Indonesians raise funds for quake victims

Dubai: For the second year in a row, Indonesians in the UAE have had to turn their recent annual get-together into a charity concert, this time to benefit the victims of the deadly earthquake in Yogyakarta.

Last year, organisers of the community event collected donations for the victims of the Boxing Day tsunami and Nias earthquake, which killed about 170,000 combined.

Despite that, Indonesians here are taking it in stride, passing off the latest disaster, which has claimed more than 5,000 lives, as "fate". Most of the Indonesians in the UAE are from Java, with relatives in quake-affected areas.

Alden Antawirja, whose uncle and his cousins were displaced by the earthquake, said it was a hard lesson to learn.

"It is our fate. We cannot refuse what God gave us. It is the best way to teach us to be better than before," he said.

NNina Fibriyanti, from a town near Surabaya in East Java, agreed, saying that the event gave a chance for Indonesians to show their solidarity with people back home.

Like other Indonesians Gulf News talked to, she did not question why Indonesia has suffered its fair share of natural disasters.

"[The earthquake] was just nature. We can't do anything about it so we just accept it," she said.

Agus Salim, chairman of the Indonesian Ketoprak Arts and Culture Society, said pragmatism was a strong part of the Indonesian character. His society organised the event. "Life goes on. We cannot just stay in our rooms because our people died," he said.

AAt the end of the night, the funds the group collected amounted to Dh7,000, which is 17.5 million Indonesia Rupiahs. So far, almost Dh15,000 has been collected by the Indonesian Consulate General.

Muchtar, Indonesian Consul General, told Gulf News the Indonesian government was appealing for funds, which will be used for the reconstruction process.