A close shave in Jakarta

10 years ago today, I had a close shave with death. I was in the Marriot Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on 5 August 2003 when a suicide bomber drove a car up the driveway and detonated a bomb that totally destroyed the front portion of the hotel, its lobby and the Sailendra Restaurant by the side of it. 13 people were killed in that blast and 150 people injured. I was lucky to escape, but the blast has left me with a deficiency of hearing in my left ear. 

I had just arrived in Jakarta from Surabaya that morning and took a taxi to the Marriot where I checked in at 1130 hours. I remember being very impressed with the spacious hotel lobby and the ceiling-high glass that surrounded it. I was then shown to my room 23 floors up. As usual, I started to unpack, kept my passport in the safe deposit box and settled to call my clients to confirm meetings. When I could not get them on the phone, I looked at my watch, it was 1220 hours, lunch-time. I decided that I too should have my lunch before starting the frenzy of meetings and visiting healthcare institutions. 

I took the lift down to the lobby, and as I walked out, I noticed there was a queue to the Sailendra Restaurant on my right, which was packed with the lunch-time crowd. I thought I might as well use my time to explore the lobby instead of joining the queue; but something held me back. I was afraid I could not get a table for lunch! So I went back and joined the queue.  It soon came to my turn. A young waiter came to me, "Do you have a table for one?" I asked, guilty at the thought of occupying one table to myself when they were so crowded. He replied, "Give me one minute" and went into the cafe, turning towards the window area where one could look out of the hotel. I remember being elated that I was going to get a window seat with a view! 

That was when the bomb went off! Everything happened all at once, a loud shattering sound, the lights went off, and people screaming and rushing out of the cafe! I was still standing there, frozen, not knowing what was happening! A big pillar on my left had sheltered me from the blast! In their panic to get out, people were pushing me around. I turned and saw some people running to the left side of me, while some were running to the right. In my daze, I followed the people to the left and scrambling with them, we came to a stop and crouched down. I looked up and saw that we were outside the toilet door! A dead end! I noticed that the girls huddled with me were hurt and had blood running down their faces, with cuts on their forehead, neck and arms. They were crying. I was murmuring my prayers to God to help us. 

A few minutes passed, then we heard a voice shouting, "Lari dari sini!" (run from here). We got up and followed one another, navigating slowly through the thick shattered glasses strewn all over the floor. There was no lobby, just a big open gap and fire was raging on the far end to our left.  I could only take small steps as it was slippery walking on broken glasses; and was heading towards where I knew the entrance of the hotel to be. There was a big crater on the ground and walking round it, I managed to come out into the open air. I crossed the small road and facing the hotel, I realized what I had just narrowly escaped, a terrorist attack! 

I was still in a daze and saw people running out; fear and panic on their faces, some with their shirts drenched with blood. Outside was pandemonium, with the sirens of police cars and ambulances as they converged to the hotel. Then I noticed a guard sitting by the side of the road, his head and hands dripping with blood. Suddenly a girl with a glass shard still on her bleeding forehead came to pull me down the road, away from the site. I realized later that she had feared there may be another bomb, just like the one in Bali, where many were killed by a second explosion while running out to escape!   

A young man came by and took me to the Singapore Embassy nearby. We were the first to get there and when the Embassy staff saw my blood-stained blouse, they thought I was hurt - but on close examination, I had no injuries. The blood spattered on me were from those injured during the confusing rush-about. 

I give a lot of credit to the management of Marriot Hotel in the way they handled this emergency. They mobilized a team of people to help, called all the Embassies to locate their guests, arranged an alternative hotel for us, and reassured us that we would be able to get our belongings from the damaged hotel. (Indeed they did get my passport and money from the safe box to me late that night!)

That evening, as we gathered in the hotel, strangers became friends, emotionally bonded by a tragedy that could have taken any of our lives; as each of us tearfully related our story of how we got out from the carnage. Although all of us were shattered by the disaster, some were clearly traumatized. One man started to cry, as he recalled seeing a chandelier dropping on a group of young office workers who had just come out of a conference for their lunch break. He was sitting in the lobby lounge which was on the opposite side of the Sailendra Restaurant. Another told us how they had to break a window and tried to jump down to the car park but it was too high, so they followed a cook, and ran through an "endless corridor" until they came to the back of the hotel! Yet another said that while running out, his friend froze halfway, unable to run, paralyzed by fear! He had to forcefully pull him along!  

Many of us left for home the next day. As I sat in the airport lounge waiting for my flight to Singapore and watching the news of the bombing and casualties on television, a sudden overwhelming emotion swept over me and I could not contain my tears! It was more a guilt feeling that I had not helped those injured when I was there! Shock and disorientation got the better part of me that day. The sight of the bleeding semi-conscious guard was to remain in my memory for months!

Many of the injured, especially those who suffered burns, spent months in hospital. I shuddered at the thought when I read in the papers that one man spent 2 years in hospital treating his burns followed by a series of skin grafts!    

Divine grace saved my life that day, and I am ever thankful to a Merciful God who not only loves us but is the unseen presence with us, near us, guiding and helping us as we face the demands of each day. All we need is to be aware; to do good always and to live our lives pleasing to Him, our God of all good and compassion. 

I sing with the Psalmist: 
                                       "Make us know the shortness of our life
                                        that we may gain wisdom of heart."
                                                                          Psalm 89:12

See link to the news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3124919.stm