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Soccer fans enjoy Euro final in local cemetery
J. Adiguna , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 07/01/2008 10:25 AM | City
As Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the Euro 2008 final at Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, cheers of happiness also filled a corner of the Kober public cemetery in East Jakarta.
Amid thousands of graves, soccer fans danced in celebration of the first championship for the Spanish team in 44 years.
"I won Rp 1,000 (11 US cents) from my friend" said Acep, one of the many that enjoyed the game from the cemetery.
He did not show any fear being surrounded by the tombs and the dead.
He could not wipe the smile of his face because his favorite team had just become the European champion.
Unlike the fenced off public cemeteries in Karet and Tanah Kusir, the Kober cemetery has no definite boundaries and is joined to the dense residential area nearby.
Graves are scattered among the houses and sometimes even become part of their front or back yards.
It is common to see the graves spread out; they are a part of everyday life for the people who live there.
Even though two bodies had been buried on the site that very morning, enthusiasm to watch the final match was not abated.
The game was broadcast on a big screen placed among stones and graves.
Soccer enthusiasts sat and ate on the graves while watching the game on the screen.
Herman Sepu, a community leader, said he organized the event in an effort to strengthen social bonds between residents.
He said Revi Husodo from the Institute for Global Justice was kind enough to lend him a movie projector and a big screen for the event.
"I was trying to provide inexpensive entertainment to these people. They cannot afford to enjoy the big match in cafes or other places in Jakarta," Herman said.
He said most of the residents are laborers or unemployed.
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ARSONI Buana (not verified) — Wed, 07/02/2008 - 6:40am
While "strengthening social bonds" effort urges you to think harder when resources are limited, using public cemetery -a common place in which people can gather easily- can be seen as a brilliant idea. It is because that public cemetery has power to bond the residents due to its communal characteristic.
Jason Derrick (not verified) — Wed, 07/02/2008 - 5:37am
A graveyard is supposed to be an eternal resting place and not a sports cafe. Not only respect for the living has been waning in Indonesia, but also the dead are being treated without any respect. The spirits of the deceased will take revenge upon those who desecrate the graves.