Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/15/2010 10:02 AM
Two weeks before the Idul Fitri holiday, the nation witnessed hundreds or even thousands of people jostling and trampling over one another to get money and food dispensed in the name of charity in various locations across Indonesia.
Ramadan is indeed a time for giving. The rich used the holy fasting month to display their generosity by organizing events to donate to the poor. In return they only asked for a “little” publicity by inviting TV cameras.
Not surprisingly, some of these events turned into inhuman spectacles, when the number of would-be recipients grew too large and got out of control. Women, children and the elderly were trampled. Thanks to the presence of TV cameras, however, these events were there for all to see.
No one — not even event organizers or police — seemed to be disturbed enough by these unsightly stampedes to come up with proposals for more orderly and humane ways to give out alms to the poor.
Since the events were staged for TV, “feeding frenzies” were probably somewhat expected. A few light injuries were acceptable since they would add a touch of “drama” for the cameras, so long as no one died in the process.
No one had died in any of these events this year … at least not until Friday. Of all the places such a tragedy could occur, it had to be the Presidential Palace, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held the traditional annual Open House allowing members of the public to share Idul Fitri wishes with him and the First Lady.
Many among the poor had learned that besides the chance to shake hands with the President, they would also be fed good food and, for good measure, apparently be given some money too. No wonder there was such enthusiasm among the poor to travel from far-flung places to the Presidential Palace on the big Islamic holiday. Yudhoyono may be popular, but the money was what attracted them the most.
The Presidential Palace staff denied there was a cash handout, although many of the poor in attendance said they were given Rp 100,000 (US$11) each. Even the widow of Joni Malela, the blind 45-year-old who died in the stampede, said the couple had gone to the palace every year to receive alms. Someone is lying.
The police and palace guards washed their hands completely, blaming the crowd’s impatience and inability to maintain order during the stampede.
The Malela widow was compensated with Rp 10 million by the First Family, and police were just as quick to declare this embarrassing case closed. No one was held accountable because Malela and the crowd had apparently brought this tragedy upon themselves.
Since it was nobody’s fault and no one is being held accountable, one can be sure that such stampedes, whether by design or by accident, will happen again and again in the future. And when someone dies, we can blame the unruly crowds.
In 2008, 21 people died in a stampede during a mass Idul Fitri handout in Pasuruan, East Java. This year, it was the Presidential Palace.
In between, no one seems to have bothered to ask how to control these large crowds. If they had, a short trip to Dreamland (Dunia Fantasi) theme park in Ancol, North Jakarta, would have provided answers to this question. There, people from all walks of life, rich and poor, line up for hours on end, waiting their turn for rides.
The theme park’s solution is simple: install barricades long enough so that everyone is forced to queue. Some rides even have turnstiles. Everyone takes their turn, and there is no need for jostling or trampling.
With barricades there wouldn’t be any drama for the TV cameras, but then there wouldn’t be any unnecessary deaths either.
