Widows confronted by reality<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
"A train is about to hit myself and my husband. At that very
\nmoment we realized there was nothing we could do. We readied
\nourselves to die ... Suddenly I woke up," said Nurhayati at the
\nCipto Mangunkusomo General Hospital (RSCM) morgue.<\/p>\n
Never did she think that the dream might be a premonition
\nwarning her of the death of her husband Hidayat, 27.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old woman was obviously in shock after hearing
\nthat Hidayat had passed away on Wednesday morning, despite the
\nfact that the night before the medical staff had high hopes that
\nher husband would recover.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Health announced that at least 10 people were
\nkilled while 149 others were injured in the blast at the JW
\nMarriott Hotel in the Mega Kuningan business district, South
\nJakarta, on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m.<\/p>\n
When met by the press, Nurhayati's eyes were blank and she had
\nlittle to say. In fact, she appeared close to fainting at times.
\nNobody could know for sure what was she thinking, but according
\nto a relative she might well have be pondering the future of her
\ntwo daughters now that her husband was gone.<\/p>\n
A similar shock was experienced by Mimin Sumiarsih, 28. She
\nhad slight hopes that her husband Eyo Zakaria, 29, a Silver Bird
\ntaxi driver, might survive after being treated in the intensive
\ncare unit.<\/p>\n
She went home to check on her seven-month-old baby.<\/p>\n
Six hours later, she was told that Eyo had passed away.<\/p>\n
"I don't know ... I just don't know ... All I wanted was for
\nhim to be alive and OK," she said.<\/p>\n
Nurhayati and Mimin's lives were turned upside down the second
\nthe bomb exploded. Confusion and fear of the future now dominate
\ntheir thoughts.<\/p>\n
However, the Blue Bird Group has announced that the company
\nwill financially assist them and the families of two other Silver
\nBird taxi drivers.<\/p>\n
Silver Bird's operations director Ateng Aryono said that the
\ngroup would cover all the funeral and grieving period expenses of
\nthe dead drivers.<\/p>\n
The company would also provide scholarships to the victims'
\nchildren until they graduated from high school.<\/p>\n
"We're also thinking of providing working capital for the
\nwidows if they want to start businesses," Ateng said.<\/p>\n
Silver Bird lost four drivers, while another one suffered
\nserious injuries. The company also lost five Nissan Cedric cars.<\/p>\n
Life has also dealt a cruel blow to Frida Sopacua. Not only
\nhas she lost her husband, Johanes Boelan, 50, but now she is also
\nat a loss to know how she and her five children will survive.<\/p>\n
Boelan was a private driver.<\/p>\n
She broke down when she saw her husband's coffin in the
\nmorgue.<\/p>\n
Frida did not know for sure that her husband was among the
\nvictims until Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
"I saw the list of victims on TV, but I wasn't sure because
\nhis name was spelt Bolan instead of Boelan with an 'e'," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
It was only after Boelan had not returned home by morning that
\nFrida decided to check with the morgue, where she finally
\ndiscovered the bitter truth.<\/p>\n
Hans Winkelmolen, 49, a Dutch citizen and former general
\nmanager of Rabobank Indonesia, had no one present to grieve for
\nhim in the morgue.<\/p>\n
A representative of the company, Adri Triwicahyo, said that
\nWinkelmolen's wife had decided to fly here from the Netherlands
\nimmediately after she heard the news.<\/p>\n
Winkelmolen was about to return to the Netherlands as his
\nstint in Jakarta officially came to an end last Friday, Adri told
\nreporters, quoting a press release signed by Rik van Slingelandt,
\nRabobank's director for international affairs.<\/p>\n
The Dutchman was having a business meeting in the hotel's
\nSailendra Restaurant with his successor, Antonio Costa, a
\nCanadian, who was wounded in the blast. Bank Indonesia former
\ndeputy governor Miranda Goeltom, who was included in the
\nmeeting's attendance list, escaped the blast as she arrived late
\nto the hotel.<\/p>\n
Costa was flown to Singapore on Tuesday night and admitted to
\nthe National University Hospital "with a chest injuries resulting
\nfrom the impact of the explosion," a statement from the hospital
\nsaid as quoted by Associated Press. He is in a stable condition,
\nit said.<\/p>\n
Singapore General Hospital also admitted eight patients to its
\nburns ward, including an American woman in her 50s, three
\nIndonesian men in their 30s, and four Singaporeans, a hospital
\nstatement said. All were conscious and had suffered burns to
\nbetween 10 percent and 33 percent of their bodies.<\/p>\n
However, two Singaporean men were in critical condition, the
\nhospital added.<\/p>\n
List of identified fatalities (Name, Age, Nationality,
\nProfession): (1) Hans Winkelmolen, 49, Dutch, Former GM Rabobank
\n(2) Rudi Dwi Laksono, 21, Ina, Security, JW Marriott Hotel (3)
\nHarna, 37, Ina, Silver Bird taxi driver (4) Johanes Boelan, 50,
\nIna, Private driver (5) Slamet Heryanto, 35, Ina, Security, PT
\nP. Birama Sakti (6) Miftah Tobiin, 40, Ina, Silver Bird taxi driver
\n(7) Syamsudin, 45, Ina, Security, PT P. Birama Sakti (8) Eyo
\nZakaria, 29, Ina, Silver Bird taxi driver (9) Hidayat, 27, Ina,
\nSilver Bird taxi driver.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/widows-confronted-by-reality-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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