Liputan6.com, Bali - An incident occured in Bali involving a Russian teen who was caught vandalizing a school's wall. His action was stopped by a Balinese activist, but the situation turned chaotic because of language barrier and misinformation.
Activist and businesswoman Niluh (Ni Luh) Djelantik shared the videos of the incident on her Instagram, Friday, 27 January 2023. The viral video raised questions among netizens about how to deal with unruly foreign tourists.
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It started when Niluh and her team saw a young boy spraying a school's wall. Niluh Djelantik came out from her car and approached the boy, but he ran away. But not long after, Niluh and other people captured the boy.
"Why [did] you do it?" Niluh asked the boy, "give me the can".
It was unclear what the boy said, but he initially said he was from England and 14-year-old.
A Russian boy, wearing yellow jacket, caught red-handed vandalizing a school's wall in Bali. Instagram @niluhdjelantik
Activist and businesswoman Niluh Djelantik and her team caught the Russian boy who vandalized a school. Niluh intended to call the boy's parents. The situation was relatively under control before the boy yelled for help. Instagram @NiluhDjelantik
Niluh took actions after receiving reports of vandalism on schools' walls. She intended to call the boy's parents, but the boy approached a passing car and tried to escape.
The driver of that car, a man with beard and earrings, came out and demanded the boy to be released. The situation became more chaotic as he was yelling which prompted Niluh to yell back.
"What are you doing? This is kid," the man yelled. "Release him!"
"I will not do anything, I am just going to talk to the parents," said Niluh firmly.
The man talked about karma, and took his phone and said he would spread the video on a large Facebook group. Niluh did not care and still refuse to let the boy go.
The man then asked about the price for the damage, but Niluh said it was not about money. She quoted the proverb "in Rome, do what the Romans do".
And the boy also caught on the video whispering to the man that he was actually Russian. He tried to run a few times before eventually stopped trying.
Niluh Djelantik during the incident. She was hugging the boy firmly to prevent him from running and shielding him. Instagram: @NiluhDjelantik
In the midst of chaos, a motorcyclist with a mask smacked the boy's left eye. Other men quickly pulled that man away.
"Call the police!" the panic boy shouted.
Shortly after, two adult women came to intervene. One of the women tried to free the boy on account of his age, but Niluh refused and still wanted to speak to his parents.
The first woman then pretended to be the boy's mother, and the boy also said that she was her mother, but Niluh did not believe her, resulting in another shouting match. The second woman attempted a musical approach by singing and snapping her fingers to calm the public. No one was singing along.
The situation ironically changed when the foreign woman insisted on calling the police, but the boy changed his mind and did not want the police involved. That was similar to what Niluh wanted to just call the boy's parents.
"No police, please, no police," the boy pleaded.
Two foreign women came to help the boy. The first woman (pictured) tried to get the boy by acting as his mother. She had a shouting match with Niluh who refused to let the boy go. Instagram: @NiluhDjelantik
Niluh Djelantik argued with other foreign woman who tried to save the boy. Instagram: @niluhdjelantik
The argument continued and the first woman offered money, but Niluh ignored her. The second woman also persuaded Niluh to release the boy by saying the boy's parents were not in Bali.
"He's from Russia. His parents are in Russia," the second woman said. "He doesn't have parents here."
"I don't have parents in Bali," the boy added. Niluh did not believe them.
And their claim turned out to be misinformation. Later, the boy admitted his parents were in Kintamani.
At one point, the conversation also became offensive when the second foreign woman called Niluh "murah" (cheap) which is an insult in Indonesian language. It was unclear whether the woman understood the severity of the word since her Indonesian skill was rusty.
The Father Thanked Niluh
Throughout the ordeal, Niluh did hold the Russian boy firmly to prevent him from escaping, but she did not insult him. Niluh only shouted angrily at some foreigners who attempted to intervene.
At least two other foreign men came to accompany the boy, but they did not cause commotion. After situation became calmer, Niluh sat side-by-side with the boy. Niluh explained to him that he had to be responsible.
"You are big enough to be responsible. So take your responsibility," said Niluh who also expected other foreigners to behave appropriately.
As the situation became calmer, the Russian boy finally gave his family's phone number to Niluh. The boy and Niluh communicated in a good way. However, the police eventually came. Instagram: @NiluhDjelantik
Niluh Djelantik and the Russian boy. Later the father of the boy thanked Niluh, and he wanted to meet the school's representative as well. Instagram: @NiluhDjelantik
When the boy was protesting that someone hit him, however Niluh did not see when the boy was hit, at that time she was arguing with the first man who intervened.
When the authorities arrived, they offered to take the boy home. Niluh asked them to take the boy's photo when they dropped him at home as a proof that he was not injured.
Many netizens on Niluh's Instagram expressed support.
Niluh also posted the conversation between she and the boy's parents. The boy's name was Nikita. His father was in Bali and appreciated Niluh's action. He also intended to meet her, the local authorities, and the school's officials.
"The wall has to be fixed as soon as possible and I'm doing all I can to facilitate the proess. Thank you for your interference and overall work you do to preserve authentic Bali social culture and traditional life of Bali local population. What you do is admirable, Ibu. Thank you," said the father.
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