Almost a year ago, I wrote a blog post titled My Thoughts on Manchester and Others. Never did I think that almost a year later I would write another post over the terror that happened in my home city. Surabaya has always been a peaceful place, but the attack that had taken place recently changed that statement.
Sunday, 3rd May 2018. I was on my way to get some breakfast, right after a weekly mass. It was 06.46 in the morning. Just after the breakfast and I was on my way home, I got a group message. One of my friends was asking whether there was a church bombing or not. Since I did not know for sure, so I replied with 'I don't know'. Minutes into stepping home, I saw a notification from a media, stating that there was a church bombing-no, there were three church bombings. Can you imagine how devastated I was? My legs were practically turned into jelly as I read through the news over and over again.
Then, I remembered my best friend, whose church is pretty close with one of those churches that got attacked. I tried to send her some messages, texted her, and even called her, but they had not been answered, even until an hour later. The others were also trying to contact her. We were pretty worried. But almost three hours later, she finally responded and we could all let out a relieved breath. Thank God. We were glad and worried at the same time. It was later announced that the city was on the highest alert, and that nobody should go out unless they had to.
The event that took place on Sunday morning had me traumatized. The same morning, I attended a weekly mass at my church (which, Thank God, was not one of the attacked churches), and I never thought that within minutes and within miles, other churches would be bombed. But it was not ended that morning. On the evening, the very same day, another explosion happened in Sidoarjo. The location was near Surabaya, and it was only increasing the panic level of the citizens, me included.
Next day, I went to college, attending the morning class, when another devastating news of another bombing was spread. The police station was attacked and just like the previous bombings, it was a suicide bombing. I could only pray, be more aware of my surroundings, and stay safe.
'It happens.' that was what I said rather quietly.
'It could have been me.' was another thing on my mind. 'It could have been my church.'
All those events were a slap to our faces, and for me, it was a smack to my face. I realise that nowhere is safe anymore. The world needs more love, instead of hatred. As we all can see, there are chaos in almost every places in the whole world, and we need to open our eyes wide. One thing I remembered was the irony that I prayed for a peace on earth, on that very morning.
Scared? Yes. Paranoid? Indeed. But we shall not forget those who had fallen; the police officers, the citizens, even we shall pray for those who are misguided. Nobody deserves to die in the most cruel way.
Pray for humanity, for that is something that we lack as human beings.
Pray for every lives, for they are worth saving.
Pray for the world.
Pray for the fallen victims.
And pray for peace both on earth and the kingdom of Heaven.
Despite all those things that happened recently in my home city, and on the other parts of the world, I want to say deep condolences to those fallen victims. Nobody signs up for a one way ticket to a mass and never come home. Nobody signs up for a one way ticket to go to work and never come home. But God's plan is better one way or another.
We should not be afraid. We must fight back, and that is what we do. Fight the fear, heal the trauma, and spread more love.
Lots of Love,
Mary xx
Sunday, 3rd May 2018. I was on my way to get some breakfast, right after a weekly mass. It was 06.46 in the morning. Just after the breakfast and I was on my way home, I got a group message. One of my friends was asking whether there was a church bombing or not. Since I did not know for sure, so I replied with 'I don't know'. Minutes into stepping home, I saw a notification from a media, stating that there was a church bombing-no, there were three church bombings. Can you imagine how devastated I was? My legs were practically turned into jelly as I read through the news over and over again.
Then, I remembered my best friend, whose church is pretty close with one of those churches that got attacked. I tried to send her some messages, texted her, and even called her, but they had not been answered, even until an hour later. The others were also trying to contact her. We were pretty worried. But almost three hours later, she finally responded and we could all let out a relieved breath. Thank God. We were glad and worried at the same time. It was later announced that the city was on the highest alert, and that nobody should go out unless they had to.
The event that took place on Sunday morning had me traumatized. The same morning, I attended a weekly mass at my church (which, Thank God, was not one of the attacked churches), and I never thought that within minutes and within miles, other churches would be bombed. But it was not ended that morning. On the evening, the very same day, another explosion happened in Sidoarjo. The location was near Surabaya, and it was only increasing the panic level of the citizens, me included.
Next day, I went to college, attending the morning class, when another devastating news of another bombing was spread. The police station was attacked and just like the previous bombings, it was a suicide bombing. I could only pray, be more aware of my surroundings, and stay safe.
'It happens.' that was what I said rather quietly.
'It could have been me.' was another thing on my mind. 'It could have been my church.'
All those events were a slap to our faces, and for me, it was a smack to my face. I realise that nowhere is safe anymore. The world needs more love, instead of hatred. As we all can see, there are chaos in almost every places in the whole world, and we need to open our eyes wide. One thing I remembered was the irony that I prayed for a peace on earth, on that very morning.
Scared? Yes. Paranoid? Indeed. But we shall not forget those who had fallen; the police officers, the citizens, even we shall pray for those who are misguided. Nobody deserves to die in the most cruel way.
Pray for humanity, for that is something that we lack as human beings.
Pray for every lives, for they are worth saving.
Pray for the world.
Pray for the fallen victims.
And pray for peace both on earth and the kingdom of Heaven.
Despite all those things that happened recently in my home city, and on the other parts of the world, I want to say deep condolences to those fallen victims. Nobody signs up for a one way ticket to a mass and never come home. Nobody signs up for a one way ticket to go to work and never come home. But God's plan is better one way or another.
We should not be afraid. We must fight back, and that is what we do. Fight the fear, heal the trauma, and spread more love.
Lots of Love,
Mary xx
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