Families' breadwinners perish in crash

Dedy Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Medan

The family of Rajimin, a lontong (rice steamed in a banana leaf) seller, mourned his death on Tuesday after the 50-year-old father of six perished after being struck by parts of the aircraft in the Mandala plane crash on Monday that killed 103 people on board and 47 on the ground.

The family had the painful task of identifying his remains on Monday night. The back of his head had been completely destroyed and his body burned, making him almost unrecognizable.

The somber mood was evident when the remains of Rajimin arrived on Tuesday at the family's home on Jl. Landasan in Medan city. Their grief is compounded by the fact that Rajimin was the sole bread winner for the family. Rajimin provided for his family by selling lontong in the vicinity of the University of North Sumatra (USU) on Jl. Jamin Ginting here. The accident has put the future of the whole family in limbo.

Besides being the breadwinner, Rajimin was also a responsible and caring father. The family recalls that when he was alive, he and his wife Murniwati would often go together to a stand erected in the campus vicinity in the morning to prepare food for sale.

"The family was shocked. There was no sign that Rajimin would leave us this soon," said Darno, Rajimin's younger brother.

Darno recalled that a few moments before the accident took place at about 10 a.m on Monday, Rajimin had already prepared to return home from the stand. But before he went home, he searched for a kerosene kiosk near the stand where he sold lontong. He could not find any so he and his friend Agus, riding a motorcycle, searched for kerosene at another kiosk on Jl. Jamin Ginting, some two kilometers from where his lontong stand was located. Unfortunately, when the two reached Jl. Jamin Ginting, the Mandala aircraft fell on them, leading to their deaths.

Initially, Rajimin's family was not aware that he had been killed in the accident. They thought that Rajimin had some work to do that had held him up. But, after a few hours when he did not return home, the family members began to worry. Their hearts were gripped by fear after reports that people saw Rajimin's burned motorcycle at the site of the accident.

The family quickly went to Adam Malik Hospital to check whether the remains of Rajimin were there. The remains of Rajimin had been identified and at 10 p.m. were brought home for burial.

A similar tragedy was experienced by the Suparman family whose central figure Suparman, 47, died in the accident. The father of three perished inside a tailor shop that had been the family's source of income for years. Suparman, the resident of Jl. Cinta Karya, died along with his younger brother and his two workers in the accident.

Up until Tuesday, the remains of the four could still not be identified as the bodies were so badly burned. The deaths were confirmed by Suparman's son-in-law who witnessed the plane crash.

Suparman started the business 17 years ago in the eight-by-six-meter shop with only one sewing machine. After years of hard work, the number of sewing machines rose to six and he could hire some staff. As his business grew, he was able to put his children through school, but unfortunately fate had other plans for him.

Suparman's life ended where he earned a living. "We don't know what to do. Our family business is finished," said Lismirat Adet, 30, Suparman's son-in-law.