Hatchet-burying Encounters
The diverging wall crumbles. Feelings of hatred melt. A harboring need for revenge wears away. They go hand-in-hand to regrow the seeds of humanity.
Former terrorism convicts take part in a friendly gathering with the Special Detachment 88 Anti-Terror Police in Bogor Regency, West Java, Friday (7/4/2023). The gathering was attended by 49 former terrorism convicts, seven former combatants and four bomb survivors.
Silaturahmi, an Islamic term referring to the spirit of establishing or strengthening relationships, has allowed what looks to have forged an unlikely unity between ex-terror convicts and terrorist attack survivors. The diverging wall crumbles. Feelings of hatred melt. A harboring need for revenge wears away. They go hand-in-hand to regrow the seeds of humanity.
"[We] have become friends. [We are even] like family," Iwan Setiawan (52) said, in reference to number of men whom he had talked to, including Sofyan Tsauri (47).