Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Barru
A glimmer of hope started to fade away Friday, as, after 12 days of waiting, relatives of a missing Adam Air jetliner began accepting the fact that they might never see their loved ones alive again.
But hope remained that the airliner could be found and the passengers' remains brought home for burial. The plane went missing with 102 people on board on its way to Manado in North Sulawesi from Surabaya in East Java.
Father Denny Sumajo, whose cousin Daniel Lale was on board the Boeing 747-400 along with his wife Nontje Tumbelaka, was grateful that bits and pieces of the airplane had been found.
""But we don't want to have too much hope, we don't want to be disappointed,"" he said Friday.
Bits and pieces of wreckage were still being found along the Barru coastline in South Sulawesi, although the precise location of the crashed Adam Air KI-574 plane remained unknown.
Sumorlang, a resident of North Sulawesi town of Manado, said he and his family have started to accept that they will never see their four missing relatives. Still, they hope the crash location will be found.
""We hope the plane is found and if the remains of its passengers cannot be removed, please take us there so we can hold a ritual and pray to let them go,"" Sumorlang said.
But there were those who refused to give up hope.
On Friday, relatives of the newlywed couple Yopie Wantania and Mari Kaurow, who were on the plane with five other relatives, held a ritual at Mallusetasi beach in Barru regency to assist the search teams.
Eight members of the family arrived at Lojie hamlet in Bojo village to directly observe the search before praying and sending out offerings to the sea. They left a package including tobacco, a lighter and paper, all wrapped in coconut leaves, on the beach.
""Through this ritual, we hope that the things covering up the plane can be opened up so it can be found along with its passengers and crew,"" said Paul Ngangi, one of the relatives.
In the hope of finding his missing daughter, Barry Tontey launched his own search by renting a boat to scour the sea where debris has been found.
""We faced high waves there and our boat was so small. It tipped over once and we reached the beach all wet,"" the 50-year-old trader from Surabaya told Reuters. His daughter spent the Christmas holiday with her family before flying to Manado where she was studying.
""I wanted to do something but I could not find anything there.""
The old man joined the search around the Pare-Pare coastlines soon after he heard rumors that fishermen had found the plane's wreckage.
""On Thursday, I heard the news that a fisherman had really found something. We all hope we can find our loved ones alive. I will stay here until she's found,"" Tontey said at a Makassar hotel where many relatives of passengers are staying.
During this painful time, the devout Christian gets comfort from his faith.
""If the rescuers give up one day, what can I say. They have tried and this case is indeed a mystery,"" he added, his wrinkled face managing a bitter smile.
