Bombings given graphic novel tribute
Ni Komang Erviani, Contributor, Kuta | Wed, 10/13/2010 10:24 AM
A graphic novel depicting the deadly terrorist bombing of two Kuta nightclubs in 2002 was launched Tuesday in Kuta.
The 130-page book, titled “When Conscience Speaks Out”, recounted the events during and the aftermath of the bombings from the perspectives of three characters: a hero, a victim and a tormented terrorist.
The book’s lead character, Haji Agus Bambang Priyanto, is a local Muslim leader who rallies young Muslims to conduct search-and-rescue efforts in the minutes after bombs leveled Sari Club and damaged Paddy’s Pub.
The other primary characters are Hayati Eka Laksmi, a mother of two who loses her husband in the
bombings and Ali Imron, one of the attack’s perpetrators.
The book captures Hayati Eka Laksmi’s struggle after the bombings as she copes with her personal loss and the reality of raising two children alone.
Ali Imron narrates his involvement in the planning, preparation and execution of the attacks as well as the excruciating grief and remorse that haunts him later.
The book was published by the Lazuardi Birru Foundation, whose chairman, Dhyah Madya Ruth, said that the book was intended to educate young people on the dangers of terrorism.
“We want to disseminate the values of non-violence and a culture of peace so our young people will not be contaminated by the values of radicalism and terrorism,” she said.
The foundation printed 2,000 copies of the graphic novel and will distribute them to schools, mosques, and Islamic boarding schools.
The 8th anniversary of the bombings was commemorated on Tuesday. At the Bali Bombing monument, a group victims gathered, including some who survived the 2005 Bali bombings and the JW Marriot hotel bombing in Jakarta in 2009.
Nyoman Rencini, 39, a mother of three who lost her husband, Ketut Sumarawat, a taxi driver, in the 2002 bombings, said she still had vivid memories of that night.
“I live my life as best I can. Sometimes I think I can live without my husband while in fact I simply can’t,” she said with tears in her eyes.
