Humanizing the Bodies of Cianjur Earthquake Victims

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

The SAR team evacuated the bodies of landslide victims caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 in the Warung Shinta landslide area, Cugenang District, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Friday (25/11/2022).

Day by day, the bodies of earthquake victims in Cianjur Regency, West Java, are becoming increasingly difficult to identify. Officers are desperately trying to put names to the lifeless bodies.

Indra Sanjaya (41) had tears in his eyes when he saw two bodies covered in shrouds, on mats and in coffins at the Sayang Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Cianjur on Monday (11/28/2022). The two bodies were his family members who had been missing a week after the earthquake.

"When the SAR [search and rescue] team found them, Mang [Uncle] Udin and his daughter, Annisa, were hugging each other," said Indra quietly. The two family members were buried under a landslide and the ruins of their house during a 5.6-magnitute earthquake on Monday (21/11) afternoon. The earthquake destroyed the houses of his parents and relatives in Cugenang Hamlet, Cijedil Village, Cianjur. Six members of his family were also found dead, including his father, Kamaluddin (69). However, Endin Saepudin (37) and Annisa (6) were the last to be identified.

"Now I'm relieved, all the family members have been found even though they died," he said while looking at the photo of the six relatives who had disappeared.

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Underneath the photo stored on his cell phone was written the message, "Hope you will be found my brothers soon, I hope you will be found."

He had to ensure that the bodies were his missing family members.

Indra expressed his gratitude to the SAR team, volunteers, police, military and disaster victim identification (DVI) officers. The condition of the corpses was no longer perfect because they had been buried for days. He had to ensure that the bodies were his missing family members.

Apart from bringing identifiers, such as a family card and photos, Indra also needed to explain the characteristics of his family. For example, what clothes the victims were wearing before the incident and whether there were any scars on the bodies. Behind that, there were officers struggling to identify them.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

The SAR team evacuated the bodies of victims of landslides caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Cugenang road which is the main route connecting Bogor Regency and Cianjur Regency in Cugenang District, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Friday (25/11/2022).

When Indra was answering the officers' questions at the ante mortem post, First Adj. Insp. Adjutant Linda Lestari (43) went back and forth to the morgue.

The officer from the Forensic Medicine Agency in the Medicine and Health Sector (Biddokkes) of the West Java Police was busy examining the bodies. The smell of corpses and disinfectant that penetrated her mask was not a problem for her.

Asking for permission from the corpses

Despite the amount of work, Linda's actions were not inattentive. She still asked for permission from the corpses despite not receiving an answer. “For example, when I tilt the corpse, I say, 'Sir, madam, I'm sorry I tilt you, OK'. I don't differentiate between corpses and patients. Everyone should be treated well," she said.

That's why when the earthquake occurred, Linda, a single parent with three children, immediately went with the West Java Police Biddokkes. "The children keep asking, 'When is Mama coming home?' Moreso the third child. He wanted me to sleep with him. But, they understand my work, really,” she said.

Still worried about aftershocks, Linda and other officers rest under a tent with folding beds.

Over the last seven days, she has often identified bodies until late at night. Still worried about aftershocks, Linda and other officers rest under a tent with folding beds. "When I sleep, I wear a hazmat," she said.

Linda's happiness is when the bodies of earthquake victims can be identified and returned to their families and she mourns when the corpses remain nameless. "Oh God, who is this? Hopefully they'll be identified quickly," she says to herself.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

The SAR team had to cross the river to evacuate the bodies of victims of landslides caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Cugenang road which is the main route connecting Bogor Regency and Cianjur Regency in Cugenang District, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Friday (25/11/2022) .

Head of Forensic Medicine at Biddokkes of the West Java Police, Comr. M. Ihsan, said officers found it difficult to recognize bodies that had been buried for days and incomplete body parts. Moreover, if the skin on the palms was had come off.

Officers will find it difficult to detect the victim's fingerprints. In fact, fingerprints can reveal the victim's identity if it is recorded on an electronic identity card. That's why the population and civil registration service office is on standby at the missing persons post at Sayang Hospital.

If the corpse's fingers are wrinkled, it must be injected with a special liquid. If fingerprints cannot be detected, officers then coordinate with other experts, such as dentists, to identify the victims. However, not all families have dental medical record data.

Officers ask residents to be patient waiting for identification results.

This situation has hindered the process of identifying the bodies. Ihsan and five forensic doctors from a number of agencies and organizations continue to struggle to identify the bodies of the earthquake victims. At the missing persons post, about 20 officers serve the victim's family. Officers ask residents to be patient waiting for identification results.

Ihsan confirmed that identification was one of the efforts to humanize the corpse. “This work has ethics. For example, [we] don't talk about corpses at all, talking in scientific terms. [There is] no laughing at or gossiping about [bodies]. The secrecy of the bodies is guaranteed," he said.

As of Monday afternoon, DVI officers had received 162 body bags consisting of 159 containing whole bodies and three bags containing body parts. A total of 146 bodies were identified. Officers are still processing seven bodies and two body parts.

In the midst of waiting for the residents to find the bodies of their families, officers continue to struggle to find out the identities of the bodies of the earthquake victims. The pungent smell, the cold nights and the aftershocks have not dampened this humanitarian work.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

A number of residents came to the West Java Regional Police DVI Ante Mortem Post at Sayang Regional General Hospital, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Monday (28/11/2022). They are looking for information about the bodies of their families who were affected by the earthquake.

“I remember when I first came here [Cianjur Hospital]. As soon as I got out of the car, I smelled the scent of jasmine flowers, very fragrant. I consider this a welcome. Our intention is here to help. Hopefully our work will also be assisted," said Ihsan.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).