Viral: Motorcyclists get down and walk their bikes past home of JT-610 victim out of respect

Motorcyclists walk their bikes past the home of Jannatun Shintya Dewi, the first victim identified from the crash of Lion Air JT-610, in Suruh Village, located in the East Java regency of Sidoarjo, Screenshot: Bahana Patria / Facebook
Motorcyclists walk their bikes past the home of Jannatun Shintya Dewi, the first victim identified from the crash of Lion Air JT-610, in Suruh Village, located in the East Java regency of Sidoarjo, Screenshot: Bahana Patria / Facebook

It’s hard to imagine the grief still being felt by the families of the victims of Lion Air JT-610’s crash on Monday, as the vast majority are still waiting for search teams and forensic scientists to find and identify their loved ones’ remains.

The first victim to be identified and have their remains sent home for burial was 24-year-old Jannatun Shintya Dewi. The street in front of her family’s home in Suruh Village, located in the East Java regency of Sidoarjo, has become filled with traditional flower signboards from people sending their condolences.

But something else filled the street that awed and touched those from outside Jannatun’s village — the sight of motorcyclists dropping off their bikes and quietly walking their vehicles past the house.

A video of the sight was shared by Facebook user Bahana Patria yesterday and quickly went viral, already being shared over 13,000 times as of the time of writing.




 

In a caption to the video, Bahana says he asked a friend from the area why the motorcyclists were doing that. “It’s a tribute as well as a way of showing empathy for the grief of the homeowner,” the friend answered.

Bahana said he was shocked by the sight, especially because it happened in the morning when people were presumably busy going to work. Instead of the blare of engines, he said the street was quiet except for the sounds of prayers from people walking past the house, asking that the family be given strength during this difficult time.

The caption ends with Bahana saying that the sight filled him with pride for Indonesia, saying that while the country’s noble culture of showing sympathy and empathy towards others may have faded in some places, in others those values remain firmly maintained.

“Hopefully, those values and norms, which have so far built Indonesia up into a dignified nation, will always be maintained.”

Just to be clear, what is seen in Bahana’s video is not a common custom throughout Indonesia. But one resident of Suruh Village told Detik that it had been practiced there for generations.

“That sort of polite behavior has been done for a long time and has been handed down for generations. As long as it is on a village road, residents must get down and guide their motorbikes when passing in front of the home of a person who has passed,” Suruh Village resident Fajar Ari told Detik.

 

We can’t say for sure if this polite custom helped ease the grief of Jannatun’s family, but it certainly touched us.



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