Recovered mental patients long to go home<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When asked about his family background, Idris, 36, had no
\nproblems in delivering logical stories fluently. And apart from
\nhis penchant for smiling, there is nothing indicating that he has
\njust recovered from a severe mental illness.<\/p>\n
Despite his recent recovery, Idris, is stuck in the Soeharto
\nHerjan mental hospital in Grogol, West Jakarta, as there are no
\nfamily members or friends willing to take him home.<\/p>\n
As of now, there are a large number of patients like Idris who
\nmust live in the hospital because of the unwillingness of
\nfamilies to have them around them.<\/p>\n
\"There is nobody from my family, who wants to visit me, let
\nalone take me home,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He was once told that his wife was now remarried.<\/p>\n
Idris, a native Jakartan, was taken to the mental institution
\nsix months ago after a breakdown due to severe stress.<\/p>\n
\"I once worked as a bus conductor in Kemayoran, Central
\nJakarta, but the small pittance I got as pay made me quit,\" he
\nsmiled, adding that he did not have another job to go to.<\/p>\n
Another sober-looking patient, Zakaria, 33, has been living in
\nthe mental institution for the last six years.<\/p>\n
A man with a fair complexion, Zakaria told the Post that in
\nfact he had been employed by the institution as a janitor.<\/p>\n
\"I made some money to meet a variety of my basic needs,\"
\nbespectacled Zakaria said.<\/p>\n
There is no one from his family who intends to take him home.
\nIn fact some of his family members took advantage of him being
\nemployed by the mental institution.<\/p>\n
\"My family is so poor that my father even asks me for money,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
If Zakaria and Idris never confronted rejection from their
\nfamilies directly, Johnny Purwadinata, 30, did.<\/p>\n
\"My father threatened to kill me if I dare to step inside my
\nfamily's house,\" Johnny said.<\/p>\n
Instead of comforting him, his mother who often visited him,
\nsaid discouraging words against her son to nurses. Such conduct,
\naccording to the nurses, would only hamper his path towards
\nregaining full sanity.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/recovered-mental-patients-long-to-go-home-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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