TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
After bombing: Survivors make peace with past, convicted terrorists
Josuwa Ramos was in the middle of his afternoon shift when a truckload of explosives blew up in front of his workplace, the Australian Embassy on Jl
Change Size
J
osuwa Ramos was in the middle of his afternoon shift when a truckload of explosives blew up in front of his workplace, the Australian Embassy on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Sept. 9, 2004.
Josuwa, who worked as a security guard, his first ever job, at the building’s entrance, was standing only around 6 meters from the explosion.
He recalled that everything happened in the blink of an eye. In seconds, he realized that a metal plate had speared his left calf and another hard object had lodged in his knee on the same leg.
“Only three days after the incident, I had to pass that road again in an ambulance to reach a hospital in Kuningan where I underwent surgery,” Josuwa said on Sunday in a discussion held for the 15th commemoration of the horrific attack.
“I remember, I screamed so loudly when I passed the embassy building because I was traumatized,” the 35-year-old added.
It took him six months to finally be able to work again and a further 18 months to return to his job at the Australia Embassy.
Today, after 15 years have passed, Josuwa said he still felt his body shiver whenever he passed the road.
But he made a pledge to himself not to let the incident haunt him or prevent him from promoting peace and fighting terrorism.
As part of his trauma healing, he joined the Alliance for a Peaceful Indonesia (AIDA) in 2018. Through the group that was established in 2013, Josuwa said he had gained opportunities to promote peace through sharing his experience as a survivor. He has talked about the bombing not only to civilians, but also to convicted terrorists in prisons.
“When I met them for the first time, I didn’t even know that they were convicted terrorists. I entered the room and casually chatted. Suddenly someone from AIDA came and revealed our identities. We were surprised,” he said.
“Then we proceeded with the discussion. I told them my experience and one of them apologized to me on behalf of his ‘colleague’. That was when I realized, we’re all the same as human beings,” the father of three added.
Alongside Josuwa were survivors of other bombing tragedies, namely Ni Luh Erniati from the 2002 Bali bombing, Agus Kurnia from the 2016 Thamrin suicide bombing and Jihan Thalib from the 2017 Kampung Melayu twin suicide bombings.
“The more I talk about that fateful day, the lighter my feelings become. I'm happy to know that my story can move those involved in terrorism to repent for their acts."
Echoing each other, the four survivors agreed that people could not fight violence with violence, but only with compassion.
After making peace with their wounds and getting through their traumas, they now find comfort in speaking to and sharing their feelings with the public, including those who took part in terrorist acts in the country.
For Erniati, having the opportunity to talk in person with convicted terrorists and befriending them were priceless experiences.
From her first meeting with a former convicted terrorist, Erniati said she continued to maintain a good relationship with his family too.
“I lost my husband [in the Bali bombing]. I mourned every single day until I realized the tears and bitterness would neither bring back my husband nor help my children get through the difficult times,” the 48-year-old said.
“The more I talk about that fateful day, the lighter my feelings become. I'm happy to know that my story can move those involved in terrorism to repent for their acts. I’m doing this not to open old wounds, but to keep them alive in our memories so that we can learn from them,” Erniati added.
AIDA director Hasibullah Satrawi called on the government to do more to fulfill the rights of bombing survivors by, among other things, issuing a government regulation (PP) to complete Law. No. 5/2018 on terrorism.
As the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has aimed to expand its coverage and reach more survivors, Hasibullah said the regulation could help ensure compensation was distributed to them.
“The PP is urgent. This is a gamble that will prove whether the state can provide justice to survivors,” Hasibullah said.
He went on to say that the data collection process for victims who have yet to receive compensation would have been completed three years after the law was issued. However, the compensation can only be distributed once the PP is in place.
LPSK application review bureau head Drama Panca Putra admitted that the agency was currently in a difficult financial situation, but was striving to continue its services to victims of violent human rights abuses and survivors of disasters and terrorist attacks.
“We always try to give our best for the victims, regardless of our financial constraints,” Drama said.
It was recently reported that the government had decided to slash the LPSK’s budget for 2020 by Rp 11 billion (US$787,700) to Rp 54 billion from Rp 65 billion in 2019.
In response to the decision, LPSK head Hasto Atmojo Surya said the figure would be the lowest the agency had received in the last five years, during which the agency has received between Rp 75 billion and Rp 150 billion each year.
Of the Rp 54 billion, Rp 42 billion has been allocated to cover daily operation costs and to pay the workers’ salaries, Hasto said in August as quoted by kompas.com.
The agency will have only Rp 12 billion for its witness and victim protection program.
According to LPSK’s 2018 report, the agency took care of a total of 3,307 witnesses and victims, 180 of whom were from terrorism-related events. The protection covers seven matters, namely procedural rights, restitution, compensation and physical, medical, psychological and psychosocial treatment.
