Sleeping with firecrackers blasting at your side

Sleeping with firecrackers blasting at your side

JAKARTA (JP): Outside, it sounds like Beirut in the dark days.
Snipers attacking the enemy, bombs falling on the populace,
people running for cover. Not exactly that, but not far from the
reality either. In place of crack teams and advancing troops,
right now we are faced with armies of youth laden with all manner
of illegal firecrackers. Soon after the morning prayer, they
advance into the streets and parks of the country and let loose.

Leaders of the Indonesian Military (TNI), now is the time to
recruit new blood. These hardy souls are ripe for the picking and
display all the tact and skill required in the deadliest of
battles.

The use of firecrackers reportedly has become a tradition
during the fasting month. And it is only during Ramadhan that you
will hear the racket. But this childish activity is a reflection
of what is so wrong with this giant archipelago. For starters,
their mini-bombs are illegal in Indonesia. Yet everywhere you go,
they are openly on sale.

If anyone were unfortunate enough to let one off in a public
place in the U.K., for example, a spell behind bars would be on
the cards. Noise pollution is serious business in many
countries.

Last week, when the noise level in the park outside my Central
Jakarta home became too loud to bear, I took to the streets and
attempted to net a gaggle of guys. This tactic sometimes works,
and they understand they are causing misery for those indoors.
But, these days they are getting bolder.

Satpam (security guard) to the rescue. "I don't know what to
do about them," he moaned. "There are sick people and young
children in these houses and they can't rest," he continued. Call
the cops, I told him. Fast forward half an hour and see him
sitting with a group of burly men drinking thick coffee and
smoking kretek (clove-flavored cigarettes).

"Don't worry, these are (TNI) men," he beamed. "They'll sort
it out." And all night, the bombings continued.

The following day, my pembantu (maid) said the satpam had told
her if I wanted the TNI brigade to put an end to the
fircrackerdom, I would have to give them Rp 50,000 each for
"gasoline."

Kasihan (have pity) is the cattle cry from the masses that see
children and fireworks as an equatable sum during the fasting
month. "They're young and having fun," people say.

While millions around the world delight in the wonder and
excitement of Catherine Wheels, Roman Candles and rockets, few
see the lure of commoner garden firecrackers.

There is nothing wrong with youth having fun. After all, it is
part of the process of growing up. Nobody would deny children
joviality after a month of arduous fasting and strictly adhering
to Islamic beliefs. But their fun should not be other people's
misery, and that is what is happening.

As with other unsocial activities, such as "washing" vehicle
windscreens with dirty water any time it is raining, the youth of
this nation are holding the rest of us to ransom. We are afraid
if we challenge them, they will hurl insults or even launch an
attack.

Is there any point blaming the parents? To an extent, yes. But
bear in mind that the firecracker crowds live in small houses,
and oftentimes come from large families. It is not unusual,
therefore, that kids spend the evening hours walking the streets
or lounging around in parks. Where they get the money from is a
different story.

A day or two of this activity, as in other countries,
especially China, would be bearable. But we have got to endure
sleepless nights and being rudely woken at the crack of dawn for
a month, and we are only halfway there.

It will likely never change, at least not in the short-term.
Indonesia has a lot of growing up to do, and so does its
children.

-- William Furney