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People, not numbers: The wise legacies of matriarch Dede Komara binti Oyo Saryo
Described as “the mother figure” by her family and relatives, the sudden passing of Dede Komara binti Oyo Saryo, 84, has left a void in those she left behind, including her two nieces, Ammy and Felysa.
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Tight family: (L-R) Eva, the wife of Hendra Mulya (second from left), Dede Komara binti Oyo Saryo (who recently died of Covid, Aik Dahlia, Ipong Sholeh and his wife, Lola. (Dede Komara binti Oyo Saryo family) (Personal collection/Courtesy of Dede Komara binti Oyo Saryo family)
T
he sheer number of people who have died of COVID-19 can make it easy to forget that behind the statistics are the stories of individual lives cut short by the disease. The Jakarta Post's column “People, not numbers” is dedicated to these extraordinary people and their lives, as told by those who knew them best.
Dede Komara binti Oyo Saryo drew her last breath at 11 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2021 at her home in Bandung, West Java. She was 84 when she passed unexpectedly, and it was later discovered that her death was related to COVID-19.
Ammy Cynthia, Dede’s favorite niece, looked back at how her Facebook timeline was filled with posts from relatives paying tribute to the family matriarch. Dede was the one person the family could always count on.
“We could let our guard down and truly be ourselves with her. She kept our secrets and never judged us,” Ammy, a 53-year-old mother of three, told The Jakarta Post.
Despite her old age, Dede’s death came as a shock to her extended family. While she was not particularly known to be mindful of her own health, Ammy recalled that her aunt was never ill.
It was in May when Ammy received a phone call from her mother and Dede’s younger sister Aik Dahlia, 64, telling her that her aunt had fallen in front of the bathroom. Ammy was worried, yet she knew it would be unwise to travel from her home in Pamulang, South Tangerang, Banten, to visit her elderly aunt in Bandung during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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