JAKARTA — In recent years a weird and increasingly deadly cultural phenomenon has taken hold in Indonesia's capital city. But For Jakartans, the deadly mass brawls often involving dozens of high school boys are so commonplace, some don’t even make the news.
The most recent high profile brawl took place on a main road on February 17. When the fighting was over, one boy was dead. He had been hacked to death by peers armed with machetes and gardening knives.
Shocking, for sure. But these explosions of teen violence are close to a monthly occurrence.
According to Indonesia's Child Protection Commission almost 2,500 kids were harmed or killed from 2011 until 2016, victims of what’s described as education-related violence.
Good stats are hard to come by, but Coconuts Media’s Jakarta blog reports that some 130 kids were killed in 800 street fights in and around the capital in the last five years.
The phenomenon has a history going back to 1992 and has been a dark feature of Jakarta’s male youth culture since.
Students interviewed by Al Jazeera for a recent documentary say fighting in these brawls is akin to a hazing. It’s both a ritual for freshmen to gain social acceptance, and a way for older boys to show status.
One student told Al Jazeera he joins in the armed fights simply for the thrill.
For its part, Indonesia’s government seems to be doing far too little to stem the mounting death toll. Police are reluctant to intervene as there’s little official incentive. Some have even been attacked.
Whatever the cause, it speaks to a decaying culture. Parents, schools and the government are failing the next generation.
Be the first to comment