Christians in Ambon visit abandoned graves

M. Azis Tunny The Jakarta Post/Ambon

In the six years since the sectarian conflict broke out in Ambon, Maluku province, in 1999, the members of the Lopulalan family have never paid a visit to the grave of their mother, Wihelmina Lopulalan, who is buried in a Muslim area.

Ely Lopulalan, a Christian, said that since the eruption of the conflict, which resulted in the Muslims and Christians living in separate areas, she had never visited her mother's grave in Kebun Cengkih cemetery in Batumerah village due to fears for her safety.

Against the backdrop of the improving security situation in Ambon, she has finally been able to visit and clean her mother's grave with her children and nieces.

"We can visit the grave this year, finally," she told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. "The situation in other years was too dangerous for us to go,"

The Batu Cengkih cemetery in Batumerah village was opened as a cemetery for Christians since 1986, and contains thousands of graves. Next to the Christian cemetery, separated by a 10-meter- wide ravine, is a Muslim cemetery.

Just like in another places, it is a tradition in Ambon for Muslims and Christians to visit the graves of their deceased relatives ahead of Idul Fitri or Christmas.

But the conflict has resulted in the Kebun Cengkih cemetery reverting to nature. It is now abandoned and overgrown.

Frans Mahudin, 57, said that this year marked the first time he had visited his mother's grave since the outbreak of the conflict and it took him over an hour to find the right grave.

"When I got here, I was confused. I couldn't find my mother's grave," said Frans.

Before the conflict erupted, he visited the grave three times a year. "It's been my habit to visit my mother's grave before celebrating Christmas. I hope that with Ambon safer now, I can visit the grave more often," he said.

During the conflict, which claimed many hundreds of lives, even cemeteries were not free from being targeted. Religious symbols, like the crucifixes found in Christian cemeteries, or Arabic symbols found in Muslim cemeteries, were destroyed.

Syauta, who came to clean up her father's grave this year, was glad to seen that it was not too badly overgrown.

"This is the first time I've come to the grave since 1999 and I'm really happy to see that it's fine," she said.