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Money to burn
Recently I had a chat with a friend, Dr
R
ecently I had a chat with a friend, Dr. Enrina Diah, a plastic surgeon. She told me she had just been interviewed on ANTV about Santi, a 27-year-old woman from Ambon. In 2003 Santi’s husband had poured kerosene on her in a fit of rage, and then lit her up. Santi survived but was horribly disfigured, unable to work or even take care of her son.
According to freelance writer Irfan Kortschak, her husband was detained by the police after torching his wife, but was never charged let alone prosecuted (the fact that his father was a ranking military officer may have had something to do with that!).
Threatened by her husband, Santi at first said she caught fire when a kerosene stove exploded, but eventually she told the truth. The police, however, said there was a “lack of evidence” and the would-be murderer got off, scot-free. He went on with his life, remarried, and now reportedly gets into fights with his new wife, threatening to set her alight as well.
A few months ago, Maya Satrini, a woman from the Social Workers’ Community Forum (FKPSM), heard about Santi’s plight. She raised enough money to bring her to Jakarta. Here Enrina will operate on her without charge, but there were still other medical and hospital expenses, and of course, the cost of keeping her in Jakarta. How to raise the funds for Santi’s recovery and rehabilitation, Enrina wondered?
Telling me about it, Enrina couldn’t help but compare Santi’s plight to an event she had attended recently. “I was at an up-market bazaar recently to give a talk on plastic surgery, and I saw a woman there carrying a Hermes bag that cost Rp 450 million! [almost US$48,000]!” Enrina was wide-eyed.
“Imagine, if she donated just 10 percent of the cost of the bag to fund Santi’s operation and recovery, it would do so much!”
I nodded in vehement agreement, but thought, hmmm, when a woman sets her sights on a fabulously expensive Hermes bag, can there be any room left in her heart for those who can’t even afford to pay for basic needs, led alone unwanted victims like Santi?
At the time of her husband’s brutal attack on Santi there was a blaze of local media publicity about the tragedy, and promises by the local government to help with her operations. But their promises remained just promises, and no operation materialized. Instead, Santi has been dependent on her mum and her mother-in-law, who also takes care of her son, now nine years old.
Initially, Santi couldn’t move her head, let alone eat properly – food would fall out of her mouth as the lower part of her face, including her lip, had “melted” downwards, and her mouth is constantly open. She still can’t lift her arms, because they have adhered to the side of her body.
Enrina showed me some photos of Santi that Irfan had sent her, taken by Poriaman Sitanggang, a photographer who was working with him on a book about vulnerable groups (and victims of domestic violence like Santi certainly fall into this category!). The images I saw were shocking. Once attractive, Santi’s current state of disfigurement is extremely difficult to behold. What was once skin is replaced by scar tissue, her breasts are gone, and her wrists and fingers are like broken claws. Even now, pus still leaks from unhealed wounds.
But Santi is one gutsy woman. She doesn’t care about her looks, but very much wants to be able to work and take care of her son again - and she isn’t prepared to leave things to fate. Once discharged from hospital she took herself to the local paper to get her story published, hoping someone would give her money for the operations she so desperately needs.
Her story was published in several papers, and resulted in a promise of funding from the Deputy Mayor in Ambon, but – once again – nothing came of the promises.
It was while seeking publicity that Santi met Lely, an NGO activist and former journalist – herself a victim of domestic violence – who introduced her to Poriaman. When she told Poriaman that her dream was to have an operation, he introduced her to Maya the social worker, who managed to get her to Jakarta with donations from her friends. They raised enough money for the ticket from Ambon and lodging in Jakarta.
ANTV also provided financial support of Rp 10 million and lots of publicity, but there still isn’t enough money even for the first operation to repair her neck and lips, which will take place on Dec. 30, 2009. The second operation she needs is for her right armpit and hand, while the third is for her left armpit, wrist and fingers. Each operation will cost between Rp 15-20 million, even without doctor’s fees.
As I listened to Enrina, I couldn’t help comparing Santi’s case to that of Prita Mulyasari, the 32-year-old Tangerang housewife who complained in an email to friends about bad treatment she received from Omni hospital, and was sued for defamation.
Her case struck a chord with the public about the injustice of “the system” in Indonesia – whether it be the health system, the legal system or any other aspect of how this country “works” – something all Indonesians can relate to. Many Indonesians donated to the “Coins for Prita” campaign to support her fight against injustice.
But surely Santi’s case is also about injustice – gross injustice in fact? And that injustice is deeply entrenched in poverty and patriarchal values, only too often expressed through domestic violence aimed at women.
So how about starting a “Coins for Santi” campaign? Who knows, maybe the owner of that Rp 450 million Hermes bag will be moved to donate Rp 45 million worth of coins? (for enquiries, contact Maya Satrini 0813-4541.7563, email maya_fkpsm@yahoo.com).
The writer (www.juliasuryakusuma.com) is the author of Julia’s Jihad.
