Missing Nangkernang

Makmun solemnly studied the Qur'an at the refugee camp in Puspa Agro Agribusiness Central Market, Jemundo, Sidoarjo, East Java, the first Friday of June. The 11-year-old boy sat in a circle along with dozens of other children. Donning a gray shirt, a sarung, and a cap on his head, Makmun sat in the front row. Although there were no loudspeakers, the chanting of verses from the Qur'an could be heard even from outside the market complex. Makmun and his friends usually join the chant after the morning prayer and before the evening maghrib call to prayer.

It is Makmun's third year fasting in a refugee camp, after the two Shia villages in Sampang, Madura Island, East Java, were attacked by Sunnis in August 2012. At least 20 houses and housing complex location points were set on fire in the hamlet of Nangkernang in Omben District, and Gading Laok hamlet, Karangpenang District. The attackers also set fire to cattle, tobacco in warehouses, and bamboo and acacia forests belonging to the Shia community. Mochammad Kosin, also known as Abu Hamamah, was killed at the scene when the attack took place. A number of people suffered from stab wounds and impacts from hard objects being thrown at them.

July 14, 2015