing centers with no oversight, often staffed by untrained individuals, including former patients.

Conditions are sometimes inhumane. Residents are chained in filthy, overcrowded spaces, forced to eat, sleep, and defecate within their surroundings. Some centers administer antipsychotic drugs or shock therapy with little supervision. Widespread infections, malnutrition, and severe trauma are common repercussions.

Despite the UN’s recognition of mental health as a fundamental right, cultural beliefs and systemic neglect leave many untreated. Real change demands not only funding, but education, compassion, and community outreach to break cycles of shame and offer dignity to those suffering.

Alain Schroeder

Belgian photographer Alain Schroeder (b. 1955) has been working in the industry for over four decades. During his tenure as a sports photographer in the 1980s, his shots appeared on more than 500 magazine covers. Book assignments and editorial pieces with subjects as diverse as travel, art, culture, and human interest, followed by and in 1989, he co-founded the Belgian photo agency, Reporters. As COO of the company, Schroeder led the business from the golden years of analog photography into the digital age.

In 2013, he uprooted his life, trading in his shares in Reporters, to pursue life on the road with a camera. Schroeder now travels the world shooting stories focusing on social issues, people, and their environment. “I am not a single-shot photographer. I think in series,” he says, adding, “I strive to tell a story in 10-15 pictures, capturing the essence of an instant with a sense of light and framing.”