You know, sometimes there comes a time when there's nothing else you can do except pray.

This was exactly what I thought of when I found out the news of the two of our veterans' widows~Mrs Soetarti Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini~finally being acquitted of charges of stealing the property of one of the government-owned corporations. Please keep in mind that these two honorable women are not as young as they used to be, they are both 78 years of age, having served the country alongside their heroic husbands for years. Imagine my consternation when I learned that they all had been alleged of stealing the houses they had been living in for decades. It was an absurd allegation since these women had been residing in their "questioned" homes for more than twenty years which leads us to question the true nature of the accusation itself; why now? Why not bringing this matter up years ago?

And the peculiarities didn't just end there my friend. From what I've learned from the media, there also had been some inconsistency and injustice regarding this matter. For instance, these women's abodes are actually official residences. We all, I believe, are aware that official residences are in the possession of the government, but we also have to note that a couple of changes have been taken several years ago in Indonesia regarding the ownership of some the official residences themselves. In 1994, the government of Indonesia established a state law (PP No.40 Tahun 1994 tentang Rumah Negara) which permits state residences class III~Mrs Soetarti Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini are both the inhabitants of state residences class III~to change the ownerships of their residences based on particular conditions. Mrs Soetarti Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini are both the wives of two of our country's heroes thus making them qualified to purchase their state-owned houses and make them their own. Though a few amandments have been made to the regulation (PP No.31 Tahun 2005 tentang Rumah Negara, and another regulation whose details I forgot) but the rule regarding the changing of the ownership of state residences class III remains intact. Therefore, there would be no question whatsoever concerning these women's right to own their homes.

Unfortunately, as justified as they are to obtain their own homes, Mrs Soetarti Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini had to deal with the fact that they'd been mistreated over and over again. Over the past few years, Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini have been trying to obtain the ownership of their homes and been rejected eversince. It is astoundingly suspicious however, due to the fact that they do have the right to own their homes and particularly the fact that some of their fellows could easily acquire their houses from the government whereas these two women had to relentlessly struggle for the fulfillment of their right.

Then, in 2010, after years of striving to bring their right into actuality, Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini had to face the fact that they're being charged of stealing their own houses. Isn't it just downright cruel? The law has clearly stated that they have the right to obtain the ownership of their houses but now they're being sued because of their privilege? They're being accused of wrongdoing because of their right? Such a ridiculous allegation and not to mention barbarous for these two very women are literally our heroes. With their husbands, they had helped protecting our country from the invaders. Without them, our country, which at that time had just declared its independence, would have simply ceased to exist.

We ought to be ashamed to have our heroes degraded into mere criminals. Didn't they remember Soekarno's words? "A great country is a country which respects its heroes." Soekarno used to say. Fortunately though, the judges are not blind to the fact that Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini do have the right to live and possess their homes. Thus, after long years of struggles, on July 27th 2010, these two unyielding women were freed from all their charges therefore obtaining the ownership of their abodes.

But I digress.

The thing that struck me the the most about this matter is how fragile and volatile humans are. This thought came up when I saw Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini, alongside their neighbours, praying erneastly to Allah to bring them justice and help them break through all the obstacles regarding the ownership of their abodes. First of all, I am Christian but I am not going to judge others who don't have the same belief as me since who am I to judge anyway? However, the point I am going to highlight here is how everyone, regardless of his belief, will face the fact that he is not as capable and powerful as he thought he was. That he needs help and sometimes, people can't give you the help you need. Sometimes, people just aren't able or even reluctant to give you a hand. And in the end, you just have to lay all of your problems and worries in front of God and say "I can't, God. I can't face all this alone. I need You".

Take Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini for an example. You would think that being the wives of the heroes of a country would give you privileges, some particular advantages that you'd enjoy. But no. Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini had to deal with the fact that they had been mistreated for years by their own country itself. And the peak of their problem is how they almost ended in jail because of their entitlement. And you see, no one could help them even if they wanted to. Yes, Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini could hire lawyers to defend them at the court but that's just it. The lawyers would do everything in their power to free these women from those absurd allegations but that would be just that. The media could contrive an enormous coverage on these two women in hopes to move the hearts of people around the country and even the president himself. But that's just it. Yes, there would be people protesting, yelling for the freedom of these women and perhaps the president himself would pay a visit to Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini and tried to comfort them but again, that's just it. Even the president himself couldn't meddle in this case, or so he said.

At the end of the day, there's just nothing else that Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini could do except pray and hope for the best. However, these actions of praying and hoping do not, by any means, suggest apathy. It's just that these two women have done all the things in their power to get them out of the adversity they're in thus in the end, there's nothing else for them to do except pray and keep their faith alive.

Last but not least, congratulations to Mrs Soekarno and Mrs Roesmini for having been freed from allegations. You two are without a single doubt two of Indonesia's best women.