A Rice Farmer's New Hope

One day, an old man was standing for quite some time  on the side of the road. He stood there quietly without doing anything; it seemed as if he was waiting for something. Cars passed by on the Trans Kalimantan road in high speed, he did not seem to care. The old man was still standing there without anyone by his side. His eyes emptily looked forward, not looking either to the left or right.

After some time, a young child shouted, “Cross the road now, Sir. The road is clear!” That was when the old man braved himself to jog across the road.

“Thank you, son.” He said to the young child as he walked onto the rice fields.

 This is what happens every day.  The old man waits for a neighbor or someone who is willing enough to guide him through with a shout when he needs to cross the road. If there is no one, he has no choice but  to trust his ears. His sense of hearing has replaced his sense of sight.

The old man is Burhan A.S Busamah, often known as Burhan He is a rice farmer who lives in a remote village in the central Borneo named Seruyan village. He is 68 years old. For his age, Burhan still has the responsibility as the breadwinner of the family, earning money for his wife and his children who are not yet married.

Burhan lives a very frugal life. His house is made of wood and electricity is not available. All this time, the candle has been the only source of light in the evening. Even this is rare because they know that they need to spend money for the candle. Because of this, their family is used to living only under the moonlight.

Burhan has been a rice farmer for decades. He works on the farm as a laborer and the farm belongs to his neighbor and relatives. This has been his source of income despite of the instability. There are times when Burhan and his family have to endure the hunger because of the financial situation.

Cataract Restricts Burhan

Burhan’s life slowly changes for the better when Tzu Chi volunteers of Sinar Mas in Center Kalimantan and Gunung Mas visited Seruyan Village.

Burhan cannot use his sense of sight not because he is blind. When he walks, he has to use his sense of touch or being guided by someone else. When he is alone, he will only be able to walk slowly and cautiously.

Cataract has infected Burhan’s eyes for the last two years. Constant exposure to sunlight when he works in the farm and his aging body have caused cataract in both of his eyes. This is the reason why Burhan’s sight has deteriorated day by day. Not only his sight becomes less clear, he often feels extreme pain in his left eye when exposed to scorching sunlight. His left eye’s cataract is indeed worse; however, he has no choice but to still work unless he will not be able to feed his family. This condition has forced Burhan to keep working regardless of his condition.

His cataract condition becomes worse each day and even caused him headache and dizziness, there are also time when he will suddenly only see darkness. His condition causes his family to worry if he has to work in the farm alone. His wife is a housewife who will occasionally accompany Burhan work in the farm. There are days when she does not go with him because she also earns money by offering laundry wash service. When his wife cannot accompany him, his youngest child will go with him instead.

Since Burhan suffered from cataract, he became slower even when crossing the road. He could not see clearly vehicles coming from afar. His sight is only bright white light. That is why he needs to count on other people’s help or his own senses to guide him in crossing the road. 

“My ears have been my eyes. I will hear closely if there is any vehicle passes by. Only when it is quiet then I will dare to cross the road. On my way to the farm, I need to pass provincial road and this is often hard to pass,” expresses Burhan.

His deteriorating eye condition does not stop Burhan from farming. For him, no matter how bad his health condition is, he still needs to work to make ends meet. Even when he knows that there is a price to pay with his deteriorating eye sight.

The volunteers had convinced Burhan to register as a patient in the Cataract social service that was held in Sampit City, Center Kalimantan, back in 16^th February 2016.

He admits that since he suffered from cataract, the landlord often complained due to the fewer quantity of crops harvested. There are also times when his wife is surprised to see the harvested crops that he brings home.

“When I am working, I often cannot recognize which is the crops and which is the weed so I often pluck the wrong thing. I wanted to pluck the weed but then I pluck the unripe crops, so sometimes my effort is wasted.” Burhan explains how cataract has been affecting his work.

Fortunately, Burhan is still allowed to work in the farm with his limited eye sight. Even the landlord’s heart is touched with Burhan’s spirit of survival to feed his family.

A New Hope with Tzu Chi

Burhan’s life slowly changes for the better when Tzu Chi volunteers of Sinar Mas in Center Kalimantan and Gunung Mas visited Seruyan Village. There, the volunteers provided information to the people about Tzu Chi’s social services in Sinar Mas. The volunteers then surveyed the people’s condition and met Burhan. The volunteers had convinced Burhan to register as a patient in the Cataract social service that was held in Sampit City, Center Kalimantan, back in 16^th February 2016.

The news that the volunteers delivered is like an oasis in the desert for Burhan and his family. He feels like he finally found renewed hope for his eye condition. Without further thinking, Burhan declared and decided to join as a participant in the social service event. Procedures by procedures were followed, and finally, the doctor declared Burhan ready to be operated.

The distance between Burhan’s house in Seruyan Village to the event in Sampit city is pretty far, which is 107 kilometres. This means two hours is needed in order to reach the location. It does not deter him, however, for he will not miss this chance to be cured of his ailments. With the compassionate love and attention from the volunteers, Burhan made it to the location, in time, and in health. His wife accompannied him through every step, until finally, Burhan made it to the operation room.

Worry, Anxiety, and Fear. Feelings that made his wife struggle to keep calm. She could not wait for him to be cured, and yet on the other hand, she was also worried something bad or unexpected would happen. However, that worry soon faded after finding out that the operation went well.

In less than an hour, Burhan went through Cataract operation held by the medical volunteers from Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA). The Cataract that had been nesting in Burhan’s eyes for the last two years had finally been operated by the doctor.

“Thank you Tzu Chi. After going through the Cataract operation, now I can finally see clearly," Burhan said.

Now, Burhan can finally see clearly; his fear for crossing the road is gone. He can also differentiate between weed and crops, so there will be no more accidents when tending the crops. But most importantly, his biggest joy is being able to look upon the faces of his loved ones; his wife and his children very clearly. To him, this kind of happiness is irreplaceable.

“Thank you Tzu Chi. After going through the Cataract operation, now I can finally see clearly. As a farmer, vision is very important. Now, I can be more grateful and excited for  the days to come. When it was all but white, I was like a blind man. Now, I know how beautiful the world is.”, he spoke with sparkling eyes.

This happiness is felt not only by Burhan and his family, but also the members of Tzu Chi Sinar Mas PSM 6 & 6A, Edy Saputra Suradja. For Edy, Burhan’s determination has taught a lesson for every volunteer to live with gratitude in any condition. Edy Saputra Suradja also hopes Burhan will have an even more outstanding determination after his Cataract was cured.

Ever since Tzu Chi Sinar Mas was established, it has spread to various places in Indonesia. They have a commitment to  help people, in line with Tzu Chi mission. One of Master Cheng Yen’s quotes says, “When everyone can contribute with sincere and pure compassion, hope will shine bright in the darkest places of the world.”

The one patient who suffered Cataract in Seruyan Village now  has been completely cured from his years of suffering through Cataract operation, which is one of the activities held by Tzu Chi Sinar Mas. The seeds of good will planted by the volunteers will eventually grow, and become the ray of hope that shines not only in Seruyan Village, but also to many more villages in a wider range.

Translator: Ricky Satria

Editor: Caroline Widjanarko (Tzu Chi School)