Barren holiday for five victims

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

This year's Idul Fitri holiday was a sorrowful moment for factory worker Julianto and thousands of other fire victims from Jembatan Besi, West Jakarta, as they were forced to celebrate it in tents or in the remains of their destroyed homes.

Julianto, 36, the father of a six-year-old boy, had to forget his wish to return to his hometown of Purworejo, Central Java, to meet his parents and relatives, due to a fire that hit the area last Tuesday.

"I was supposed to go to Purworejo on Wednesday. But we had to cancel it," he said.

He added his sister and her husband, as well as their two children, also canceled their plan to go to his brother-in-law's hometown of Palembang, South Sumatra.

Julianto was at his night shift at a factory in Cikarang, West Java, when he was telephoned by his brother Harianto about a fire that had started at about 11 p.m.

When he arrived home about three hours later, the fire was still raging and had ravaged his four-meter by six-meter home and other neighboring houses.

Only a television set, several items of clothing and important documents could be salvaged from the house, which Julianto shared with a brother and two sisters who were already married with children.

"It's sad to see my boy, nephews and nieces sleeping on mats on the floor under a plastic roof in our damaged house," Julianto said on Sunday.

"However, it was an accident, unavoidable," he said.

As many as 632 houses in the densely populated area were destroyed by the fire, leaving 1,016 families homeless.

The fire, which could not be extinguished until about 5 a.m. the following morning, was caused by an explosion from a kerosene stove in a house while its owner made cookies for the Idul Fitri celebration.

Another resident, Rahmat, 40, was in deep shock as the fire left standing only part of the walls of his house, while all of the roof, wooden windows and doors were destroyed in the blaze.

"My wife and four children are now staying at a relative's house in nearby Krendang, West Jakarta," Rahmat said while sorting out the remains of his house.

Dozens of Justice Party supporters helped residents clear away debris from the damaged houses on Sunday and load it onto a truck.

Despite the calamity, residents were still able to solemnly perform takbiran (reciting, "God is great") on the eve of Idul Fitri on Thursday night and participated in Idul Fitri prayers on Friday morning in the nearby Al-Bayan mosque.

Fire victims received donations, such as food, clothing, mats, plastic tents and some money, from Jembatan Besi subdistrict office, some generous individuals and two private television stations.

"But we are still badly in need of help with building materials, such as cement, roofing tiles and bricks, to rebuild our houses," one of them said with a sigh.