Listening to Each Others’ Grievances to Rise Together
Being left in sheer shock from losing family members, the residents tried to heal themselves by seeking justice for what they believed: that the incident was an example of a gross human rights violation.
By
DIAN DEWI PURNAMASARI
·5 minutes read
DIAN DEWI PURNAMASARI
Dozens of residents gathered at RT 004/RW 008 Jatinegara Kaum, Pulogadung, East Jakarta, to pray together for the victims of the May 1998 riots, Friday (12/5/2023).
Murni's face (60) suddenly grew despondent as she remembered her son Agung Tri Kurniawan. He was among the hundreds of deaths caused when a fire gutted Yogya Plaza Klender in East Jakarta during the May 1998 riots. Twenty-five years on, Murni and fellow bereft mothers gathered on Friday night (12/5/2023) in prayers for the deceased.
Dozens of residents had begun to arrive since after isha (the second of Muslims’ five obligatory daily prayers) at a 2-meter wide alley of RT 004 RW 008 Jatinegara Kaum neighborhood in Pulogadung, East Jakarta. Being close to the ill-fated mall, the neighborhood lost many residents in the tragic incident.
Being left in sheer shock from losing family members, the residents tried to heal themselves by seeking justice for what they believed: that the incident was an example of a gross human rights violation. They formed a support system by joining the Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared Families (IKOHI).
As an outreach organization, IKOHI has since supported the empowerment of women, the majority of whom were the victims' mothers, through the establishment of Gemah Ripah cooperative in 2012. The savings and loan cooperative was created to channel the community business group (Kube) program provided by the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry. It has developed with loan disbursement increasing from Rp 500,000 (US$33.38) to Rp 1.5 million per member.
IKOHI chairperson Wanmayetty said the cooperative had been established as a requirement to access financial assistance from the government. As many as 80 people joined the cooperative membership, and later split into eight community business groups.
“The cooperative still exists today. We have a gathering on every last Friday of the month. Thank God, we are still able to distribute loans to victims of gross human rights violations," she said.
Thank God, we are still able to distribute loans to victims of gross human rights violations.
At 10-percent interest, a borrower of a Rp 1 million loan has the obligation to pay the monthly installment of Rp 100,000 11 times. Yetty said the surcharge was more appropriately called an “administrative fee” rather than “interest” given the fact that the fee was charged for the benefit of cooperative members, for example, being spent on food for a monthly gathering.
Members pay the monthly mandatory deposit of Rp 20,000, which can be claimed when a member relinquishes the membership.
IKOHI secretary Zaenal Muttaqien said the cooperative was quite helpful for those either losing a child or husband in carrying on with their lives, receiving loans under the government’s financial assistance program as well as entrepreneurship training.
DIAN DEWI PURNAMASARI
Two mothers of victims of the May 1998 Riots prayed together for the children who died in the unfortunate incident, last Friday (12/5/2023).
Self-empowerment
Being among the assistance beneficiaries, Murni now sells fresh vegetables around the housing complexes in the Pulogadung area. Thanks to a loan from the Gemah Ripah cooperative, she has been able to increase her sales. After being able to afford a freezer to store vegetables and other raw food stuffs, she can augment the amount of purchases and preserve them more properly.
With her vegetable business growing ever since she first began it 25 years ago, she has been able to send her six children to school until they graduated from college. His son works at a state-owned enterprise (SOE) and can afford a new house, all owing to a business apparently started from scratch.
"I am grateful to get acquainted with the women at IKOHI. I can get loan assistance for business and share grievances with fellow victims," she said.
For Ruminah (66), the May 1998 incident plunged her life in the abyss. Not only did her son Gunawan succumb to the deadly fire, but so did her beauty salon booth in Yogya Plaza Klender, ending up in debris.
Recalling the dark episode in her life, she said, devastated her, especially as she, along with other mothers who had experienced loss, additionally endured prolonged stigma. Given reports those killed in the fire included looters, many said the deceased would not attain heaven in the afterlife. “Some say children who died in the mall [fire] will go to hell. I say to them to mind their own fate. We do not want to [die] like that, do we?" she said, looking dejected.
Support system
Yetty said the cooperative set aside funds for social causes to help members in need because of sickness, accident or death.
IKOHI also serves psychological counseling for those in trauma because of what they saw as being treated with discrimination by some society members over the death of their family members. They said they would long endure pain unless the truth was uncovered. For that, IKOHI has provided a mental health counseling program.
“In addition to providing companionship for them to demand justice from the state, we have created a mental health counseling program. The women share a lot about their household problems. Everything is poured out during a counseling forum," she said.
With the assistance of companion groups, cooperatives and civil society, they can continue their lives while rehabilitating their collective memory.
Devie Rahmawati, a social observer from the University of Indonesia, said it was not easy for victims of gross human rights violations to live a normal life, especially for marginalized people who had to struggle to make their livelihood. She said those whose characters were more social and communal, with a high level of social care, would recover more quickly.
She applauded the establishment of support groups, such as the IKOHI’s Gemah Ripah cooperative, saying it was crucial to victims' families’ recovery. She added the assistance provided by victim-outreaching civil society, media and academics would help them so they did not feel alone in facing tragic and traumatic events.
“With the assistance of companion groups, cooperatives and civil society, they can continue their lives while rehabilitating their collective memory. Only then can they demand the state’s recognition by having their legal rights fulfilled," she said.
