Borneo Accident
>> Bangun Pribadi Hadi N.
I
was assigned to Borneo to do my
implementation. My distributor was Al
Jamil Amuntai, and going to a small city
somewhere in Kalimantan wasn’t an ideal
work situation for me. One thing, I wasn’t the
kind of guy who liked taking risks. I liked to
play safe and I liked routine. Another thing,
was that I hear really bad things about the
‘jungle’, especially in Kalimantan. Things that
I had been afraid of include but not limited
to: Dayak Hunters who might find me and
then ask for a memento from my body
(no please no), predators who might outrun
me with their four feet, mining accidents,
getting lost in the road due to lack of
signposts.
Thankfully, any of my fears didn’t manifest
in real life. In fact, everything glided so
smoothly in my whole 3 weeks stay in
Borneo. I taught my part smoothly, and the
distributors understood wholly. We made
good friends, ate good food, and said our
goodbye in a good note. Then, the accident
happened.
The bus ride from Borneo to the airport
took a good 6 hours on the road. Our flight
was early in the morning, so we started
the roadtrip at one in the morning. I didn’t
have a good feeling about this, since at two
in the morning I could feel the bus a little
lopsided. I wanted to stay awake and help
the driver navigate, especially the lights were
very minimal in Kalimantan. But then I was
too tired and started to doze off. Until crash
woke me up violently. The driver had driven
unto another bus on the road. Fortunately,
there wasn’t any uphill around so the whole
bus wasn’t flung to the air. We were on a
pretty bad shape, however, and I sustained
a few injuries around my temple and limbs.
Some of the passengers also suffered broken
bones and needed to be sent to the hospital.
I remembered coming into my senses and
feeling pain all over my body. The bus was
upside down and everyone was screaming,
telling me and a few other people to wake
up and get off the bus. It truly was a horrific
experience, and I still develop goosebumps
whenever I was reminded of it. Now I never
forget to pray whenever I step my foot into
any vehicle.
The Chaos in Tobelo
>> Reifandri Azhar
T
obelo isn’t people’s first choice of
Indonesia’s tourism. It is located in
Maluku, which was predominantly
inhabited by Moslems. Tobelo, however, is
almost exclusively Christians and Protestants.
Despite the huge difference, people had lived
amiably for decades here. Until I came for my
job as an implementor there.
Never in my life had I experienced such
emotional turmoil. I was on the street,
when suddenly I heard mirror crashing
and people shouting. Everything went by
with a blur. I stared everywhere, and no
matter where I saw, people were running.
All of them had distorted expression you
wouldn’t normally find. Some looked straight
fearful, some looked twisted, as if they were
thinking really bad thoughts.
My Distributor acted fast and grabbed my
hand and made a run with me. We hid for
quite a
long time,
me
unable
to
Everything went by
with a blur. I stared
everywhere, and no
matter where I saw,
people were running.
stop my hands from shaking and my ears still
blaring from the constant shouting and other
scary voices just outside the building. It was
scary because they targeted muslim-centric
places, and I was afraid that it could lead into
bigger raid.
The police acted fast, fortunately. They all
went on standby in a matter of hours and kept
on guard for the next few days. I managed to
finish my job because of the security I found
in these officers. Even though everything was
chaotic initially, I realized that the raid was
a whole new experience I couldn’t otherwise
knew if I wasn’t sent here.•••
the colors of pratesis / I / JULY 2016 #
23