DANGEROUS LESSONS

Yoppy Pieter, Jalan-Jalan

In 2011, as many as 82 schoolboys died in 339 mass brawls between students from dueling senior high schools in the capital. Hundreds more were injured as the combatants, some as young as ten years old, armed with rocks, sharpened bamboo sticks, knives and pieces of metal, collided head on in the city streets.

These ever-frequent incidences of senseless violence among the nation’s children are not only destroying lives and property, they have decimated society’s idealized image of the student being a young model citizen imbued with respect for the law and focused on learning.

The reasons for the fighting remain unclear.  While some sociologists argue that the students are seeking self-esteem, albeit in a negative way, others put it down to an overdeveloped sense of pride instilled at the schools themselves.

“The so-called obligation to uphold the pride of the school and the perception of seniority are examples of the unwritten laws within our schools. So when their sense of pride is threatened, they feel the need to protect it in a brutal way,” says Arist Merdeka Sirait, Chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection.

For the students themselves, the reasons are much less complex. “It’s a quest for identity,” reasons Umar, a 16-year-old student who has been involved in the brawls.

Whatever the reasons behind this trend, the problem only seems to be getting worse. According to government statistics, there were 3 times as many student brawls in 2011 as in the previous year, and twice as many students died.

CAPTIONS

Caption 1: Umar (16): A former student who has been jailed because of his involvement in student brawls. “Carrying a weapon is a must to defend yourself after school hours.”

Caption 2: Graffiti: A symbol of the unseen territorial borders between schools involved in student brawls.

Caption 3: Students running amok: Attacks on individual students often trigger much larger confrontations with revenge as the motive. “It’s cool when our names and school are feared!” says Umar.

Caption 4: A sickle, a sharp weapon commonly used in student brawls, is easy to carry and conceal in school bags.

Caption 5: The risk of death does not seem to deter the students.