Religious Teacher and the Fear Gripping a Drug-Ridden Village

This article is an opinion piece, and all content and opinions reflect the personal views of the author and do not reflect the editorial stance.

A colleague working at the West Java National Narcotics Agency (BNNP) sent me several photos of narcotics evidence in small gram quantities, ready for distribution.

These items were obtained from a raid in the village where I attended primary school in the 1990s, specifically in Dusun Cilempung, Desa Pasir Jaya, Cilamaya Kulon, Karawang, West Java.

In many villages in Indonesia, fear often manifests not in the form of explosions or open warfare, as experienced by the people of Gaza, the West Bank, South Lebanon, or Iran.

Fear creeps in slowly, entering through small alleys, crowded rented houses at night, young people who begin to change, and residents who suddenly choose to remain silent when they see something wrong. This is the reality that occurred in my village.

The story of a religious teacher in Deli Serdang is one small example of how communities live alongside this fear.

In various news reports, the religious teacher is said to have bravely opposed drug trafficking in his community and, as a result, faced threats.

Some residents were threatened for reporting. Some community leaders were ostracized for being considered disruptive to the drug dealers’ business.

Some families chose to move because they no longer felt safe after refusing to allow drug trafficking in their neighborhood.

Behind all of this, there is a common thread: the fear that slowly takes over the village.

When fear begins to overcome the courage of the residents, the social environment is actually in a dangerous state. People know that drug transactions are happening around them, but they choose to remain silent.

They know who the dealers are, but they are reluctant to speak. They see young people starting to get involved, but they feel powerless to prevent it. Over time, the community becomes accustomed to living with the threat.

This is the most silent face of the drug problem in Indonesia. So far, public attention has often been focused on major revelations, seizures of evidence, or arrests of drug lords.

In fact, at the lowest level, there are villages that are fighting every day against a social fear that never truly disappears.

Drugs not only damage the human body. They also damage the social courage of the community, and that is far more dangerous because the drug market suddenly exists everywhere.