Tales of Devotion Amid Difficulties and Limitations
Palu is in mourning. However, many of its residents simply refuse to fall into despair. Stories of devotion are cropping up amid the severe difficulties and limitations.
Marwi, 30, of Pandere village, Gumbasa district, Sigi, came with 50 of his relatives and neighbors to the Anutapura Hospital in Palu on Sunday, Sept 30. With crowbars, shovels and hoes, they were planning to dig into the rubbles of the collapsed hospital.
Marwi believed that he would find the bodies of his three deceased relatives under the rubble, namely those of his mother Sukartin, 50, his sister Safitri and his sister-in-law Afriyanti. When the earthquake hit, Sukartin was being treated in the hospital. Safitri and Afriyanti were there to accompany her. They were on the second floor of the hospital.
Alas, the evacuation effort was fruitless. The two lowest stories of the four-story hospital had been completely leveled. Only the third and fourth floors still stood.
“I will try with all my might to find the bodies of my family members. I will bring them all home and give them proper burials. We hope the government will give us heavy equipment but none have been made available. It has been three days. I pleaded to my relatives and neighbors to help me dig,” Marwi said.
At the very least, Marwi still knew where to look. Subeno, 45, of North Morowali, had no idea where his relatives were. He has found no information whatsoever, including whether any of them are still alive.
He had journeyed 300 kilometers away from his home to reach Palu, where he had been tirelessly looking for his four relatives. He had lost contact with them after the disaster.
He had come to several shelters only to find nothing. He looked at the bodies laid in the parking lot of Palu’s Undata Hospital. Still nothing.
Subeno said he refused to give up. He would visit several more places and waited for the evacuation process to be finished. “Perhaps [they are] under the rubble. It’s not just me. Many of my friends are also in town to find their family members. One has had no contact with 11 family members. Another, with five. I have no idea how to help them when I can’t even find my own family,” he said.
For family
Subeno is not alone in looking for family members. As the third day arrived after the disasters, hundreds of people from out of town arrived at Palu’s Undata Hospital to look for their family members.
Many are looking at the dead bodies one by one, despite many of the bodies being impossible to identify. For the sake of their beloved family members, not even the bodies’ unbearable stench matters anymore.
This is also believed to have driven the inmates at the Donggala Penitentiary to burn down their prison on Saturday evening before escaping.
“The inmates demanded to be released as they wanted to find their families. The chief warden said that only five could go out at a time, under heavy escort. At the time, there were more than 300 inmates,” said inmate Arjun Sinanang.
Apart from in Palu and Donggala, fear also gripped Makassar on Sulawesi’s southern tip. Hundreds of locals are trying to find information of their family members who disappeared after the disasters. However, their efforts have been hindered by the paralyzed telecommunications network after the earthquake.
“I have heard nothing from three of my family members. I have no idea what to do. Access to Palu is difficult,” Makassar resident Hadawiah, 47, said.
Many pin their hopes on online communication. On social media, timelines are filled with people asking for news from their relatives and friends. Many try to share whatever information they have amid the limitations.
The earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Palu and parts of Donggala and Sigi have led to many locals losing their loved ones. Provisional data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) shows that there have been 832 fatalities from the disasters recorded so far. Experts say that the number will continue to grow.
This is heartbreaking. However, there are bonds and devotion thicker than blood. Amid the ongoing search and rescue efforts, there are uplifting tales of people trying to help and console one another in stressful times.
Helping one another
One such tale came from Palu resident Fajri Afilia, 28. After the earthquake, Fajri rescued eight of his family members from under the rubble of the Anutapura Hospital.
Before the earthquake, Fajri was accompanying his mother who was in the intensive care unit (ICU) receiving treatment for hypertension. Seven relatives were visiting. The ICU was located on the hospital’s second story, which was leveled during the earthquake.
“At the time, we were all under the rubble. We had difficulty breathing as the room was filled with dust and the ceiling had collapsed. I just tried to stay calm and find a way out. Eventually, at the end of the room, I found something like a light between all the rubbles. That was how we rescued ourselves,” Fajri said.
He then rescued his family members, one by one. His mother, who was still connected to an IV tube, a respirator and cables to monitor her heartbeat attached to her body, was also rescued. Fajri is now taking care for an injured child who lost his family.
The story of Anwar of Loli Tasiburi village may also inspire people. Just after the earthquake, Anwar ran to the edge of Palu Bay. At that moment, he saw that the water level was receding. He realized that a tsunami was imminent.
“Pak Anwar then shouted to all villagers to run toward higher ground. We all ran to the hills and the cliffs on the other side [of the hills]. Soon after, we saw seawater more than seven meters high crash onto the village. Alhamdulillah [Praise God], everyone in the village survived despite 90 percent of the homes being leveled,” said villager Hamid, 47, who survived thanks to Anwar’s warning.
Disasters leave behind not only trails of sorrow. There are always good people who help others and refuse to fall into panic at crucial times.
(MOHAMAD FINAL DAENG)