I think many of you have heard about the Setu Gintung tragedy in Jakarta last Friday. “Setu” is a Javanese word for dam. Due to aging and lack of proper maintenance, the 76 years old, 21-hectare dam collapsed and let tons of water free, smashing houses and the villages around, leaving a mass destruction behind. Could you imagine being hit by a heavy torrent while sleeping soundly in your bed? Or seeing your baby wrenched away from your arms by tsunami-like torrent of water?

I saw this tragedy on the news and felt sorry for the victims. But it’s not the same when you actually go and see the site for yourself. Yesterday, a few of our office workers, including me, decided to visit Setu Gintung to give some donations we’ve been collecting the day before. Arriving on the site’s gate, none of us were allowed to continue our journey further. Hundreds of volunteers, policemen and paramedics wearing hygiene masks were busy delivering clothes, food and water to the victims, spraying and cleaning the area, and, yes, looking for undiscovered bodies under the thick mud. One of the volunteers said that they’ve just found another body, and that the area was heavily damaged and dirty, thus it was dangerous for us to go further inside.

The air smelled of rotten bodies and suddenly I felt dizzy and there was a lump in my throat. I imagined what if it happened to me or my family, or my friends, and suddenly I felt really thankful that I was alive, breathing and happy. Suddenly I felt very lucky to be me, and ashamed of my day-to-day whining and complaining. I remember the Aceh’s tsunami, and shuddered to think that it must be a hundred times worse than this. At that time, I felt that it was far from where I lived, and somehow not really connected to my daily life.
After handing the donations, we continued to visit the house of our co-worker, which was located near the damaged area. The current also hit her neighbourhood, but not very badly. She lost her car, but thankfully her family and her house was safe. She told us that one of her neighbours’ house was damaged severely, and that the resident found a baby’s dead body floating in his living room.
Visiting Setu Gintung, I was reminded to be thankful everyday, and live the most of my life, in case tomorrow never comes. Let us hope for no more catastrophe in this world. And let us say a little prayer, just a few words spoken in our heart will do, for the souls passed away in this tragedy. That’s the least we could do.

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