Jakarta – Some say time and distance will heal any wound, but not, it would seem, the trauma of watching thousands of enraged people bearing down on you and your family with destruction, murder and rape on their minds.

Many who experienced this on May 14 and 15 1998 continue to be haunted by their memories, even those who have lived in another continent ever since.

Emmy, not her real name, was about 12 when the rioting began to encroach on her housing complex in Puri Indah, West Jakarta.

Her parents took her to the roof of their two-story house and hid her there, fearing that rioters would break in, she said. There, Emmy had a clear view of the rioting mob, which had already set fire to nearby residential complexes.

Thanks to the bravery of about 20 security personnel, soldiers, neighbors and neighborhood guards, the rioters did not break into Emmy's complex, and left her and her family physically unscathed. Mentally, however, Emmy has still not recovered.

A few week's after the riots, Emmy's parents sent her to Australia. Emmy returned two years ago to be married. "I always check with my parents if it's safe to go to a certain area [in Jakarta]," Emmy told The Jakarta Post.

Emmy said that her trauma from the experience had made her cautious about making friends and traveling around in the city. She avoids taking public transportation and traveling late at night. "I guess [my parents'] trauma was greater than mine," said Emmy, now 25.

Research released by NGO Homeland Solidarity (SNB) in May 2005 reported that the shops around Puri Indah Mall, close to Emmy's housing complex, had been looted and rioters had attempted to set them on fire, but failed.

Emmy may have returned but others prefer to remain abroad, having established a new life overseas, like Anne, 25, who now lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

"I've bonded with the people and culture and have really created a life here that I intend to continue and build upon," said Anne in an email to the Post.

However, Anne still found the experience traumatic. Her neighbors, as well as the security guards in her housing complex, protected the area together. Anne lived in Ancol, North Jakarta, a residential area popular with Chinese-Indonesians.

The riots, which were infused with anti-Chinese sentiment, claimed 1,217 lives, according to data from the Volunteers' Team for Humanity. The team reported in October 1998 that areas near Ancol were among those where sexual assaults on Chinese women reportedly took place.

The government sponsored Joint Fact Finding Team later confirmed this report. "The trauma that I experienced was very much psychological and internal," added Anne, who still thinks about that day from time to time.

Anne said she was worried that the incident might occur again given the country's widening social gap in areas such as wealth and education, as well as racial prejudices that silently haunt society.

"While racial tensions may seem to have somewhat dissipated, they will always be there and political tensions can always change the course of things," said Anne. (gzl)