Indonesia no longer safe for us

[utikabidah]

I am writing this story as a warning to any foreign nationals who are thinking to live or currently living in part of Java.
The problem started when my indonesian wife told a youth to turn down the volume of his music player. He played very loud disco music every single day
It ended up in heated argument between her and him (he said that you had no right to tell what to do to an Indonesian because you was a foreigner. Even though she was grew up in this village but has been a way for sometime).
I went out try to calm the situation down. Everything seem okay, we shook hands etc
But, it did not end there. This person actually told his gang to intimidate my family
They used their loud motorbike to go around our house every single day (usually morning and evening)
Two month passed, we could not take it anymore.
We went to the police to ask help and protection

I was not sure what happen but by the time we came home from the police station, the neighborhood knew about our visit to the police

Thing got worse after that. On 12^th of August a group of around twenty five men gathered in front of our house shouted treat and abuse. They intimidated us with their loud motorbike as well.
They went away after the police came.

Now, we are living in hell on earth
They raved their bike every time they passed by our home
We can not leave, because of my health and my stuff.
And the police did not do enough to stop these incidents.

Indonesia is not safe for any foreigners.
Its citizen mentality so suck.
They are so racist and arrogant.

I thought Indonesian government wanted more investment from foreigner.
This can not be achieved if they can not guarantee foreigner safety while they are working or having business here.

[fransgg]

Hi,
might be helpful to ask help from local religious leader or local village elder to mitigate your problem with the motorbike gang.
(usually local pak RW in the neighbourhood is well respected by neighbourhood youths gang... since many pak RW are head of "Preman/gangster" in the area")

Best Regards,

[marcus]

... Indonesia is not safe for any foreigners.
Its citizen mentality so suck.
They are so racist and arrogant ...

Sorry to know about your problem , but you are WRONG in generalizing your personal/unique situation as happening all over Indonesia . In every country one may end up in situations like that . I lived in Indonesia for more than 17 years (in two addresses) but differently from you , I had/have a very good experience . And also in more than 10 years reading this Forum almost every day , there was no one (as far as I remember) who complained so much as you .

[utikabidah]

Hi Marcus,
You just want to stir my story into different agenda.
You are not sorry at all for our situation so stop the 'bosa-basi'

Hi Fransgg,
We have tried that approach before we went to the police
Pak RW and pak RT did not want to get involve because they afraid of the gang

[fastpitch17]

Hi Marcus, where do you live by the way?
Maybe you should try to stay in my home for 2-3 month and experience it yourself.
You are not sorry at all for our situation so stop the 'bosa-basi'

Hi Fransgg,
We have tried that approach before we went to the police
Pak RW and pak RT did not want to get involve because they afraid of the gang

You mention Java. Java is a really big place. Narrow it down to a real location so people know where you are talking about. Like Marcus, I have never experienced any form of discrimination from neighbors or the local population where I live. It's not hard to pick me out of a crowd either being so few Bules here.

If your wife grew up in that village then she has family there. Longstanding I would think. Ask them what you should do? They would probably have a better understanding of what needs to be done and would be able to take care of it culturally.

[utikabidah]

Hello Fastpitch,
We live in a kampung in central Java.
My wife family has done enough for us (asking mediation from pak Lurah, pak RT and pak RW, also asking the parents to give advises to the youth)
I remember 12 years ago, Indonesian were friendly.
Now, count yourself lucky when you get a smile or a hello from the local.
I do not think that I complained too much.
It just the reality.

[RaphaelP]

This kind of escalation is pretty rare in Java I would think, and it seems not directly connected to the fact you are a foreigner. Your wife and her family are all Indonesian and they are suffering too. Motorbike gangs exist all around the world. Also big disputes within villages happen all around the world too. I'm guessing there are disputes between Indonesians in which no foreigners are involved too, that none of us would ever hear about.

Perhaps you could try to find out what exactly it is that they want? Are they looking for money? Or just doing something to pass the time? If it is revenge for your wife's intervention, maybe they will get bored after a while?

Noise pollution is very common all over Java, usually from mosques, but also from loudspeakers playing dangdut etc. You can invest in earplugs, buy a bigger speaker yourself and play AC/DC at them, buy some dogs ...

[Todd-sun]

I think as a foreigner when these situations escalate it's best to cut your loses and move before someone gets hurt, none more so than living in Southeast Asia. Going to the police just exacerbated your problem.

Not to make light of your situation but the thought of some Indonesian kid blaring disco music makes me laugh.

[jim69]

Hi Marcus,
You just want to stir my story into different agenda.
You are not sorry at all for our situation so stop the 'bosa-basi'

From the reply above to one of the most respected members here, I am thinking there is more to this than your are letting us know. If the attitude you show here is the same with the local youths, then no surprise for the retaliation.

[scouser59]

It sounds a horrible situation , I know in parts of java there has been some radicalization , maybe you live in such a village , I think the best thing is to move , maybe the only solution , I know its tough , there are places in java which have no noise pollution from mosques , but you have to search .

good luck , let us know the solution .

[fastpitch17]

Hello Fastpitch,
We live in a kampung in central Java.
My wife family has done enough for us (asking mediation from pak Lurah, pak RT and pak RW, also asking the parents to give advises to the youth)
I remember 12 years ago, Indonesian were friendly.
Now, count yourself lucky when you get a smile or a hello from the local.
I do not think that I complained too much.
It just the reality.

Like I said, I think your story is an exception to the norm. I think, if what you say is correct, the RT, RW, local government, and the police are all afraid of this gang, you and your wife should be too. Because of this you should get your ass out of there while you still have one. Imagine coming home one day and finding your wife raped and brutalized. Do you have children? It could get worse for them staying there. Even household staff would be in dander.

Just time to get out of dodge. Keeping your family in a dangerous situation is cowardly on your part.

[fransgg]

Hi Marcus,
You just want to stir my story into different agenda.
You are not sorry at all for our situation so stop the 'bosa-basi'

Hi Fransgg,
We have tried that approach before we went to the police
Pak RW and pak RT did not want to get involve because they afraid of the gang

Hi Again,
then you should ask help from police/military people to give you protection/help you mediate

there are no gangs that dare to go against police/military...

Best Regards,

[utikabidah]

Hi Jim69,
Am I wrong about Marcus and his bosa-basi? Don't say sorry when you are not.
I will be polite to someone who also polite to me.
Are you calling me a liar?
These people could not careless about my existence in the village ( no hello, no smile and no contact) until this happen.
So, what 'retaliation' you are talking about?
Please, do not answer. It is a rhetorical question.


Fastpitch,
We are thinking about moving.
But it is difficult to move home because at the moment I am sick.
I did not say that the police were afraid of them but they did not do enough to guarantee our safety (pak RT, pak RW who afraid of them)

Fransgg,
Thank you for your advise

I wrote my story as a warning to expat community.
So you can be more vigilance.
Life is changing rapidly here.
Indonesian used to be friendly and welcoming foreigners, not anymore (most of the time)

Come back to my agenda: why did not the police do enough for us?

[Pa John]

Life is changing rapidly here.
Indonesian used to be friendly and welcoming foreigners, not anymore (most of the time)

Hello utikabidah..

I am sorry that your experience here has turned out so badly. What makes things worse is that you have been in Indonesia for many years and the situation has only recently turned ugly in your kampung.

You put that down to changing attitudes here and a growing hostility to foreigners. I am not saying you are wrong, but do you have any sociological evidence for that or is it just from your personal experience.? What do you think the reasons are.?

Although I haven't experienced it myself, I have heard others say the same so perhaps there is something to it.

As for the gang that rev up their motorbikes in front of your house, perhaps it's best to just ignore them for now. As long as the noise terrorism doesn't morph into physical threats they will probably sooner or later get bored and go away and annoy someone else.

My advise. Lay low and do nothing to antagonize them or escalate the situation. When things calm down, consider a move especially given what you perceive as growing hostility in the village.

If you have health issues perhaps you should consider a move to the city.

[scouser59]

unfortunately, on my recent travels around java over the last year or so I have a seen a radicalization in some areas , not like it used to be 10 to 15 years ago , so for sure there would not be areas I would not live in now ,which looked ok in the past , this is becoming a big negative for indonesia ,

I wish the op a quick improvement in his health and peace in the future.