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Jakarta Post

Unity in grief: Jakartans band together to support families of deceased

In some areas of bustling Jakarta, neighbors band together to take care of the deceased until they are laid in their final resting place.

Nina A. Loasana (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Fri, October 11, 2019

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Unity in grief: Jakartans band together to support families of deceased A cemetery worker tends to a grave at the Utan Kayu Public Cemetery in East Jakarta on May 17. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

F

or grieving families, taking care of all the preparations for a funeral after a loved one passes away, from tending to their body to acquiring a spot in a public cemetery, can be overwhelming. But in some areas of bustling Jakarta, neighbors band together to take care of the deceased until they are laid in their final resting place.

Dimas Trisuseno, a 29-year-old man from West Jakarta, only had a few things to worry about when his father passed away following a heart attack several years ago.

Dimas, whose mother had passed away several years prior and whose relatives lived far away, said he was surprised to see that his neighbors had made all the preparations for his father’s funeral at his home only a few hours after his father’s passing.

“A few hours after my dad passed away, a tent was set up in front of my house and dozens of chairs had been placed under it, and there was food too. I was surprised, I didn’t even know where it all came from or who set it all up,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Dimas said he did not even need to pay for a burial spot in the nearby cemetery, nor deal with the paperwork or organize gravediggers.

“My dad passed away at around 9:00 p.m., after that the neighborhood unit head came to me and asked where I wanted him to be buried. The next morning, everything related to the funeral had already been taken care of. I did not need to pay a cent or worry about anything,” he said.

Dimas said his neighbors tried their best to help his family during their time of mourning, even letting their front yards be used as parking spots for the funeral-goers. They sent meals to his home for several days after the funeral and gave him “mourning” money totaling around Rp 2 million (US$141).

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  • Palmerat Barat No. 142-143
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