For many, the trauma of an event such as a terrorist bombing never really leaves them. They are reminded not only by physical scars, but by deep psychological ones, which are often the hardest to treat.
This year our team from Australia met with two men, Agus and Santoso, both beneficiaries of our medical funding for ongoing treatment of injuries sustained in bombing and machete attacks.
Agus, 59, was a victim of the Tentena marketplace bombing in Central Sulawesi on 29 May 2005, in which twenty-two people were killed and forty badly wounded by an Islamic militant group. Medical treatment for his wounds has been successful, and regular check-ups with our medical team support his ongoing recovery. The hardest part for Agus is the psychological trauma, the unseen injury doctors say is most difficult to treat.
We have a forgiving heart and we will not take revenge.
Santoso is also known for his forgiveness, and for the wide smile always lighting his face.