December 25th 2024.
Intan Afriaty, a nine-year-old girl, was doing what she loved on a typical Sunday morning - watching cartoons with her family. But little did she know that this day would be forever etched in her memory. As she sat with her mother, aunt, older sister, and brother, suddenly the ground began to shake beneath them. It was December 26, 2004, a day that would change her life forever.
In an interview with 9news.com.au, Intan shared her experience of that fateful day. She recalls feeling a strong tremor coming from the floor, causing chaos to erupt in her neighborhood as neighbors rushed into her home. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and people started shouting that the water was rising. Intan was terrified and ran for her life, not knowing what else to do.
Banda Aceh, her city in Indonesia, was hit by a devastating tsunami after a 9.1 magnitude earthquake occurred about 250km away. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that the waves reached a staggering height of 51 meters in her province. Amidst all the chaos, Intan lost consciousness.
When she regained consciousness, she found herself in the middle of the water, holding onto the body of a tsunami victim. She was terrified but focused on keeping her head above water and surviving. She swam towards a nearby refrigerator and found food inside, which she ate to fight off hunger. Eventually, she met another survivor who helped her until she reached shore safely.
But with safety came the realization that her family might be gone. Intan's heart shattered at the thought of being alone in this world. She felt like an orphan, and the sadness she felt was indescribable. Unfortunately, she was not the only one. Hundreds of children were left missing or orphaned by this disaster, and relief efforts were underway with organizations, emergency services, and specialists flying in from all over the world.
One of those people was Peter Baines, a forensic specialist from NSW Police, who was called to help identify bodies in neighboring Thailand. During his time there, he met 32 children who were living in a tent, orphaned by the disaster. This encounter inspired him to establish his charity, Hands Across the Water, to help disadvantaged children and communities in Thailand. The number of children in need quickly grew to 100 and continued to increase.
In another part of the world, Roberto Benes, UNICEF's chief of child protection, was also in Aceh. He recalls the devastation and chaos that surrounded him and the overwhelming sadness he felt as he witnessed the destruction caused by the tsunami. But he had little time to think about his feelings as he worked tirelessly to reunite missing children with their families. In three years, he helped reunite 390 children with their families, an experience he describes as the deepest and most impactful of his 26-year career.
Intan was one of the lucky children who received a call from UNICEF, saying that they had found her mother about a month after the tsunami. It was like a dream come true for her. She was overcome with gratitude and cried in her mother's arms. It was a sign that Allah still loved her and had brought her mother back into her life.
Now, at 29 years old, Intan is a married mother-of-two, with a third child on the way. She wants her children to learn from her experience and hold onto hope and prayer, which kept her going in the face of disaster. She believes that as long as we have hope, we can survive and move forward, no matter how difficult life may be.
But for the children who were never reunited with their families, the pain of living without them continues to affect them. Peter Baines shares that many of these children are now in their twenties and starting to have families of their own, but they lack the support of extended family members who could have helped them navigate through life. This gap is deeply felt by this generation of children, who have lost their relatives and have to navigate the world on their own.
The children may seem happy, but they still carry the pain of losing their loved ones. As we reflect on this disaster and its impact, let us remember the importance of hope, prayer, and the power of community in helping us overcome even the most difficult of challenges.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
