Drug abuse, brawls prevalent among rural teenagers

Drug abuse, brawls prevalent among rural teenagers

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Purwokerto

Drug abuse, student brawls and pornography have reached an
alarming level among junior and senior high school students in
Central Java's rural areas.

The three problems, which have long affected students and
school-age children in urban areas, are befalling teenagers in
rural and remote areas of Purbalingga, Cilacap and Banyumas
regencies.

Adj. Sr. Agus Sofyan Abadi, chief of the Purbalingga Police
station, warned that a majority of school-age children in the
province's southern part are likely face psychological problems
and a dark future should the three problems not be handled
properly and quickly.

"Parents and junior and senior high schools should not leave
the problem to the police just because they are in charge of law
enforcement, but instead give more attention to coping with the
problems in order to protect the younger generation," he said in
an interview with The Jakarta Post in Purbalingga on Tuesday.

He explained that drug abuse, student brawls and pornography
were no longer confined to just those living in urban areas,
especially big cities, because the problems have also reached
youths and high school students in remote areas.

Last week, the local police netted 101 high school students in
an antinarcotics operation in Purwokerto.

The students, who attend private and state junior high schools
in the small town, were netted in entertainment centers, theaters
and department stores during school hours.

"The problem is that not only do students skip class, but
several pairs have been found having sexual relations in separate
locations. Others had a drug party at a student's house while
others were found shopping in shops and department stores," said
Sofyan.

The students were detained for hours at the police station and
lectured by a police officer and local religious leaders.

Sofyan said further that, according to investigations, many of
the students frequently consumed banned drugs such as ecstasy and
lexotan pills and watched pornographic VCDs, which are widely
available on the black market in the region.

According to Sofyan, the trend of student brawls and drug
abuse had a lot to do with TV programs on various stations, both
local and foreign, and the presence of black market trading of
banned drugs and pornographic VCDs.

Sofyan said the local police had arrested drug traffickers and
their boss after cracking down on their semi-organized syndicate.

"This week, we confiscated a total of 2,425 koplo (lexotan)
and ecstasy pills from 49-year-old Imam Santoso, who obtained
them from his boss in Senen Market, Central Jakarta," he said,
adding that the local police were coordinating with the Central
Jakarta Police station to follow up the case.

Separately, Khairul Fuadi, chief of the education for the
younger generation section at Banyumas administration, said he
regretted that many schools had yet to pay proper attention to
the social problems that affected students in the region.

"Many teachers do nothing upon discovering that a some of
their students do not attend class. Even school managements do
nothing when certain students are absent for weeks," he said,
citing that the students left their houses every day but went to
a friend's house instead of to school.

According to him, besides parents, school managements should
do their share to educate students as well as to cope with drug
abuse, brawls and pornography.

Imam, a parent of a student who is being detained for drug
possession, regretted that the school management had never
contacted him about his son.

He said he was in favor of the police taking stern action
against students involved in drug abuse, pornography and brawls.