by Dames Alexander Sinaga
PALU, Indonesia, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Under a blazing sun in the Indonesian town of Palu, Amir Irwan was shedding tears when he was staring at a land with cherry trees from a dead-end street where he was standing alone.
The land area used to be a village before the destruction by an earthquake in late September 2018, in which over 1,000 residents were believed to have died, including Irwan's wife and son with 11 other relatives.
Irwan, who was remarried, lives with his new family in a rented house in the downtown, around 20 minutes drive away from the destruction area.
"When my heart tells me to come here, I come here," the 44-year-old man said. "We had so many beautiful memories together that will last forever."
POST-DISASTER FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES
Since the disaster, the Indonesian government has prohibited people from building houses in the area due to vulnerability. Surviving victims have been forced to migrate or settle in temporary or permanent housing provided by the government.
Suharyadi was one of the survivors who have been relocated to a house situated around 100 meters away from the area. Many other survivors in his neighborhood have been experiencing financial difficulties after the devastation, he said.
The 61-year-old man came up with several plans, including agritourism and a community-based disaster memorial museum featuring collections and information on the destruction. He has also seen people from outside the city or the country continuously coming to learn more about the disaster in the village.
Using his own money, he has built an entrance portal to access the area as well as a memorial tower. He also called on the government to allow them to utilize it for agritourism and encourage other fellow survivors to work together with the museum project in his neighborhood.
"These are not for me, but for the community here. Importantly, our future generations will always be aware about the destruction," he said.
RECOVERING FROM TRAUMATIC DISASTER
Commemorating five years of the disaster, at least 200 people performed a dawn prayer in the yard of the Palu mayor office on Thursday before throwing flowers into the sea as part of the ceremony. Tito, a surviving victim, was present at the annual gathering for the first time and never expected that all of his trauma related to the disaster would be recovered fully.
Tito and his friends used to run a cafe and a gym in a three-storey house at a beachfront business area in the city. He was supposed to be at work on that day, but his one year and three months old baby cried and insisted on being with him when the earthquake occurred. He decided to keep staying at home near the city's airport. But his friends, employees and guests were killed in the disaster with bodies not found.
Following the disaster, Tito was full of anger about the circumstances and found difficulties to share feelings with others. He once moved to Makassar in South Sulawesi to seek relief, but it could not work. He returned to Palu.
"I thought I would feel secure in the city, but I still feared entering high buildings," the 49-year-old said.
While running a travel agency to make a living, Tito had been trying to find out the cure to heal his disaster trauma until the dawn prayer he attended.
"Maybe they are not of the same blood. But they can be your friends," he said. ■