No eye for an eye for Desriyanti Tengkende

Duncan Graham , Contributor, Surabaya

The impact of sectarian violence resonates long after the event, as Desriyanti Tengkende knows only too well.

The distressed high school teenager from Palu, Central Sulawesi, is far from her home and friends. She is no longer studying. Her future is uncertain, her once-pretty face permanently damaged. She is in pain but will live.

The masked gunmen who fired into the Sunday evening service of the Effatha Presbyterian Church in Palu with automatic weapon fire last July were "calm and professional" according to Indonesian police.

One bullet cut through Desri's fingers at the moment she raised her hands to her face in the traditional Christian gesture of thanksgiving. She had just started singing a hymn.

The projectile then took out her left eye and sliced through the bridge of her nose. If it had been a centimeter to the right this story would not have been written.

The preacher, Susianti Tinulele, 29, was hit in the head as she was finishing her sermon. She died instantly from appalling wounds, slumped across the pulpit in front of her 400-strong congregation. Four others including Desri were wounded. It was one of many incidents that have reportedly claimed more than 1,000 lives since the year 2000 in the troubled province.

The then President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, called for calm. She asked the Christian community not to inflame the situation and make it worse for the police investigation. Her request was obeyed.

National police chief Da'i Bachtiar was involved in the inquiry. But nine months after the shooting no one has been charged.

Now Desri, 17, lies in the Naval Hospital in the East Java capital, Surabaya, recovering from further surgery conducted in early April.

Her mother, Yasmin Luke, has returned to Palu to care for her other seven children. Her father, Ersan Tengkende, a health worker, remains to comfort his daughter.

Despite Desri's trauma and the terrible impact the shooting has had on his family, Pak Ersan said he has forgiven the attackers. So has the priest at the Palu church, Pastor Jetroson Rense.

Although there are vengeful passages in the Bible calling for an eye for an eye Pastor Jetroson said the congregation preferred to concentrate on the message of reconciliation and pray for the gunmen, believed to be Islamic extremists.

"We have to live in peace with Muslims," he said. "They are our neighbors. We have no feelings of retribution. Unfortunately, the police investigation has been hampered by people fearing to speak out."

After the shooting Desri and the other victims were treated at the local hospital, but the teenager's wounds were so serious she had to be transferred south. Funds for her family's air fares and surgery were raised by the congregation with help from an American charity.

However, a follow-up operation on her eye socket and nose was required so she has had to return to Surabaya. She is still trying to get used to using a false eye, which causes some discomfort.

"We don't know when she will be fit enough to go home," said her father. "I hope she will eventually be able to return to school and finish her studies.

Like the church, my family is not interested in revenge. We only wish to live in peace."

Pastor Jetroson said that this July the Palu church would hold a major service to remember the shooting and pray for a united and more peaceful Indonesia.