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Families mourn deaths of sons in postelection riots
“I no longer care who the president is. Politics will never bring my grandson back to life,” said Halimah. Her grandson Widianto Rizky Ramadhan died on Wednesday in a riot in Petamburan.
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A protester is carried by his friends after getting shot by a rubber bullet in Jatibaru, Central Jakarta. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he body of Widianto Rizky Ramadhan was laid to rest at the Karet Bivak public cemetery in Central Jakarta next to his mother’s tomb. The 17-year-old vocational school student died on Wednesday in a riot in Petamburan.
Rama, as his family and friends called him, died from gunshot wounds to the front of his neck, according to his family. The news of his death came as a shock to his grandmother Halimah, who recalled her grandson as being a diligent student and intern at a mall in West Jakarta. Rama lived with Halimah in her house on Jl. Haji Raisun in Palmerah, after his mother died. His father and brothers lived separately.
Read also: Post-election unrest grips Jakarta
“He was a healthy boy. He weighed around 100 kilograms. He was also smart. He was oftentimes ranked top of his class,” Halimah told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, reminiscing about her grandson, whom she said never publicly expressed political support for either Joko “Jokowi” Widodo or Prabowo Subianto.
He did not get to vote for the first time either as he had not yet obtained an ID card, Halimah added.
She said although he preferred staying at home as opposed to going out with his friends, he left the house after sahur (predawn meal) on Wednesday morning. Neighbors his age went to his house and invited him to go to Petamburan, where protests were taking place after a similar protest was staged in front of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).
She and other family members initially forbade him from going, but Rama insisted on leaving. Halimah said her grandson did not have any bad intentions and believed he would help any injured victims.
