Devout Aceh is not shielded from problems with teens

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): It was Wednesday, ladies night at the disco here, and club hoppers gripped by Ecstasy's euphoric daze were out in force. Young people contorted their arms like electrified tree branches and swung their heads violently in the smoky room.

A group of youths sat off in a dark corner reeking of the mingled aromas of alcohol, marijuana and clove cigarettes. One man started handing out pills to his friends, who were ordering whisky colas and other spirits. They clung tightly onto new friends acquired just hours or even minutes before.

A nightly sight in Jakarta and other major cities across the country. But in Aceh, revered as the entry point of Islam to the archipelago and championed as Serambi Mekah (the Terrace of Mecca), it is a numbing anomaly, an ugly affront to the majority of people who remain devout.

First-time visitors to Aceh may hold romantic notions of people garbed in exotic traditional attire or staid Moslem outfits. They would have been in for a shock at the disco, one of three in the provincial capital. The fashion accent was on trendy and tight, as young women were dressed in a uniform of figure- hugging jeans and branded T-shirts. Still, no woman was daring enough to don a miniskirt.

Aceh remains a province where tradition and custom still reign, but some seamier fallout from modern life has made inroads since the early 1990s. Discos, cafes, karaoke lounges and other entertainment centers are now popular hang-outs for the affluent young. Drug and alcohol use is on the increase.

Anna, a disco regular who chose to use a pseudonym, said Ecstasy boosts self-confidence and energy levels. Users feel a surge of energy, shaking their heads and limbs violently to pounding house music.

"When they are "on", when the drug is taking effect, they are ready to enter the world of fun and excitement," she said.

"People who drink a lot of mineral water are almost certainly Ecstasy users, because they need lots of water to prevent dehydration. Mineral water is naturally very expensive here, costing you Rp 6,500 (US$2.65) for a small bottle compared to soft drinks priced at only Rp 3,000 a glass."

With a Rp 5,000 cover charge plus the expense of soft drinks and mineral water, disco frequenters are invariably from wealthy families.

"Most of them are children of high-ranking government officials, rich businessmen and other prominent figures in the city," said Henry over the din of the music. "Those from low- income families cannot afford this kind of entertainment."

The average per capita income of people in Aceh reached around Rp 1.9 million in l996, an increase of 14.3 percent from just over Rp 1.6 million the previous year, according to data from the provincial government of Aceh.

Entertainment

There are other entertainment venues for those of humbler means. These include Olele Beach, 15 kilometers east of the city, and Lhoknga Beach, about 20 kilometers west of Banda Aceh.

Teenyboppers pack the sites from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. They arrive on motorbikes, the popular conveyance of the city's middle-class youth, and chat in an open-air cafeteria. They later dance the night away at a beach party. Some steal intimate moments among shady trees and bushes.

Nurjanah, a psychologist at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, said that the city's youth are now more brazen in bucking the traditions of their ancestors.

Nurjanah deals with juvenile delinquents and counsels on pre- marital sexual relationships, drug abuse and teenage prostitution.

"Juvenile delinquency is still a case-by-case issue here," she said. "But like an iceberg, it may appear serene on the surface but it is hazardous underneath."

She said many people in the province were still trapped in delusions of past glory, a throwback to the Aceh Darussalam was one of the biggest Islamic kingdoms in the world. "They cannot accept that some young people have started to turn away from the existing traditional and moral values."

The traditional face of Acehnese society has also been altered by rapid economic development and widespread availability of communication services.

Ahmad Humam, chairman of the Aceh branch office of the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association, said teens have been influenced by increasing exposure to Western values through local and international media, such as newspapers, lifestyle magazines, radio and television.

For necessity in receiving broadcasts of Indonesian television stations, nearly every household in distant Aceh has a satellite dish. These allow people to easily access news and entertainment programs from abroad, including CNN, MTV and Australia's ABC, according to Humam, whose doctorate in sociology is from the University of Kansas.

Changing family values have also contributed to a rise in adolescent problems in the province, he added.

"Young people often experience the weakening of extended family ties and face a diminished social support network. They cannot be blamed for all their doings as they are still physically and emotionally unstable," he said.

"Providing guidance has never been a simple task and vast social change makes it even more difficult for parents to know how to help their children and prepare them for the future," she said.

The challenges accompanying adolescence should be taken seriously.

"Youth problems are very serious," she said. "They deal with the group of people who will handle the country in the future. Parents, teachers, the government and other related parties must work hand in hand to deal with our youth."

The task ahead is made even more difficult as each party seems to be walking a different path. (raw)