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Agence France-Presse

Indonesian gravedigger Junaidi Hakim has to work hard to summon his weary colleagues in a never-ending race to bury victims of the coronavirus pandemic at a cemetery in Jakarta.
The team switches quickly from digging fresh graves to burying the bodies – aiming to get the task done in under 10 minutes to lessen the chance of getting infected themselves.
“The most worrying part is when we’re unloading a coffin because we have to touch it,” said 42-year-old Hakim, a father of four.
“We feel a bit relieved after it’s buried.”


Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery – one of two earmarked for Covid-19 victims in the Indonesian capital – are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah (US$290).
They dig at least 20 fresh graves daily, marked with white wooden poles that list the name, birth date and day the occupant died.
But they can hardly keep up with the influx of confirmed and suspected virus victims.
“The ambulances never stop bringing us bodies,” Hakim said.

The team struggles to keep up in the searing tropical heat, with sobbing relatives never far away.
Families are urged not to linger, robbing them of the chance to perform prayers for loved ones.
“My heart breaks seeing those crying families,” said Minar, 54, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
“I’ve been digging graves for 33 years now and I’ve never been this tired before. This is probably a test from God,” he added.

The challenges are compounded in the fasting month of Ramadan when many in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation, do not eat or drink during daylight hours.
Naman Suherman said he is able to overcome gnawing thirst and hunger in the belief he is doing something “noble” for victims whose covered burial pits are sprinkled with pink flowers.
Indonesian villagers open casket, bathe corpse, catch Covid-19
“What strengthens my faith on this job is knowing that I can help take the deceased to their final resting place,” the 55-year-old gravedigger said.
How many people the virus has claimed across the Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 260 million is unclear.

An official death toll of 1,191 as of Monday is widely believed to be well below reality, and Indonesia has one of the world’s lowest testing rates.
Government officials acknowledge data is patchy and incomplete.
At least 2,107 people have been buried under Covid-19 safety protocols in the epicentre of Jakarta alone – nearly double the reported national toll.
Other cities have also seen unusually high burial figures in recent months, suggesting even more victims.

Volunteer database KawalCovid-19, which was created by health and technology professionals, has estimated there have been more than 3,000 virus deaths in just 16 of the country’s 34 provinces.
That would be no surprise for the gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery who have seen their workload soar.
But most did not know the risks, at first burying virus victims without protective equipment.
“Initially, none of us knew about coronavirus,” Minar said.

“We didn’t know what this disease was like until I learned from the television news that it was infectious.
“The next day I rushed to buy my own face mask. Several days later we started getting personal protective equipment.”
Despite those precautions, gravedigger Hakim says neighbours suddenly started keeping a wide berth since the first cases appeared in March.
“Although they don’t say it out loud, I can feel they’re keeping a distance,” he said.
“Like they’re afraid of me.”


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Coronavirus pandemic

In Indonesia, gravediggers’ heavy workload points to under-reported death toll

Gravediggers bury a Covid-19 victim at Pondok Ranggon cemetery in Jakarta. Photo: AFP

This picture taken on May 6, 2020 shows gravediggers standing next to an ambulance that brought a victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus at Pondok Ranggon cemetery where many of those who died from the disease are buried in Jakarta. - Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery -- one of two earmarked for coronavirus victims in the Indonesian capital -- are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah (290 USD). (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) / TO GO WITH Health-virus-Indonesia-death,SCENE by Haeril HALIM

This picture taken on May 6, 2020 shows a member of security (far R) spraying disinfectant on a relative of a victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus after she visited Pondok Ranggon cemetery where many of those who died from the disease are buried in Jakarta. - Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery -- one of two earmarked for coronavirus victims in the Indonesian capital -- are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah (290 USD). (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) / TO GO WITH Health-virus-Indonesia-death,SCENE by Haeril HALIM

This picture taken on May 6, 2020 shows gravedigger Minar, who is fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, resting during a break at Pondok Ranggon cemetery where many of those who died from the COVID-19 coronavirus are buried in Jakarta. - Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery -- one of two earmarked for coronavirus victims in the Indonesian capital -- are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah (290 USD). (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) / TO GO WITH Health-virus-Indonesia-death,SCENE by Haeril HALIM

This picture taken on May 6, 2020 shows gravediggers lowering the coffin of a victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus at Pondok Ranggon cemetery where many of those who died from the disease are buried in Jakarta. - Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery -- one of two earmarked for coronavirus victims in the Indonesian capital -- are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah (290 USD). (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) / TO GO WITH Health-virus-Indonesia-death,SCENE by Haeril HALIM

This picture taken on May 6, 2020 shows a gravedigger walking past graves at Pondok Ranggon cemetery where many of those who died from the COVID-19 coronavirus are buried in Jakarta. - Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery -- one of two earmarked for coronavirus victims in the Indonesian capital -- are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah (290 USD). (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) / TO GO WITH Health-virus-Indonesia-death,SCENE by Haeril HALIM

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Aerial picture of a grave complex for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) victims provided by the government in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 26, 2020 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Muhammad Adimaja/ via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

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Vehicles travel along a road in the central business district (CBD) during a partial lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus in this aerial photograph taken in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged a cautious approach to lifting of partial lockdowns covering almost 100 million people in a string of regions and cities amid pressure to re-open the economy as the nation’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 1,000. Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

Residents practice social distancing as they queue up for free rice from a rice dispenser machine provided by the government for poor families whose livelihoods are affected by the new coronavirus outbreak, at the Central Jakarta Military District Command, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, May 11, 2020.(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

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Health care workers take a swab sample from a man in Bogor near Jakarta on May 11, 2020. Photo: Reuters

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An Indonesian migrant worker gets sprayed with disinfectant upon arrival in Medan, North Sumatra. Photo: EPA-EFE

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At least 2,107 people have been buried under Covid-19 safety protocols in the epicentre of Jakarta alone – nearly double the reported national toll
Other cities have also seen unusually high burial figures in recent months and government officials acknowledge data is patchy and incomplete



At least 2,107 people have been buried under Covid-19 safety protocols in the epicentre of Jakarta alone – nearly double the reported national toll.


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