It takes a special kind of asshole to steal from a poor, helpless old man, but that’s exactly what happened when 94-year-old banana hawker Suratman from Jambi was robbed of Rp 1.1 million (US$80) on Tuesday.
That morning, Suratman parked his banana cart on the side of one of the city’s main streets. A car containing three people then stopped next to the cart with the driver saying he wanted to buy Rp 15,000 worth of bananas. Claiming that he was embarrassed to be seen outside of the car because he’s fasting, the driver asked Sutarman if he could bring the bananas into the car.
But when Suratman hopped inside, the driver locked the car and the people inside forced the old man to empty his pockets, which contained Rp 1.1 million. After taking the money, they kicked Suratman out and drove away.
A video showing Suratman on the verge of tears immediately after the incident has gone viral and garnered the sympathy of netizens nationwide. It’s especially heartbreaking to hear him say that he was saving the money to buy chairs to celebrate Eid at his house later this month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlvyJa-X3Kw
As horrible as the robbery was, there was a silver lining in it for Sutarman. One local resident, who goes by the Facebook handle TommyReza Chokolatoz, helped make Suratman’s robbery go viral online and started a fundraiser so that Suratman could buy his chairs, and a whole lot more.
In just one day, netizens donated Rp 37,197,000 (US$2,800) to Suratman, despite the fundraiser being carried out mostly through Facebook and not through any of the official channels. That said, TommyReza yesterday posted an update of himself giving the money to Suratman, with photos and videos as proof of the donation.
https://www.facebook.com/rezachoko/posts/1381604735257849?pnref=story
Suratman continued to be showered with good fortune. The father of 10 and grandfather of 52 yesterday received a visit from Jambi Governor Zumi Zola, who donated Rp 5 million of his personal money to the banana seller. Zola also bought all the banana Suratman had for Rp 500,000.
Suratman’s robbers have not yet been identified. May they enjoy their tainted banana money.
