Compassion for tsunami victims in the air

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakartans will join others around the world today in celebrating Valentine's Day with declarations of love and gifts to the objects of their affection.

However, Valentine's Day is not only for lovers. Several events will be held to give people the chance to show their compassion for the victims of the tsunami in Aceh and Sumatra with donations and prayers.

One such event is the Sound of Love for Aceh, which will be held on Monday at the Mal Atrium in Central Jakarta from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Special donation boxes will be set up for the day. The money collected will be used to buy schoolbooks and notebooks for students in Aceh.

In honor of Valentine's Day, hotels, restaurants and malls in the capital are offering special packages and events, while gift shops, bakeries and flower stores are decked out with gifts and goodies for the special day. (See photo).

Valentine's Day has seen business bloom in the flower market in Rawa Belong, West Jakarta.

"I usually sell 200 roses a day, but since five days before Valentine's Day I have been selling up to 500 roses," said Hani.

"However, even though demand has gone up compared to most days, it is still only half of last year's demand during this time," she said.