No eye for an eye for Desriyanti Tengkende<\/p>\n
Duncan Graham , Contributor, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The impact of sectarian violence resonates long after the event,
\nas Desriyanti Tengkende knows only too well.<\/p>\n
The distressed high school teenager from Palu, Central
\nSulawesi, is far from her home and friends. She is no longer
\nstudying. Her future is uncertain, her once-pretty face
\npermanently damaged. She is in pain but will live.<\/p>\n
The masked gunmen who fired into the Sunday evening service of
\nthe Effatha Presbyterian Church in Palu with automatic weapon
\nfire last July were \"calm and professional\" according to
\nIndonesian police.<\/p>\n
One bullet cut through Desri's fingers at the moment she
\nraised her hands to her face in the traditional Christian gesture
\nof thanksgiving. She had just started singing a hymn.<\/p>\n
The projectile then took out her left eye and sliced through
\nthe bridge of her nose. If it had been a centimeter to
\nthe right this story would not have been written.<\/p>\n
The preacher, Susianti Tinulele, 29, was hit in the head as
\nshe was finishing her sermon. She died instantly from appalling
\nwounds, slumped across the pulpit in front of her 400-strong
\ncongregation. Four others including Desri were wounded. It was
\none of many incidents that have reportedly claimed more than
\n1,000 lives since the year 2000 in the troubled province.<\/p>\n
The then President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, called for calm.
\nShe asked the Christian community not to inflame the situation
\nand make it worse for the police investigation. Her request was
\nobeyed.<\/p>\n
National police chief Da'i Bachtiar was involved in the
\ninquiry. But nine months after the shooting no one has been
\ncharged.<\/p>\n
Now Desri, 17, lies in the Naval Hospital in the East Java
\ncapital, Surabaya, recovering from further surgery conducted in
\nearly April.<\/p>\n
Her mother, Yasmin Luke, has returned to Palu to care for her
\nother seven children. Her father, Ersan Tengkende, a health
\nworker, remains to comfort his daughter.<\/p>\n
Despite Desri's trauma and the terrible impact the shooting
\nhas had on his family, Pak Ersan said he has forgiven the
\nattackers. So has the priest at the Palu church, Pastor Jetroson
\nRense.<\/p>\n
Although there are vengeful passages in the Bible calling for
\nan eye for an eye Pastor Jetroson said the congregation preferred
\nto concentrate on the message of reconciliation and pray for the
\ngunmen, believed to be Islamic extremists.<\/p>\n
\"We have to live in peace with Muslims,\" he said. \"They are
\nour neighbors. We have no feelings of retribution. Unfortunately,
\nthe police investigation has been hampered by people fearing to
\nspeak out.\"<\/p>\n
After the shooting Desri and the other victims were treated at
\nthe local hospital, but the teenager's wounds were so serious she
\nhad to be transferred south. Funds for her family's air fares
\nand surgery were raised by the congregation with help from an
\nAmerican charity.<\/p>\n
However, a follow-up operation on her eye socket and nose was
\nrequired so she has had to return to Surabaya. She is still
\ntrying to get used to using a false eye, which causes some
\ndiscomfort.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know when she will be fit enough to go home,\" said
\nher father. \"I hope she will eventually be able to return to
\nschool and finish her studies.<\/p>\n
Like the church, my family is not interested in revenge. We
\nonly wish to live in peace.\"<\/p>\n
Pastor Jetroson said that this July the Palu church would hold
\na major service to remember the shooting and pray for a united
\nand more peaceful Indonesia.<\/p>",
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