June 6, 2006
Yogyakarta
Dear Family and Friends,
It is midnight and Bernie is asleep. I was just awakened by another
aftershock that shook our house, so I decided to write to you.
Since the killer earthquake of May 27, there are several aftershocks
every day, just to keep us on our toes.
One of our friends, Ibu (“Mother”) Wanti saw her
house collapse when the earthquake struck. She escaped, but her
neighbor, Ibu Ngatiyah, was sleeping with her two children. They
were buried in the ruins of their house. Thick white dust, like
smoke, covered the view as the houses went down. Ibu Ngatiyah’s
husband was helpless. He writhed on the ground, crying like a
baby. A few minutes later, Ibu Wanti heard a small voice crying,
“Help! Help!” She climbed through the dense, white
smoke and saw a small hand waving from the rubble. This woman,
without any fear, started to dig through the debris that covered
the hand. It was the hand of Tuti, the daughter of Ibu Ngatiyah.
She found all three of them. Tuti and her brother were protected
by wood and suffered only minor injuries. But their mother was
covered with blood that flowed from her ears and mouth.
Blood soaked the clothes of Ibu Wanti as she carried her friend
in her arms. A Muslim neighbor urged her to say a prayer. As a
Christian, she replied, “I’m sorry. I don’t
know any Muslim prayers!” The neighbor answered, “It
doesn’t matter! Just pray!” So she whispered into
the bloody ear, praying that God would save her and be close to
her. Ibu Wanti quickly found a car that took them to the closest
clinic. But Ibu Ngatiyah died at the clinic. God had other plans
for her: she was called by her Maker. Ibu Wanti became a dear
aunt for her friend’s children and is like a mother for
all the other refugees.
When we visited the ancient temple town of Prambanan, we found
that many of the old houses in my family’s village had collapsed.
At the time of the earthquake, my grandmother was out walking,
after her sunrise Muslim prayers. When she felt the earth moving,
she just sat down. A family member was screaming, searching for
her. He found her sitting on the ground. He told her that her
ancestral home was destroyed. She didn’t react, only smiled.
She said “Biarin. Biarin.” (“Let it go.”)
Grandmother watched her house come tumbling down and gave it back
to God. She knew God’s power in nature and inspired the
faith of her family by her wisdom in the midst of their suffering.
We had moved my family’s carved, teak house, built in 1822,
from Prambanan to our land on the cliffs, overlooking the south
coast of Java. The epicenter of the earthquake was only five kilometers
from the new location of the house. When Bernie went to look at
our cliff house, he fully expected it to be destroyed. As he rode
around the fallen rocks on the way to the house, all he could
think of was, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed
be the name of the Lord.” To his amazement, the house was
undamaged. A miracle. My Muslim family in Prambanan believes the
ancestors led us to move the house so that it would be preserved.
The earthquake inspires people to reflect on their meaning as
human beings. Those of us who experienced the terrible shaking
but found our lives preserved and our houses undamaged are also
led to reflect on what it means to be among “the lucky ones.”
We are not better than the thousands who died or lost everything.
But now we have received another opportunity to continue our lives.
This gift is for a purpose: it is to help our sisters and brothers
in their suffering. Bernie and I had requested leave for the month
of June in order to read, write, and rest. Perhaps God prepared
this freedom for us to serve our neighbors during this critical
time.
Our house became a house of women. Bernie was sick with acute
bronchitis and retreated upstairs, where he handled all our Internet
communication and fundraising. As the leader of the Indonesian
Women’s Coalition (KPI) for our district, I called on our
entire network to help with the relief efforts. All day long the
smell of delicious food wafted through the house as many women
shared in cooking for the earthquake victims. During the first
week we delivered cooked meals, drinking water, fresh fruit and
vegetables, tents, rice, baby formula, sugar, tea, oil, toiletries,
women’s sanitary supplies, and medicine to 22 different
places in four districts, where victims had not been reached and
the damage was most severe.
Our strategy is to serve the neighborhoods of members of KPI
who are direct victims of the quake. Then we find out about all
their families, friends, and colleagues who give us specific information
about the needs in other areas. All day long women use our telephone
to contact people and set up visits. KPI is an inter-religious,
nationwide organization, born out of the new freedoms after the
collapse of Soeharto. Our house is full of Muslim and Christian
women. We all pray together for our unity in serving. Every day,
after cooking and wrapping 100 nutritious meals and buying supplies,
I drive a group of women to the target area. We come like family
members, longing to visit our loved ones. Bringing a cooked meal
is part of Indonesian tradition. We share our own cooking with
those we love. We examine their real situation and contact other
networks, such as the government, Habitat for Humanity, etc.,
which can address their special requests. The role of women after
the earthquake is very important. We embody a different approach
to suffering. One day an Ulama welcomed us at his mosque and expressed
his joy that we brought “women’s sanitary supplies.”
He said the male relief workers did not remember the needs of
their girls and women.
After a week of this work at the grassroots, I was invited to
join a leadership group in Yogya to plan a joint strategy for
relief and restoration that preserves Yogyakarta’s precious
reputation as a center of peace in Indonesia. It is important
that Muslim and Christian local residents work together, creating
an environment of tolerance and cooperation for the good of the
victims. Unfortunately, political and religious groups have seized
on this tragedy to promote their own causes. As they distribute
aid, they plant their flags and discredit other groups. We as
women stand for the unity and dignity of all people. We reject
segregation or appeals to religion and ideology as criteria for
human service. As in many parts of the world, fundamentalism has
been growing in Indonesia. We as Christian and Muslim sisters
and brothers are witnesses that God cares for all, and all are
called to live in peace and justice without discrimination.
I write this letter so that you will know some of the challenges
we face. Thank you for your care for us as we struggle to be faithful
during a difficult time. We could not do it without your prayers
and support. We are so grateful for those who sent gifts. Every
dollar is precious and enables us to reach out to others. You
are our partners in empowering the victims so that they have hope
and can rebuild their lives in peace. On behalf of the women of
KPI: Thank you.
With love from the field,
Farsijana and Bernie
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 129
If you would like to help, please send a donation to Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.), Central Receiving Service, 100 Witherspoon Street,
Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Put this Disaster Relief number on
the subject line of your check: DR000146.
To give online, click on the "give" button below.
|
