Be Afraid, Very Very Afraid

Don't be deceived by the boys on the streets wearing shocking orange court jester hats or orange T-shirts bearing funny statements. Trust me, they are absolutely not cute or funny.
With the Indonesian Soccer League underway, some weekends here will be different. Jakmania will turn the streets orange and we'd all better be careful.
So, here are some tips. If you happen to be driving and see one or two on the street, that's all right, but if there are more than three then you have to be extra careful.

The good thing about them is that if they come in a group, there's always some sort of warning noise -- yells, drums and car horns signal their arrival to other motorists. If you don't want to get hurt or your to get car scratched, you'd better give them right of way.

Many motorists have learned this unconventional special code and will slacken their speed to give way to the orange entourage. One, two, three, four, five motorists will do the same thing and there they are, stuck in a jam of their own creation.

A few months ago, a mikrolet driver driving along Jl. Arteri Pondok Indah in South Jakarta was chased by several angry boys -- all wearing the orange touch. They took advantage of a traffic jam and ran faster than the mikrolet.

The minivan wobbled and tried to escape, but the boys caught up with its wheels.
Other motorists watched as the minivan driver caved and allowed the boys onto the roof of the car -- their favorite spot. Inside the van, the seats remained empty. What a view.

That represents just a small part of the ugly behavior of soccer fans in public. Last year one of them was hit by a truck and killed while chasing a minibus in North Jakarta.

Don't get me wrong. This is not a fear or smear campaign. Most of them are teenagers, and many are small children, and they are part of a mighty force, the die-hard fans of Jakarta's Persija soccer club.

The official name of the club is Jakmania (find them online at www.jakmania.org) but on their orange shirts and shawls you'll also see them identified as The Jaks, Pasukan Oranye or "Orange Troop", Persija Lovers and many more.

This problem is not specific to Jakarta, or any other city. It's a universal thought. It's human nature, or, to be precise, male nature.

Boys get carried away by peer pressure, which raises their confidence and identity by becoming part of something bigger than themselves. The Jaks are here. Other cities have their own versions.

But how can boys risk their priceless young lives in struggles just to reach Lebak Bulus stadium?
Hanging half out of a speeding Metro Mini is not a nice way to travel. Chasing cars down the middle of busy streets is a good way to cause a traffic jam, or, worse, get hit by a driver who is too slow to hit the brakes.

Sitting casually and precariously on the tops of minibuses and trains, the boys sing and yell, as warming up for the soccer match.

It might be their business to sit on the roof of a moving vehicle, but the safety of other motorists and passengers is definitely not.

Despite the traffic jams that they cause -- thank God most soccer matches are on the weekends -- they are interesting to watch on the street. Flags and ornaments are hung from the roofs of buses, and if you're close enough, you'll hear them make some rather funny catcalls about Persija and Jakarta.

With their fearlessness and "creative" performances, the members of Jakmania have their charms for motorists who had enough bad traffic and dull roads. As long as we know how to treat them, the boys are "fun" enough to entertain us.

But deep down we hope that this fanaticism is just a fad that will fade away as soon as the boys grow up and find something useful to do.

It's probably just wishful thinking to imagine a Jakarta free of soccer hooligans, at least as long as Persija exists and the city has a lack of places for high-spirited boys.

In the meantime, if you see the boys in Orange, fuck off to the nearest pub! Quickly!