The Brutal and Barbaric State

We are a state of law.
Our law is neat, cold, and blind to faces.
We do not come to listen.
We come to execute.
Your house stands on the wrong land.
Not because you built it wrong,
but because you are nobody.
We do not see mothers crying.
We see zoning violations.
We do not hear children screaming.
We hear obstacles to investment.
Our heavy machinery is neutral.
It only follows orders.
If homes collapse, it is not violence—
it is administrative enforcement.
You ask, “Where was the state when we were living?”
We answer honestly:
the state was busy preparing this day,
the day you would be legally erased.
We are not brutal.
We are merely consistent.
And our consistency is simple:
protect the powerful,
educate the weak with obedience.
On the ruins of your homes,
we raise a banner:
“The State Is Present.”
Present as a verdict.

This incident took place in Padang Halaban, specifically in the Padang Halaban area/village, North Labuhanbatu Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia.