Bombing victims keep their spirits high<\/p>\n
By Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Annastashya Emmanuelle<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Junior high school student Agnes Jessica
\nWinarto, one of the victims of Sunday's bomb blast in a church
\nhere, has not yet realized that she has lost her right leg.<\/p>\n
Agnes, who is still being treated at the intensive care unit
\nof St. Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta, sometimes asks the
\nnurse to rub the sole of her right foot and put a pillow under
\nher right foot.<\/p>\n
Neither the doctors nor her family members have informed her
\nthat her right leg has been amputated, considering her unstable
\nemotional condition.<\/p>\n
The family, according to Agnes' uncle Ari Kristianto, 41,
\nwould tell her about it soon after she leaves the intensive care
\nunit.<\/p>\n
\"I cannot predict her reaction, but our family will always
\nsupport her, particularly psychologically,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Agnes was participating in the first mass at St. Anna Catholic
\nchurch in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, when a powerful blast ripped
\nthrough the church and injured dozens of congregation members.<\/p>\n
Among the victims, 14-year-old Agnes suffered more serious
\ninjuries. Besides her right leg, her left leg was also broken,
\nwhile her right optical nerve and eardrum were ruptured.<\/p>\n
She cannot see through her right eye and cannot hear clearly.<\/p>\n
As of Tuesday, Agnes was still being treated at the emergency
\nward but reported to be in a stable physical condition and able
\nto communicate with others.<\/p>\n
Agnes, a senior student of Budaya junior high school in Duren
\nSawit area, sometimes asked for food and wanted to meet her
\nteachers as she worried about being absent from school, Ari said.<\/p>\n
Ari said Agnes' family felt so disappointed and sad due to the
\nblast but they believed that the incident would bring them closer
\nto God.<\/p>\n
Another victim, Bernardus Setiawan, 26, also lost his right
\nleg which was also amputated at St. Carolus hospital.<\/p>\n
\"I saw pieces of my right leg in front of me during the
\nincident, but I felt nothing. I could even help someone at that
\ntime.\"<\/p>\n
Bernardus, a security guard of Tarakanita high school in
\nKebayoran Baru, attended Sunday's congregation with his
\ngirlfriend who also suffered injuries to her legs.<\/p>\n
Bernardus said he could accept his condition as part of his
\ndestiny. What he needed now was an artificial leg.<\/p>\n
Nursing their injuries, many other survivors of the bomb blast
\nin St. Anna Catholic church are still counting their blessings
\nalthough some expressed their outrage that they became victims of
\nthe power struggle among the political elite.<\/p>\n
\"I don't blame anyone for this and I thank God I'm still
\nalive. However, I do hope the political elite could somehow reach
\na compromise because we, the ordinary people, are always the
\nvictims,\" said victim Theresia Tri Suhartati at the St. Carolus
\nhospital, Central Jakarta, where she is being treated.<\/p>\n
Theresia, a resident of Bintara Jaya in West Bekasi, was still
\nstruggling to regain her sight.<\/p>\n
Another victim, Yoppy Patinama, was also thankful that she was
\nstill alive and even suffered less than other victims of the bomb
\nblast.<\/p>\n
\"There are others who suffered more than I. Compared to them,
\nI still have something to be thankful about,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Yoppy urged people not to allow differences in politics and
\nfaith to become a source of unrest in the country.<\/p>\n
\"Wouldn't it be beautiful if we could all live in harmony, in
\nspite of our differences?\" she told the Post as she revisited the
\nruins of the church.<\/p>\n
At the relief post set up by the St. Anna congregation in the
\nfront yard of the church, Yoppy was surrounded by friends keen to
\nhear her story.<\/p>\n
The bomb, that exploded at 7:05 a.m. on Sunday, destroyed the
\nback part of the church.<\/p>\n
Most windows were shattered, parts of the ceiling collapsed
\nand a crater on the floor marked where the bomb was planted.<\/p>\n
At the administration office at the back of the church,
\nofficials had piled up hundreds of prayer books, footwear and
\nother belongings of the churchgoers, some of which were
\nbloodstained.<\/p>\n
\"Nowhere in this world would someone plant a bomb inside a
\nplace of worship. This is a truly barbaric and inhuman act,\" said
\nFather Suryatma Suryawijaya who was leading the service on Sunday
\nwhen the bomb exploded.<\/p>\n
Church services have been temporarily moved to a nearby public
\nhall until the church is fully restored.<\/p>\n
\"I hope this will be the last of it. Let people practice their
\nreligion in peace,\" Father Suryatma said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bombing-victims-keep-their-spirits-high-1447893297",
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