East-West Center's Tsunami Relief Information: Personal Experiences

A SURVIVOR'S STORY

My second daughter survived the tsunami inside my wife’s womb. For months, Setia Dani and I worried that our baby would be affected by our trauma and by the tsunami water Setia had ingested during our miraculous escape. But she is beautiful and truly a gift from God. She and our older daughter Aisya, who narrowly survived, represent hope for a new generation in Aceh.

So many relatives, friends, and acquaintances are gone. Time will heal our wounds, but not without a vivid scar.

My story starts peacefully. On Sunday morning, December 26, 2004, I got up early to go fishing. Seita had taken our savings from the bank to use later that day for a down payment on our first home. I was blessed with Aisya, and Setia was in the early months of her second pregnancy.

I had barely started fishing when the earthquake struck. The earth shook violently, coconut trees crashed noisily against each other, and people fell down in prayer. With a racing heart I did the same.

Within 10 minutes the quake stopped. Coming from inland, I did not know of tsunamis. I lingered at the beach to talk with an older fisherman. We watched the water drain from the beach, exposing thousands of fish. I had no idea of the danger until we saw a huge wave on the horizon.

Terrified, I now fled as fast as I could. Arriving home, I found everyone was in the street, fearful of aftershocks. Setia was clutching the down payment. Our sister, Ruhama, was holding Aisya. But no one believed a wave could travel more than two miles inland until they saw the charging waters, black with debris. I grabbed Setia’s hand, but we could not run far before the powerful tide swept us up, separating us from Aisya and Ruhama. Helpless in the current, we were carried into the yard of a large house and spun around. A sharp stick hit me, and Seita was gulping water and gasping for air. The water and mud in our clothes dragged us downward. The money, of course, was lost, but we now only cared to survive. We were about to die as we were pinned against the house and a car bore down on us. But at the last moment, the door sprung open, and we were swept into the house. We climbed atop a fallen cupboard and pressed our noses to the ceiling. The water stopped rising with only three inches of air left.

After the wave subsided, we made our way to the floor above. Our neighborhood was totally destroyed. The receding water revealed dead bodies pierced with wounds. We were in shock for three or four hours when a man came by and told us that Aisya was alive. I did not care that the mud was laced with nails, tools, and other rubbish as I started toward where he had indicated. An hour later I found Aisya and Ruhama on the second floor of a game store. Aisya’s mouth, ears, and eyes were filled with mud. I desperately tried to clean her, but now there was no water.

It was already evening, and we were very hungry. Walking inland for hours, we finally found an intact house whose owner we knew. He gave us rice and clothes. Scavenging, I was lucky to find three unopened plastic bottles of water in the debris. But we could not sleep. Aisya cried incessantly from diarrhea, and the earth continued to heave.

The next day we moved to a makeshift camp. Aisya was sick for many days but eventually recovered with traditional drugs. Tragically, Ruhama died of tetanus.

Like others, I was anxious to restart my life. I found a job with the World Bank and built a temporary shelter for my family from the rubbish. I am looking for a site for a permanent home and hoping to get help from an NGO to build my house.

I have strong hope in the future of Aceh. The people of Aceh desperately want peace and reconciliation with the insurgents, and a peace agreement has finally been signed. Many linkages to the outside world exist that did not before the tsunami. Despite the cynicism about some donors and programs, there are committed funds and organizations with serious long-term interest. As an alumnus of an East-West Center program, I am proud that the Center has initiated a training program with my previous university in Banda Aceh.

Finally there are the babies, like my daughter. It is for them that we pledge our efforts at rebuilding, and they will carry forward our hopes for our homeland.

Muslahuddin Daud
Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Coordinator for Aceh in the World Bank’s Support for Poor and Disadvantaged Areas Project; former curriculum and training officer, Peace and Education Program, Nonviolence International

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A SURVIVOR'S STORY