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Trying to understand Klitih, Yogyakarta's random gang violence
An exhibition tries to make sense a trend of random violence in Yogyakarta perpetrated by teenagers.
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A collage of news clippings related to ‘klitih’ violence. (JP/Umar Wicaksono)
Y
ogyakarta can be a comfortable city, a safe place for both visitors and residents. But like other big cities, at night, its streets can be a place of unexpected violence. At least, this has been the experience of Rafi, a 26-year-old native of the city.
"[A few months ago], I was going home by motorbike alone, around 1 o’clock in the morning, when I suddenly heard what sounded like shots and then a bang! The only thing I remember afterwards was the pain in my stomach," he recalls.
Rafi had an open wound in his left abdomen. He managed to stop his motorcycle before collapsing onto the asphalt. Although he couldn’t see clearly, he spotted two teenagers riding on motorbikes, brandishing daggers and screaming gleefully. Some people who were passing on motorbikes took him to the hospital.
The above occurrence is often referred to as klitih, a term used to describe seemingly random acts of street violence in Yogyakarta, almost always done at night. Klitih perpetrators, who are usually of high school age, conduct this violence without a clear motive. Victims rarely have anything stolen from them; the point seems only to be to inflict grave wounds. The randomness is terrifying for the victims.
"I so was traumatized that I didn't dare ride a bike at night for several years," Rafi says.
This violent phenomenon is being highlighted by Yahya Dwi Kurniawan, a 26-year-old Yogyakarta-based artist, in an exhibition titled "The Museum of Lost Space". The exhibition is an attempt to view klitih from a wider perspective, particularly its relation to gang hostilities between high school students in Yogyakarta.
A history of violence
