Cries of Sorrow on Shores of Lake Toba

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

A woman whose relatives remain missing in the Sinar Bangun passenger ferry accident on Lake Toba, North Sumatra, cries on Tuesday (19/6/2018) in Tigaras Port, Simalungun regency. The number of missing victims has reportedly risen to more than 200 people.

Hundreds of people broke down in tears at Tigaras Port in Simalungun regency, North Sumatra, crying over missing family members after the KM Sinar Bangun ferry capsized on Lake Toba on Monday (18/6/2018).

Darto, 45, sat in silence at the port on Wednesday (21/6) with an empty stare and red eyes. His tears seemed to have dried after he had been crying for three days, ever since he had heard the news of the vessel capsizing during a voyage from Simanindo Port in Samosir regency to Tigaras Port on Monday afternoon. He had yet to hear any news regarding eight members of his family who had been on the ferry. They among the 195 people still unaccounted for in the accident.

Darto first received news of the accident from his friend through WhatsApp. He was worried, as his eight family members had gone on a trip to Samosir that day. “I called them one by one. None of the cell phones were active. All of us just broke down and cried,” he said.

Darto’s eight family members were Juniko, 23, traveling with his wife Yenni, 17, and their 2-year-old son Rikki, Doni Septian, 28, with his wife Arin, 29, one nephew, Wagino, 18; and two nieces, Salama Febriana and Maya, both 14.

They all lived in a neighborhood in Nagori Sait Buttu Saribu village in Pamatang Sidamanik district, Simalungun. Before leaving for the Toba trip, the eight people bade everyone farewell. “I had told them to just go by car. However, they insisted on using three motorbikes, to make it easier to get spots on the ferry. As it turned out, the ferry was the end for them,” Darto said.

Darto said he had been unusually tearful when the eight said their goodbyes. Doni Septian, Darto’s nephew, had planned to bring along his infant son Alif. “Just before the group departed, Alif’s grandma grabbed Alif from his mother. Alif’s mother then tried to take Alif, but his grandma refused to let Alif go. In the end, Alif did not join the trip, despite having been all dressed up,” Darto explained.

Upon learning of the accident, Darto left for Tigaras Port. He saw his nephews’ three motorbikes parked there. The family cried when the parking lot attendant told them that the motorbikes’ owners had not showed up since Monday.

Young couple

In another corner of Tigaras Port, Suwarni, 55, and Ngatinem, 48, stood under the scorching sun and cried their eyes out. Suwarni is the mother of Ivan Rahmat Saputra, 21. Ngatinem is the mother of Ayu Lestari, 19.

“I will not go home before my son’s body is found. I want to hug him for the last time,” said Suwarni, who lives in Batubara regency, North Sumatra. Ivan and Ayu had been in love and had planned to tie the knot, after dating for seven years.

When Ivan and Ayu departed for Lake Toba, Suwarni had told them not to cross the lake to Samosir. “However, when I called him on Monday morning, Ivan said that they were already on the boat. I scolded him and told him to use land transportation on the return journey,” Suwarni said.

Upon catching a news report of the accident on television, Suwarni was overcome with anxiety. She called all four cell phones that Ivan and Ayu had, and all were dead. Later, one of Ivan’s friends showed her a video of Ivan and Ayu sitting in the boat.

Ngatinem said that, before Ayu had left for Lake Toba, she had asked her mother to spoon-feed her. “I spoon-fed her a whole plate of rice. The request honestly moved me. I thought, what is it with her?” Ngatinem said.

Suwarni and Ngatinem left together for Tigaras without any preparations after hearing the news. They did not even bring spare clothes. Since Monday, their meals only comprised of two or three spoonfuls of rice. At night, they slept at local people’s homes. They prayed the entire time that their children would be found.

Similar distress was found at Simanindo Port, where Maria Sidauruk, 22, was anxiously staring at her cell phone most of the time. Every time someone approached her, she had a hopeful face, just to go lifeless again every single time, as no one brought her good news.

Maria lost 12 members of her family in the accident, namely the couple of Ledikson Nainggolan and Lilis Lubis along with their three kids, who were from Jakarta, along with seven Nainggolan family members from Sionggang, Sidamanik district, Simalungun. Three of the 12 were teenagers. They had boarded the ferry at 4:45 p.m. after attending a traditional Batak event in Simanindo, the Mangokal Holi ceremony, in which people pay respects to the bones of their ancestors.

“Just before they boarded the boat, I was still insisting that they just spend the night here. I was concerned, because there was strong wind. My cousins wanted to stay, but their parents wanted to leave, as they planned to take a trip to Bulbul beach in Balige,” Maria said.

As of Thursday (21/6) night, hundreds of locals were still gathered at the Tigaras and Simanindo Ports. Some were resting at the homes of local residents around the ports, refusing to go home before their family members were found.

On Thursday, family members of the victims threw betel leaves, tobacco and limes into the lake in a traditional ritual. Some threw in flowers. Robert Sidauruk, 53, who lost his son Hotlan P Jaya, 23, said he hoped this would be the last such accident.

(ADITYA P PERDANA)