Victim's parents in dark on tragedy

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"We're just normal people. We can only put our fate into the hands of God," said Hartono, 53, father of Didi Haryanto, 28, who was seriously burned in the Aug. 5 Marriott bombing.

Didi is being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Pertamina Central Hospital in South Jakarta.

Hartono and his eldest son, Dadang, 31, have been at the hospital since last Wednesday night. However, as of Monday they still did not know what had happened to Didi, except that he was the victim of a bombing.

"Nobody told us," Hartono told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

A source told the Post that Didi works at an office near the Marriott. He was returning to work after lunch when the bomb went off.

Didi's family has been unable to speak with him because he is still in the ICU.

Hartono said he has only been able to look at his son through a window, and that doctors reassure him that Didi is in stable condition.

"They told me he will soon be moved from the ICU," he said.

Hartono and Dadang work on someone else's rice field in a small village in Kediri, East Java. Didi is the only member of his family to leave the village. After having odd jobs in a number of cities, the young man landed in Jakarta in 1997.

"All we knew was that his last job before moving to his new office was related to the automotive business," Hartono said.

Didi's mother, Dwi Handayani, 47, had to return to Kediri on Sunday because the family needed her small income from her job as a vendor in a traditional market.

They are grateful the government will cover all of Didi's medical expenses.

"Actually, we are glad Didi's mother returned home, because she breaks down every time she sees him," Hartono said.

Dwi became hysterical and collapsed when she saw her burned son on the TV.

"We first recognized Didi on the TV," said Hartono.

"It was awful," Dadang said, adding that TV stations should consider the families of the victims before broadcasting such pictures.

The family traveled 700 kilometers by train to Jakarta the day after the bombing.

"It took us about 14 hours to reach Jakarta," Dadang said, adding that Didi's supervisor helped them pay for the train tickets.

Since Wednesday, the family has occupied a small staircase landing on the fifth floor of the hospital, where the ICU is located.

They just wait for someone to give them any news on Didi.

"I feel hopeless. My poor boy," Hartono said.