Heroes’ Day, which is celebrated on Nov. 10 every year, has come again. This is the time for the people to pay tribute and remember the spirit of the fighters who sacrificed their lives for Indonesia.
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Heroes’ Day, which is celebrated on Nov. 10 every year, has come again. This is the time for the people to pay tribute and remember the spirit of the fighters who sacrificed their lives for Indonesia.
Hundreds of tombstones lay neatly at the Cikutra Heroes Cemetery (TMP), Bandung. Some of the gravestones are unnamed. There are almost no flowers laid on the unnamed graves, which is normal. However, on Thursday morning, Petra Gilang, 22, prayed in silence in front of one of the nameless tombs. "They have no one to pray for them, although because of their struggles, I am now able to enjoy independence,” said Petra, a young man who has just graduated from the law school of a state university in Bandung.
In the 9.7-hectare Cikutra Heroes Cemetery, as many as 5,782 fighters are buried, 193 of whom remain unnamed. Their tombs are adjacent to those of prominent names such as critical writer Danoedirdja Setiaboedi aka Ernest Douwes Dekker, journalist and writer Abdoel Moeis, and the November 10 warrior Moestopo. There is no separation between them because they all struggled for the same goal to gain independence.
"Every time I pass the cemetery, I always take the time to stop in front of the gate to pray for those lying there. I also did the same thing when I returned home to Kuningan. I went to the Haurduni Heroes Cemetery even though I have no relatives buried there," said Petra, who often visits the cemetery with his friends.
Tamalia Alisjahbana, the daughter of the famous writer Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, also often visits a heroes cemetery to pay tribute and pray for the heroes, including unnamed ones. On Oct. 28, at around 9 o’clock in the morning, she visited the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta. She visited the tomb of Soetan Sjahrir, Indonesia\'s first prime minister; national leader KH Agus Salim\'s tomb and tombs of the unnamed heroes.
"They could be young people from villages whose families were not able to come here," he said while laying flowers on the tombs of the unnamed heroes. Tamalia said that she often visited the cemetery, especially during the observance of Independence Day. Tamalia and Petra are among the few people who often visit the tomb of the unsung heroes.
Ugan, 56, who has worked as a caretaker at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery since 1982, said that only a small number of people came and visited the tombs of the unnamed heroes. But, he is happy now, because since the early 2000s, there has been a growing trend from certain communities to visit the heroes cemetery and pray in front of the tombs of the heroes including those which carry no names. "It is an appreciation for them especially for the unnamed fighters," he said.
Besides the Cikutra and Kalibata heroes cemeteries, many unmanned heroes were also buried in a number of heroes cemeteries in regions around Indonesia. At the Kusuma Bangsa Heroes Cemetery, Surabaya, East Java, for example, there are 895 tombs of unnamed heroes among the 1,735 tombs there. There are also a large number of unnamed heroes buried in three other heroes cemeteries in Surabaya, namely the Ngagel Rejo Heroes Cemetery, the Sepuluh November Heroes Cemetery and the Putat Gede Heroes Cemetery. They were soldiers and civilians who died during the wars for independence.
We can also find many unnamed heroes in the Bukit Barisan Heroes Cemetery in Medan, North Sumatra. Like in other heroes cemeteries like Cikutra and Kalibata, the tombs of unnamed heroes in a number of areas are also rarely visited and rarely receive flowers from people.
In fact, many of us have forgotten that the unnamed heroes have sacrificed their lives for the nation. We remember and talk about them only during the celebration of the Heroes\' Day. Just look at the heroes cemeteries in a number of areas, people only visit them on important days, such as Heroes\' Day and Independence Day.
Heroes Day
Ragil, a caretaker at the Kusuma Bangsa heroes cemetery, said the visitors who came during Heroe’s Day were mostly government officials and military personnel. They have to register first to visit the cemetery. Outside Heroes\' Day, Ragil said he rarely saw people visiting the heroes cemetery, except for the relatives of the heroes who were buried there.
"Every month, the number of relatives of the heroes who visit the cemetery reach no more than 10 people. Every now and then, there are some people or students who come to make a movie about history," said Ragil.
A tomb still frequently visited is the tomb of Bung Tomo at the Ngagel Public Cemetery, Surabaya. The guard of the cemetery, Irwan, 55, said that about four to five people visited Bung Tomo’s tomb every day. The number of visitors usually rises ahead of Heroes\' Day. They mostly consist of elementary and high school students and people from a number of cities outside Surabaya.
At the Bukit Barisan heroes cemetery in Medan, visitors usually crowd the cemetery on Heroes\' Day. Outside that important day, the number of people visiting the cemetery could be counted on one’s fingers, said Nasrun of the social service of the North Sumatra provincial government, which is in charge of the Bukit Barisan cemetery.
At most, only five people visit the cemetery every day and they are mostly relatives of the heroes. On Heroes\' Day, he said, the visitors were mostly government officials, military and police personnel. "The general public is almost nonexistent," he said.
Lamhot Hutagalung, a student at the University of North Sumatra, said that he often passed in front of the Bukit Barisan heroes cemetery. However, he has never entered. He does not even know the names of the heroes buried there.
Our memories of the past history are indeed limited. Heroes\' Day is important to remind us that the independence that we enjoy today is the result of the struggles of the heroes, including the unsung ones.