Tuesday 12 July 2005

A Story to Be Shared

The last few days have left me drained, physically and emotionally. Especially emotionally. But in a tragedy such as this, there is always a light, a story that gives us hope and reinforces our belief in our faith. I had spent days and nights at the bomb sites – Kings Cross, Edgware Road and Aldgate and Russel Square. And a tragedy of this magnitude does get to you whether you know anyone or not who perished or were injured in the tragedy. Reading the messages at the Garden of Remembrance now set up at Kings Cross Station was enough to make me burst into tears and I was about ready to give up and go and crawl under the duvet and shut the world out. But I decided to pursue a story that I heard and that took me and my cameraman to North London, into the home of Pak Agus Warcoko.

Pak Agus, on that fateful morning, like everyone else had his morning disrupted by the closure of underground stations. And like others, he had to take the bus at Euston Station.

The number 30 – yes the one that exploded and took 13 lives – was quickly filling up and Pak Agus could only get a seat at the back. As someone who has never been late at work, he tried calling his office – he was until 5th July – the deputy general manager of Bank Negara Indonesia in London. Several attempts failed and as he tried one last time, he heard a huge blast and his mobile phone jumped out of his hand skywards.
The wreckage Posted by Picasa
“I automatically followed the direction of the phone going upwards and suddenly saw the sky as the roof was not there anymore. I instinctively looked down and saw that the seats to the front were all gone. There were body parts and blood everywhere. A girl behind me was in shock and a young man was bleeding. I felt my body and everything was there, Alhamdulillah. The only scratch I got was on my finger – from the force of the mobile phone flying upwards from my grip,” said Pak Agus.
This is where I sat Posted by Picasa
Chatting to him that afternoon was like chatting to someone describing perhaps just some skirmishes down the road – not the life threatening incident that shocked Londoners to the bones and made headlines around the world.

A Sky journalist who interviewed him was baffled at the calmness and serenity about him.

“This is all the will of Allah. He wants me to live. Alhamdulillah,” said Pak Agus who remarkably remained seated although all around him were either thrown off the bus or sent sprawling on the floor.

I wanted to know more. “What was it, Pak Agus, that you think helped you?” said I switching the mode to one of a tabloid journalist, searching for omens, signs and dreams that could have forewarned him.

Saiyaaa, “ he drawled in his heavy Javanese accent, “setiap langkah saya keluar dari rumah, akan saya iringi dengan zikir. Saya sentiasa berzikir dalam perjalanan keluar,” he said about his ritual prayers when leaving home.

Dan saiyaaa....,” he drawled again, “sentiasa dalam keadaan berwuduk, Kalo jadi apa-apa, saya pergi dalem imaaan,” he added.
Pak Agus & Ibu Tanti Posted by Picasa
I instinctively rubbed my hands, smoothing the goose bumps fast appearing. My cameraman shot a look as I was pushing the sound level unneccessarily up.

To say that Pak Agus emerged unscathed from the catastrophe would be stretching it a bit. Once in a while, he’d strain hard to listen to my questions. His eardrums must have been severely damaged as the blast, needless to say, must have been quite loud.

His wife Tanti, received an sms message about the bomb blasts and watching the news, she thought immediately of her husband. She rang him several times but there was no answer and the office too had reported that he was not around. She waited with a friend, in tears.

"Saya hanya mampu menunggu, menunggu dan menangis. Bila saya dengar dia selamat, saya bersyukur kepada Allah, bersyukur, bersyukur dan menangis,” she stressed as if one bersyukur was not enough to convey her gratitude to the Allah Almighty, while tears filled her eyes.

The story of Pak Agus reached his family very fast – via an Indonesian private TV station that reported him dead. It was only by chance that a nephew in Surabaya had heard his interview in the BBC Indonesian Service that they knew of his fate.

Next week, Pak Agus and family return to Jakarta. But this is one grim memory that they are taking back with them. But this is also one reminder for me, for us, of the power of zikir. Subhanallah.

Safe in the arms of his loving family Posted by Picasa

37 comments:

AuntyN said...

MasyaAllah Kak Teh, ini lah di katakan ajal dan maut di tangan Allah ni kan. Kalau bukan masanya kita pergi, masihlah nyawa dikandung badan tu.
I got goosebums too reading this story.

Anonymous said...

My late atuk always has advised on the power of zikir. This certainly proved him.

Sunfloraa said...

Masyallah Kak teh, thanks for sharing this story with us. Menitik plaks air mata saya membaca cerita ni. Betul kata AuntyN, ajal maut di tangan Allah, kalau belum sampai masa tu no matter what happen masih selamat. How many other survivors were there on the bus aside from Pak Agus and the driver?

anedra said...

what a story. This just goes to show that ajalmaut memang ditangan tuhan and no matter what we do or don't do, it is still in HIS hands. Alhamdulillah Pak Agus survived, and the power of zikir! wow.

hope u're feeling better. :)

Anonymous said...

MasyAllah, Subhanallah......Alhamdulillah. Syukur Pak Agus terselamat.Berkat berzikir ini lah bukti Allah lindungi Pak Agus.Tersentak & pilu bila baca. Terfikir sejenak, mmg amalan zikir ni baik sekali, tapi kekadang kite manusia alpa & leka.

Termia kasih Kak Teh menulis berita ini, membuatkan saya rasa teramat kerdil & insaf. Betapa saya leka dgn amalan zikir ini.Musibah sekelip mata berlaku dimana2,harus kita bersedia dgn amalan.

Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahuakbar!!

Astagh firulla hal Adziim

Subhaa nalla hi Walhamdulillahi
Walaa ilaaha illaala huwalla- huAkbar
Laa haula Walaa Quwwataa illaa bilaa hil aliyyil Adziim.

Nazrah Leopolis said...

betul lah kakteh, bila terjadi gini, tersentak sedikit untuk mengingati kasih Allah

i've missed you.terribly...brapa hari dah tak dapat kakteh-therapy.

baby? said...

assalamualaikum kak za

its very sad and betul ajal dan maut ditangan tuhan.my friend sister selalu ambil the tube yang explode tapi that day she took a different route. but i am glad all my friend in london including you semua selamat. but sad for the victim.


salam-muzzie

bibliobibuli said...

Amazing story, Kak Teh, and so well told.

shidah said...

thanks 4 sharing, and good to know that u r ok.

Bustaman said...

Thanks for sharing.
Alhamdullillah you and family are ok.

Anonymous said...

thank you KT for the story and the reminder.

Ely said...

wow, what a story kak teh.

kuasa Allah memang tiada tandingannya.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh,

I'm lucky today, reading your amazing story here + browsed thru your report 'there' yesterday.

Subhanallah..

Blabarella said...

Subhanallah!! This truly moved me. Once again, it just reinforces that verse, "If Allah is your protector, none can overcome you, and if He forsakes you, then who can help you? Trust Allah and have faith in His sovereign power"[Qur'an, Al-Imran, Surah 3:160]

Subhanallah..

OOD said...

kakteh,
i pon seghia bulu ghome. Sigh.. betul kak teh, whether or not kawan2 kita kena hit, the fact that anybody kena at all is reason enough utk marah such **lost for word* act.

Anonymous said...

Alhamdulillah! The minute I read he was safe I thought this man must have amalan zikir and true enough as I read further he stated so. Masyaallah...may we take this as an iktibar..in fact there was another story on TVRI where a man was also left unscathed after he was in that vacinity where a blast happened in Jakarta..

-nour-

Kak Teh said...

AuntyN-betul, memang betul kalau belum sampai ajal.
anon: yes, my husband too always reminds me.
Sunflora: i think there are abt 60 passengers..and only 13 died. among injured - i belive 2 malaysians.
anedra: i am recovering myself..but fuiyoh..very the penat!
anon: kak teh juga baca zikir tu most of the time.

Kak Teh said...

nazrah: I have not had a minute to muyself - memang kelam kabut habis. i wish i had another pair of hands.
muzzie, i hope your friend is okay too.
mas: masyaallah!
sharon: thanks...its one of those stories that will reman with you.

pok ku, shidah and atn, ayu and ely: its a pleasure. I really wanted to share this.
tj: subhanallah and welcome to my humble blog.

Kak Teh said...

blabs - it certainly does.
OOD - everyone is stunned but the anger will come soon.
nour: ya, plenty of stories like this for us to ponder on.

Anonymous said...

:)

Kalau Dia kata jadi, tu jadi lah... Begitu juga sebaliknya. Kalau Dia kata tak jadi, tak akan jadi.. Zikir memang membantu.. dengan izin Dia...

Btw, anak-anak Pak Agus lawa-lawa eh? Wifey dia pun lawa..

nadya.s said...

pergh...

maha agung allah.subhanallah.
semoga jadi teladan utk semua.

semoga kak teh sentiasa dilindungi Allah jugak..

OOD said...

kak teh,
my non-muslim customer just showed me many-many video clips of penggal kepala with shouts of Allahuakbar. He laughed and said how barbaric islam is. I am shamed and angered. Even without all the bombings, the religion is distorted enough.

At least i live in Malaysia Kak Teh, u take care. What with all the anger and prejudice..

Anonymous said...

Kak teh, if you need to relieve some of that emotional pain, looking for a shoulder to cry on, you know you are never far from a friend. Do call, email, blog or anything. You know you are surrounded by wonderful friends all over the world. We love you!

Lollies said...

Oh I repent...

terlalu leka hidup ini

Kak Teh said...

si nana- memang anak2 macam sebaya dengan mak.
nadya - terima kasih - kak teh pun begitu juga doakan kawan2 blogger kak teh di sini.
OOD, thanks once again.
JM, am really touched - thanks.
zaireen - yes - and there's a longer version in BH and NST as well.
lollies - yes, we tend to do that sometimes and it is stroeis like this that serves as a good reminder.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh!I reread my response to your comments on my blog and thought I sounded snappy!eeks sorry didn't mean it..blush blush

take care!

Anonymous said...

er that was me, nour

Pak Idrus said...

My sympathy to all those that suffered and condolence to those that lost their love one...Al Fatihah to all that was call to the Lord.....take care.

Anonymous said...

13 people died? I've been seeing number 13 everywhere since before the Indian Ocean tsunami. I don't want to be superstitious, furthermore, it's a Mat Salleh's fear of the number 13. I'm no Mat Salleh... Anyhow, I do wonder if seeing number 13 at least 13 times a day is a message... For example, I'm posting this 13 minutes after 12 midnite... coincidence?

Kak Teh said...

nour, dont worry - didnt read anything into that.
Pak Idrus - thanks and Amin
Hartini, pls dont think too much abt it. Memang dah nak terjadi, kan?

Adib Noh said...

Orang yg dikasihi Allah mempunyai sifat saperti sentiasa berzikir, berwudud,taqwa,selalu solat tahjud dll. Allah swt memberi jaminan kpd hamba yg dikasihiNya yg mereka akan selamat jika mereka memohon pertulogan dariNya.

Sama2lah kita mengambil pengajaran dari peristiwa ini.

Wassalam and take care.

Kak Teh said...

Pak Adib, thank you. It is a reminder indeed lest we forget, for we so easily forget.

Kak Teh said...

ajie - alhamdulillah, selamat - tapi penat lah sikit....harap jangan depa dok buat perangai ni selalu!

Honeytar said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Honeytar said...

Kak Teh: sorry lambat letak comment!

Alhamdulillah you and your family are all safe. MasyaAllah .... He is
Gracious... and He will keep you wonderful people in His tender care.

I just read yr post about that Pakcik on the 30 bus. SuhanAllah !

My spiritual guru told me the same about the tsunami victim (a Pakcik)
in Kuala Kedah. His house was hardly touched while his neighbours'
house at the front, left & right, even the one at the back, semua runtuh. Apparently this pakcik selalu mengaji kat rumah and berzikir.....

Every event has a lesson or two to be learned.

Take care Kak Teh.

Kak Teh said...

honeytar, thanks for sharing with us what your tok guru told you. Yes, indeed, its the best companion.

Anonymous said...

Subhan-Allah Kak teh, I'm so happy for you that you were unscathed.
Islam is the way to go, and I hope alotta people can realise that despite the unfavourable things that have been taking place in the islamic world over the past 4/5 yrs.