Solidarity without Barriers When Adonara in Mourning

The flash floods that hit Adonara Island in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, raises a sense of social solidarity without any boundaries. In deep grief, the language of love unites the empathy for the victims.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

A woman accompanies the nun to visit the graves of victims of flash floods in Nelelamadike Village, Ile Boleng District, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Tuesday (6/4/2021).

Two veiled women stood, starring at the flames of dozens of candles on the mound of wet earth, where the 37 bodies of the flood victims were buried. The hands of the two clasped tightly together, lamenting the endless sorrow.

Although the two women follow different religions, they prayed together. They prayed for the people who died due to the flash floods. One of the two veiled women is a Catholic nun and the other is a Muslim girl.

On Tuesday evening (6/4/2021), the two women and several other friends came to the mass grave in Nelelamadike Village to pray for the victims. The village on Adonara Island, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) was hit by flash floods with the most casualties. A total of 54 people died and two others are missing.

Also read: Grief Strikes Adonara Island

The flash floods, which flowed through the dead river in the middle of the village, swept away dozens of houses and their residents around 1.30 a.m. on Sunday (4/4) . The victims were buried under earth materials with a length of about 500 meters and thickness of up to 3 meters.

The materials consist of rock and sand, which came from Mount Ile Boleng. The village is located downhill below the mount. Landslides caused by heavy rains destroyed the village.

Also read: Grief Strikes Adonara Island

The suffering of the residents in Nelelamadike village caught the attention of people from other areas, inspiring them to come and help. Apart from the two veiled women, thousands of other people from other villages on Adonara Island, also came to express their sorrow. They also brought relief for the affected residents, such as food and other necessities.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

The ruins of a house that collapsed and buried in mud at the location of the flash flood disaster in Nelelamadiken Village, Ile Boleng District, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Tuesday (6/2/2021).

Dozens of Muslim women wearing a hijab took a pickup van to deliver relief to the disaster management post in the predominantly Catholic village. They also helped prepare food for the victims in the public kitchen in the village.

Noble tradition

Bringing goods as relief when visiting other villages either in times of joy and sorrow is part of the tradition of the people in East Flores. The relief is given to express their empathy and to share in the joy or sorrow of the local residents.

As many as 366 families consisting of 1,246 people live in Nelelamadike village. They all were victims of the floods. Those who survived the flood mostly suffered injuries and trauma, in addition to material losses.

"This grief belongs to all of us in Adonara. It hurts us much. Why are there so many victims? Why did they die like this? " said Rahma Tokan (45), a resident of Witihama Village, about 18 kilometers from Nelelamadike.

This grief belongs to all of us in Adonara. It hurts us much. Why are there so many victims? Why did they die like this?

Meanwhile, young people from neighboring villages also came. They have been helping to look for the missing victims since Sunday morning. They tore up the pile of earth using equipment such as crowbars, shovels and shells. On that day, they found 40 bodies under the earth materials . The next day heavy equipment arrived to help with the search.

Other areas about 14 kilometers west of Nelelamadike were also severely hit the floods. A dead river that divides Waiburak Village and Waiwerang village overflowed, bringing logs, stones and mud . A total of nine people were found dead and two others are still missing. Hundreds of houses were washed away by the floods.

Also read: Speed up Evacuation and Management of Victims

A number of residents from neighboring villages came to help find the missing residents. The search process relied on heavy equipment. In fact, the search area was about 4 square kilometers. Residents shared the tasks, some searched in the coastal area. Women from Lamahala Village also came with food.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Residents are looking for the rest of their belongings that can still be saved in piles of logs and garbage after the flash flood disaster in Waiwerang Village, East Flores District, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Wednesday (7/4/2021).

About 18 kilometers west of Waiwerang, to be precise in Oyangbarang Village, residents used manual equipment to search the missing people. Dozens of residents in a village on the Solor island across the Adonara island also helped with the search. In the village, one resident was found dead and two others were still missing.

"Not only the Adonara people who grieve, we, the Solomon people, are also in mourning," said Willy Petung (35), a resident of Solor. They came to the location by a motorized boat, sometime after the flash floods on the Sunday morning. In fact, at that time the sea waves were still high.

We don\'t need to wait for help from the government because Adonara\'s current condition is difficult to reach.

People from the neighboring village of Oyangbarang also came with food. Some of them raised funds doors to doors to buy foods for the victims. They also helped cook meals for refugees or volunteers who helped search the missing people.

"We don\'t need to wait for help from the government because Adonara\'s current condition is difficult to reach. Let\'s work together. We should not rely on the government. The government has taken care of too many things, especially in the midst of this disaster, ”said Yos Suba, a resident of Baniona Village, about 3 km from Oyangbarang.

Also read: Tough Challenges to Access Adonara Island

On Wednesday evening, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) sent five excavators to help find victims and four dump trucks to transport foodstuffs. High sea waves and lack of access roads made it difficult to deliver the relief to the Adonara island.

The head of BNPB, Doni Monardo, appreciated the solidarity of the residents in handling the disaster on the Adonara island. The residents help and strengthens each other in helping the flood victims, such as the two veiled women in the mass grave in Nelelamadike.

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.