too close to home



Last week’s terrorist attack in Jakarta, Indonesia gave me quite a scare. That’s because it hit too close to home. By that, I mean my sister Lycel was just a few blocks away from where the explosion and the shooting happened. The school which she supervises is right at Plaza Indonesia.

I was out for lunch with my best friend Annej when I saw a message from Michael asking me for my sister’s mobile phone no. I was clueless why, but then I saw messages from our friend Rocel asking me to check on my sister, briefly describing what was happening in Jakarta at that very moment. Mike texted again, saying he was able to talk to my sister already and that all was well.

When I was finally able to contact my sister, she told me that they learned of the incident when a parent, who was outside the mall, called to share what was happening. She and the teachers immediately sprung to action, contacting parents and supervising the orderly send-off of the students in their care. After the last student left, they all gathered in my sister’s place until the situation calmed down.

Needless to say, I am beyond relieved that my sister is safe, and that she was able to maintain her composure throughout the whole thing, especially considering how she had the kids and teachers under her to think about. I am also thankful for Rocel and Mike for looking out for my sister. Ate did admit that it was only after speaking to Mike that she found herself getting teary-eyed - maybe it was when somebody checked up on her that it became real how close they were to danger. 

I will not get into a lengthy entry about how terrible such attacks are - I think we all already know that. Let me just end this by saying that we all really need to be kinder to one another.