Traces Of The Warriors At The West Java COVID-19 Pandemic Monument

PHOTO VIA ANTARA

BANDUNG - Among the 291 names of medical personnel, state civil servants, and volunteers engraved on the COVID-19 Pandemic Heroes Struggle Monument in Bandung, West Java, there is the name Rohaetin.

Rohaetin is a health worker in charge of handling COVID-19 patients at the Gunung Jati Regional General Hospital in Cirebon City and she died of an illness caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 type of coronavirus.

Yulian Teguh Setiawan was pensive for a moment when he learned that his wife's name, Rohaetin, was listed in a monument dedicated to people who are struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19.

For Yulian and his children, the monument to honor the heroes will also serve as a reminder of Rohaetin's struggle.

Yulian said Rohaetin was carrying out the task of handling COVID-19 patients even though she was pregnant with her third child.

Even when his son's birth was only a few days away, according to him, Rohaetin was still helping her colleagues treat COVID-19 patients.

Even in the last days of her life, he continued, Rohaetin seemed eager to help her friends.

"At that time many of her friends were sick. But on the one hand, she was sick and was pregnant. She always thought of friends who needed her strength," said Yulian.

When it was time for delivery, Rohaetin was confirmed to have COVID-19 and a week later she breathed her last.

Rohaetin's passing is the biggest sorrow for Yulian and his children. Yulian was devastated.

He was sad, his wife did not get to see and raise his third child and his third child did not have time to feel the embrace of his mother.

However, Yulian realized that his wife's departure was a destiny from Allah SWT and he tried to accept it.

"If I don't accept it, I feel sorry for the children. They need a parent figure. I have to be enthusiastic, I have to fight," he said.

One day Yulian will take her third child to the monument to the struggle for the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic and tell her mother's struggles and sacrifices during the pandemic.

Yulian promised himself to take his children to the monument when they were in their teens.

He wants his children to be proud of their mother, who has fought and sacrificed to overcome the outbreak during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the name Rohaetin, there are 290 other names at the COVID-19 Pandemic Heroes Struggle Monument in the West Java People's Struggle Monument area in Bandung City.

Behind every name on the monument are memories and traces of the struggles of people who struggled to overcome the plague that claimed many lives and affected various aspects of life.

Traces of civilization

The West Java Provincial Government built the COVID-19 Pandemic Heroes Struggle Monument to appreciate the struggles of people involved in efforts to overcome the pandemic as well as to present a reminder to the public about the pandemic that claimed many lives and forced everyone to make adjustments in various ways.

"So there are two essences. One is as a tribute to dedication, the second is as a place of reflection for us that COVID 19 must be faced together by all of us by maintaining health protocols, taking care of ourselves, taking care of our families, keeping our environment healthy, " said the Head of the West Java Province Housing and Settlement Service, Boy Iman Nugraha.

According to West Java culturalist Aat Soeratin, the monument, which is planned to be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on Heroes' Day on November 10, 2021, is also a trace of civilization.

According to him, we can read history by looking at the monument.

"Why was it built? Because there were so many health workers (health workers) who died. Why did they fall? Because there was a pandemic. We understand that on the way there are disasters, blessings, which we must honor so that our journey ahead is better," said Aat.

Aat called the establishment of the monument to honor and respect the service of health workers, state civil servants, and health volunteers during the pandemic as an extraordinary custom.

"It's our custom to respect those who died, who sacrificed their lives for our sake. It's something common that should actually be revealed. Hopefully, this sign of civilization will then narrate how this monument was built," he said.

Meanwhile, cultural observer and lecturer at the Faculty of Language and Literature Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia Bandung, Dian Hendrayana, said that the monument to the struggle of the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic is proof that we have not forgotten the sacrifices of health workers.

Dian said that what happens in today's life, people often forget the trail because they are too excited about the future. The processes and struggles that were painstakingly carried out in the past are often neglected. However, the future begins with the past.

The monument to the struggle for the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dian, can remind us of our brothers and sisters who were martyred in the war against COVID-19.

He said the monument was a witness that the people of West Java had been faced with a pandemic that claimed many lives and brought various difficulties.

Since the government first announced the findings of the SARS-CoV-2 type of coronavirus infection in March 2020 to November 8, 2021, there were a total of 4,248,409 COVID-19 cases in Indonesia and during that period there were 143,557 people who died from COVID-19.

And since the beginning of the pandemic until now, health workers, state civil servants, and volunteers have continued to work hard to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects.