Jakarta, IDM – The man, originally from Palembang, describes how silent nights were often shattered by the zip of bullets fired by Fretilin forces. Muchari admits that when the enemy hordes surrounded them, he felt overwhelmed, frequently panicked and worried as Fretilin barraged Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers with gunfire from all directions.
“I was terrified during the war; who wouldn’t be? But it was part of fulfilling my duty. I was following orders,” recalled Muchari. He told of times when he and other soldiers were constantly being ambushed by the enemy, wherever they moved. “Gunfire, then a pause. Back on the move, then another round of gunfire. It was like that most of the time,” he continued. During the battle, they had to survive on whatever resources were available. “We ate whatever we could find. If there were only leaves, then we ate them,” expressed Muchari.
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Muchari is still struggling from a heartbreaking incident when he lost I Ketut Karteup, his close comrade, shot to death in the left of his chest. “Ri, I got shot, Ri,” Muchari recalled hearing him say. Despite his immense sorrow, Muchari, who was by Karteup’s side at that time, had to quickly find a safe and strategic position to launch a counterattack against the Fretilin forces.
A barrage of hot bullets unexpectedly struck him on the right hand, just as he was aiming at the enemy, causing him to fall in unbearable pain. Fear crept into his soul, when all he could think about was death. Muchari moved slowly, hunting for a hiding place and looking for a cloth to wrap his wound while waiting for help from another battalion. He was eventually transported to a safer location for treatment.
Sergeant Major (Retd.) Muchari Malikin a soldier serving with Battalion Zipur 9 Kostrad Ujungberung Bandung, still vividly recalls the tense, unsettling sound of gunfire he heard while serving in East Timor, 48 years ago. Muchari and his comrades, deep in the Baucau forest, were in a firefight with the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin).
Anything can happen in a war. At least, soldiers must be aware of several potential effects of combat: returning home safely, coming home alive but with injuries and disabilities, or death. Muchari was transferred home from the battlefield earlier, because his right hand was wounded and he could not use it normally. But that may have spared his life. Muchari’s final military operation was Operation Seroja in East Timor, in 1975–1976.
Decades have passed, and the Seroja warriors are now sharing stories about the war they never claimed victory in. The gunshot wound stitches engraved on his right arm and the hearing loss he suffered witnessed his struggle against Fretilin and reminded him of the battlefield he had traversed.
Muchari, now 79, spends his golden years with Sri, his beloved wife. She, the girl of his dreams, patiently awaited him while he fulfilled his duties to the nation.
(Text & Photos: IDM/Septo Kun Wijaya)