The Energy Source for the Recovery Operation

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Officers carry debris of the Lion Air plane with the registration code PK-LQP and luggage belonging to the passengers at Jakarta International Container Center (JICT) II, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Thursday (1/11/2018). The plane debris and belongings, which were discovered by a search and rescue team, were handed over by the National Search and Rescue Agency to the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) as evidence for an accident investigation.

Behind the recovery operation for the victims of Lion Air flight JT-610 in the sea off Karawang, West Java, a public kitchen plays an important role, allowing search and rescue (SAR) teams to carry out a search mission.

The people involved in the public kitchen were as busy as those in the search post on Tanjung Pakis Beach, Karawang, West Java, on Friday.

The hands of Ati Sumiati, 40, deftly peeled potatoes at the public kitchen tent. After peeling the potatoes, she cut carrots. Ati was preparing food the search and rescue teams. The mother of three is a resident of a village near Tanjung Pakis Beach. Together with 10 of her neighbors, she has worked as a volunteer at the public kitchen, opened by the social affairs office of the Karawang administration, since Tuesday.

In addition to cooking, Ati and other residents also pack between 1,200 and 1,500 food boxes per meal or between 3,600 and 4,500 food boxes per day.

Ati immediately accepted the offer to help in the public kitchen. She was motivated by a sense of solidarity and the grief over the Lion Air aircraft crash in the sea off Karawang. "Although [I am] only working in the kitchen, it is important that I help. I am happy if all the food boxes are distributed to all members of the search teams," she said.

A similar passion was also felt by Saiin Kodir, 28. The muscles in the upper arm of the member of the Taruna Siaga Bencana (Tagana) disaster volunteer group of Bekasi stiffened as he stirred rice and raised a giant pot. However, he did not look tired. In fact, he is in charge of cooking about 600 kilograms a day.

Saiin, who has been a member of the Tagana disaster volunteer group for four years, said he was proud to be able to help cook in a public kitchen. According to him, disaster management always requires teamwork, including at the kitchen.

"We all hope the victims could be found soon. However, not all people should be involved in searching for victims. There are other teams, including cooking," he said.

The coordinator of the public kitchen of the social service office of Karawang regency, Yanuaris, 27, said there were about 50 people involved in the kitchen. They are members of the Tagana disaster volunteer group of Bekasi, the facilitators of the Karawang Social Service program, and local residents.

Yanuaris said his team rushed to establish the public kitchen after receiving a request on Monday. The following day, the public kitchen began its activities to distribute foods to all search and rescue posts. The cooking team worked hard to provide meals for about 800 personnel from all the teams involved in the search mission in Tanjung Pakis.

"To be safe, we provide at least 1,200 food boxes every day," Yanuaris said. The public kitchen provides food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The kitchen crew is divided into two teams to cook alternately so they have time to rest.

According to Yanuaris, the funds needed to buy food materials for the public kitchen were obtained from the Karawang Social Affairs Office. It also received assistance from the social affairs office of West Java, the National Zakat Agency, and several other parties.

The source of energy

The cooking coordinator, Epi Supartini, 45, tried to provide varied cuisines so that the personnel of the search teams were not bored. "The food is served in a simple way, but it is nutritious. The tough divers should have healthy food to restore their energy," he said.

On Friday afternoon, the food was provided, among others, for a team of divers who were looking for victims all day long at sea. They included divers from the Navy\'s Frogmen Command (Kopaska). With their speed boat, the Kopaska team was seen trying to go to the beach. However, they could not reach it because the water level was too low. Two Kopaska personnel on the ground then took a rubber boat to deliver 90 food boxes to the speedboat passing through high waves. It was done quickly because the team of the divers had to go to the diving site, more than 6 nautical miles away from the coast.

The head of the Bandung SAR office, Deden Ridwansyah, said, in the search mission, all parties involved played an important role, including the public kitchen. "They support each other. Without a public kitchen, it is difficult to restore drained energy," he said.

The coordinator of the team for the Indonesian Red Cross of West Java, Sidik, said the work of the search mission did not start at sea, but rather from the public kitchen. "When all the teams are busy looking for victims, there must be someone who can work for the stomach. A public kitchen has such as responsibility so that the search activities can be carried out optimally," he said.