Bali nightmare returns to haunt victims' widows

Bali nightmare returns to haunt victims' widows

M. Jegathesan, Agence France-Presse/Pemogan, Bali

Eight women from this impoverished village became widows in an instant three years ago when bombers struck in the heart of Bali. With no skills or money, the future was bleak.

Despite their grief, they managed to build new lives for themselves and their children through a remarkable business venture. But with the latest bombings they fear disaster once again.

Warti, was just 23 with a four-year-old boy when her husband Fathurrahman was caught up in the explosions in Kuta, his body torn apart as he sat in his delivery van near the targeted Sari Club.

"I just cried and cried. My husband's death was unexpected. But I just refused to give up or return to my parents' home," she told AFP.

Warti, a Muslim from the country's main island of Java, said the greatest difficulty was money. "Even though I received some aid from the government, I had to find some new means to secure the future of my son and myself."

Not far away, surrounded by tall coconut trees and paddy fields, sat a small single-story concrete bungalow. Inside, colored T-shirts, dresses, sarongs and cloth bag hung in neat rows.

A signboard read: "Adopt-A-Co-op, We are widows of Bali bombing."

"Yes, we changed our lives. From housewives, we learnt new tailoring skills and embraced the lucrative clothes business in Bali," Warti said with a smile.

Warti said that during the darkest hours of their lives, an Australian man named David Wedd, who was moved to do something to help the Balinese, approached them and urged them to start up the business.

Six of the women took up the challenge.

"It was a great leap forward. We were given the cloth and sewing equipment and we learnt new skills. Not only we were able to find a source of income, it helped us to relieve the stress," she said.

"But just as we began to recuperate and our business was growing, militants strike again. These crazy people have returned to haunt us. We can feel the same pain and misery we experienced three years ago," she said.

Warti said her son saw Saturday night's explosion on television and screamed "Mama, father also died in an explosion like this". "I immediately hugged him and started crying," she said.

In Saturday's blasts, at least 19 people were killed when three suicide bombers blew up three restaurants full of tourists and locals in the Kuta tourist strip and the Jimbaran beachside area.

The attack has reopened the deep wounds left from the 2002 bombings in which 202 people perished, just as Bali was beginning to recover its confidence, and its crucial tourism industry which employs one in three locals.

Warti said she hoped the police would quickly catch those responsible for the latest atrocity and that they would be sentenced to death.

"I am angry. I am depressed. What is going to happen to us now. Will the tourists come, especially from Australia? They are crucial for our business," she said.

Another widow, 34-year-old Endang Isnanik, lost her taxi driver husband Aris Munanda, who was waiting for passengers outside the Sari Club.

"He was a good husband and a good father. We all miss him dearly," she said, one of the Muslims in this village where there are also many Hindus, and people of both faiths live peacefully side by side.

Isnanik said the bombings brought back painful memories, as well as the fears of destitution for herself and her two children.

"If Australian tourists in particular do not come, which I fear will happen especially after Australia issued a travel warning, our trade will suffer."

Hayati Eka, a 35-year-old Muslim woman with two children, said her fireman husband Imawan was returning home from work when tragedy struck.

"I can't express my feeling during the darkest moment in my life. My husband's sudden death shocked me. I had to become father, income earner and a mother," she said.

"But I refused to give up and embraced this business activity to keep my mind healthy because by meeting other widows here we exchanged views and shared our problems," she said.

Hayati said the women had planned to open a shop to sell their wares this month but that may now be put on hold.

"We depend on tourists. We have no other source of income," she said.

"We used to plan for the future, but now no more. Life for us is one day at a time."