Bomb victims face difficult future<\/p>\n
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
How to survive the future is haunting Endang Isnanik, a 31-year
\nold widow who lost her husband when the devastating Bali blasts
\nkilled him and over 190 others on Oct. 12, 2002.<\/p>\n
She survives with her three sons -- Garil Arnanda, 10, Dwiga
\nMeiza, 5, and Izzul Haq, 2 1\/2 years. They live in a rented
\nboarding house consisting of two rooms in the Kepaon Muslim area,
\nabout four kilometers from Legian, Kuta.<\/p>\n
In addition to her hardships, Endang has been suffering from a
\ntype of rheumatic disease since giving birth to her youngest son,
\nwhich affects her left knee. Her foot is sometimes swollen and
\nconsequently, she has to take medicine every day so that she can
\nwalk.<\/p>\n
Her ailment forced Endang to quit her job as an administrative
\nstaff at the warehouse of a small-sized company in Denpasar, the
\ncapital of Bali.<\/p>\n
It is unrealistic for Endang to rely on her maternal family
\nsince the death of her father in 1996. Just last July, three
\nmonths before the Bali bombings, Endang's elder sister had passed
\naway.<\/p>\n
Endang's husband, 37-year-old Aris Munandar, was a driver and
\noffered private taxi services at Paddy's Cafe in Legian, the site
\nof the first bomb explosion, which was quickly followed by a
\nsecond and much larger bomb in front of the neighboring Sari
\nClub. Aris was killed instantly inside his Kijang van -- the car
\nhe used as a taxi -- which was also destroyed by the blasts.<\/p>\n
Married in 1991, Endang is a migrant from the East Java town
\nof Banuwangi, and Aris was a Muslim originally from the Central
\nJava town of Brebes.<\/p>\n
Several days before the tragedy, her husband had asked her and
\ntheir sons to perform ritual prayers together.<\/p>\n
Endang woke up at around 12 p.m. on the night of the bombings.
\nMinutes later, her relatives knocked on her door and told her
\nthat bombs had exploded in Kuta. She panicked, and felt sure Aris
\nwas killed after his colleague told her that her husband's car
\nwas among those destroyed outside Paddy's Cafe. However, she
\ncould not verify the report immediately because the blast site
\nwas cordoned off by the police and closed to the public.<\/p>\n
Endang identified her husband's body at 10 a.m. on Oct. 13 at
\nthe Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, where the victims' bodies had
\nbeen taken. She, along with the families and relatives of other
\nvictims, including those from Australia, packed the hospital in
\nsearch of loved ones.<\/p>\n
Endang fainted immediately after confirming her husband's
\ndeath.<\/p>\n
The bombing tragedy occurred one year after Aris had started
\nworking at Paddy's as a taxi driver. Last August, he had to pay a
\nfee of Rp 6 million to obtain a license to queue every day in
\nfront of the cafe for passengers, mostly consisting of foreign
\ntourists.<\/p>\n
In order to cover the fee and daily needs, her husband
\nborrowed Rp 12 million from a local bank. Fortunately, the lender
\nunderstood Endang's loss and exonerated her of the debt after she
\nhanded over the wreckage of her husband's burned-out Kijang.<\/p>\n
\"For the time being, my family and I are living on funds
\nprovided by the government and private agencies. As for the
\nfuture, I don't know,\" Endang told The Jakarta Post at her home.<\/p>\n
She said she received a total of more than Rp 20 million in
\nhumanitarian aid from donors including the Ministry of Social
\nAffairs, the Bali provincial administration, the Hati Foundation
\nand the Rotary Club.<\/p>\n
The assistance included a government compensation of Rp 4
\nmillion for Aris's destroyed Kijang, which is valued at Rp 40
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
Her difficulties are typical of those encountered by other
\nwidows who lost their husbands in the bombings.<\/p>\n
In spite of her hardship, however, Endang faces her uncertain
\nfuture with hope and strength.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that behind every incident, there is some goodness
\nfor human beings,\" she said, consoling herself.<\/p>\n
She remains traumatized by the bombings and sometimes cries
\nwhen she thinks of her husband.<\/p>\n
Residents in Kepaon, which comprises more than 100 families
\nsuch as Aris's, depend on the transport services they offer at
\nclubs in Kuta for their livelihood.<\/p>\n
Aris was among the eight casualties -- four Hindus and four
\nMuslims -- from Kepaon.<\/p>\n
These are but a few of the lives ruined by the bombings in
\nBali, and the families -- along with the rest of the world -- are
\nstill searching for answers that the investigating authorities,
\nas of yet, have been unwilling or unable to provide.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bomb-victims-face-difficult-future-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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