 |
|
A
Balinese girl holds a picture of her father, killed in the deadly
blasts in Bali
|
KEPAON
Village, Indonesia, October 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) –
While international attention has focused on the foreign dead and
injured, families of forgotten victims of the Bali bombing are trying
to come to terms with their grief in this village, which lost eight
people in the deadly October 12 blast.
Relatives
of the Indonesian victims of the nightclub blasts on this resort
island are struggling to rebuild their lives.
Endang
Isnani, 31, said she spoke to her driver husband Haris Munandar in a
dream just moments before the car bombing outside the Sari Club in the
Kuta resort town.
“I
had a dream. I told my husband, I am taking the children to town and
asked if he would follow us. He said, ‘Go ahead, I want to
sleep’,” Endang told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Just
then I was awoken suddenly. I heard a loud explosion and the ground
and the walls shook.”
Neighbors
came running to tell her there had been a bombing in Kuta.
Haris
and seven of his friends who were waiting outside the club died in the
blast. All were the sole breadwinners of their families. Five of the
bodies have not been recovered.
According
to the latest available figure nine Indonesians overall are confirmed
dead in the bombing. But the figure is expected to rise significantly
with the identification of more victims.
Haris
was sleeping with the seat reclined while waiting for a passenger.
“I’m sure he died in his sleep,” Endang said.
Endang,
31, now has three children and an elderly father-in-law to feed
following his death. All eight victims from Kepaon were the sole
breadwinners for their families.
“I
just do not know what the future holds for me and my children,” she
said, embracing her two-year-old son Izulhaq and struggling to hold
back tears.
“I
have health problems. Our lives now are in ruins.”
She
described her late husband as a caring and loving person. “The kids
just adored him. On weekends we were all at the beach, playing
football.”
Endang
said their 10-year eldest son Gharil and five-year-old Dwiga know
their father has died but Izulhaq cries for “papa” every night.
With
no skills to fall back on, she faces an uncertain future. She said she
would take each day as it comes.
At
Kepaon, three miles (five km) east of Bali’s tourist hub of Kuta,
villagers remain in a state of shock. Hundreds of other villagers have
joined them in prayers for the departed.
“I
do not know why good people must die,” said Mohamad Harun, 60, who
lost his eldest son, Fathurrahman. The 35-year-old was a driver with
ice-cream manufacturer Haagen Daaz.
Warti,
Fathurrahman’s 23-year-old wife, said their son Rahmat Idayat aged
four cries for his father every night.
“We
silence him by saying the father has gone to Jakarta,” she said as
Rahmat played with his cousin.
Warti
said the government had provided some financial assistance but “how
are we to grapple with the severe economic conditions in the
future?”
The
bombing dealt a shattering blow to Bali’s vital tourism industry.
Relatives
said Warti fainted when told her husband had died and she had been
weeping continuously since then.
Warti
said she was lost as to what work she could do and left it to God to
punish the bombers.
“I
do not care who did it. They are just cruel people and I hope God will
end this violence.”
