Shops still closed near plan crash site

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Munir Sitepu has locked himself in his home for four days since a Mandala airplane plowed into a densely populated area in Medan on Monday. Munir whose house is located near the crash site did not care for the curious onlookers wandering around his neighborhood. He also gave little attention to the presence of a team investigating the crash.

Occasionally, he opened the door and stole a glance at the crash site, which has been the center of attention for a few days, not only for Medan residents, but also for people out of town.

After viewing the wreckage and activity from his doorway, the 48-year-old foodstall owner quickly returned to his new found habit: locking himself in at home. He was still deeply traumatized by the plane crash that left 149 people dead. "The trauma will return if I see the plane wreckage," said Munir who opened the foodstall in his house a year ago.

The deep trauma has forced Munir to temporarily close his foodstall, which is located in the business district. "I don't know when I will reopen," said Munir.

Munir recalled that when the Boeing 737-200 plane went down on Monday morning, he was preparing food. Suddenly, he saw the plane's wing crash into a resident's house and then the plane skimmed along the road and crushed everything in its path, including cars and motorcycles.

One among the motorcyclists swept along by the giant iron bird was a salesman riding a motorcycle, he said.

"Before he died, the salesman waved at me in attempt to ask for help. It was tragic," said Munir while pointing at the motorcycle wreckage.

Munir is just one among many residents in Padang Bulan area who has chosen to shut their shops temporarily following the Mandala plane crash. Like Munir, residents cited trauma as the main reason behind the temporary closure.

While some residents closed their shops, others had to struggle to cope with life as their shops had been destroyed and they had nothing left. Those whose houses and shops had been destroyed by the airplane demanded on Friday that the government and Mandala Airlines provide them with compensation. Ariston Sebayang, 44, one among them, complained that to date, no officials from the government or airlines had collected data on the amount of the losses he incurred in the accident. Ariston lost his coffee shop and a car showroom in the grisly accident. "We need money in order to restart our business," said Ariston.

According to data at a command post set up near the crash site, at least 16 residences and shophouses, and 32 cars and motorcycles were destroyed in Monday's crash.