No Punk in Aceh? No Punk, period.

Photographer: Richard Plumb

Last week the media reported on an unsettling event in the Indonesian province of Aceh, in Northern Sumatra. Some 6o young punks were arrested by police and forced to shave their hairdos and undergo  rehabilitation. Aceh is ruled by Shari'a law and being punk is, apparently, a criminal act.
I reacted to this feeling quite sick. I am a former punk (NOT punkette, please!).  I no longer sport a red and blue hairstyle, my hair is white and getting close to my hips and I do not wear safety pins anymore - though my favorite jeans are falling apart, they are seriously torn and to me they are the best wardrobe item I possess.
But once a punk always a punk.
I still listen to the music (and the postpunk rock, including grunge, which has really become a connoisseur's thing, as it died in the 90s)
So you can imagine how upsetting it was for me to hear about the ordeal of these young people.
Punk is a global phenomenon and post seventies punk grows in places like Indonesia or Mexico. Punk is not dead, it just cannot die! It encapsulates a rebellious spirit.

Self Portrait

"The global punk rock scene provides a fruitful basis for exploring the multiple circuits of exchange and circulation of goods,people, and messages.  Punk can also offer new ways of thinking about international relations and communication from the lived experiences of people’s daily lives" writes Kevin Dunn from St Andrews University in his brilliant paper "The Punk Politics of Global Communication,or, It’s A Punk Rock Planet After All".
The  Clash, I can never have enough of them!
But let's get back to the issue at hand. Fundamentalist Muslims find punk sinful. But before you start inveighing against strict Muslims, wait a minute. Is this not similar to what the Daily Mail did in 2008 in a liberal western democracy? I mean, punk bashing is met with approval in liberal societies too. By the way Indonesia is not an Islamic country and there is a strong opposition to such acts as those seen in Aceh, the reaction against this in Jakarta has been phenomenal.
"Punks and metallers are seen as The Other. The mainstream populace – however fucked up it may be itself – always has and always will fear The Other. We always get the blame! " says an anonymous columnist writing for Thrash Hits.
I could not agree more.
(All photos modelled by Alex B.)