Aceh tsunami boy prepares for film debut<\/p>\n
Tomi Soetjipto, Reuters\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Martunis, found wandering delirious on a beach in ruined Aceh
\nprovince three weeks after last December's tsunami, made
\nheadlines around the world with his miraculous story of survival.<\/p>\n
Now eight-year-old Martunis, who was rescued wearing the red
\nand green jersey of the Portuguese national soccer team, may be
\npoised to make his film debut.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, in a movie about a football player!\" Martunis said when
\nasked if he wanted to act in a film that his father, Sarbini,
\nsaid may be made by a local TV production house.<\/p>\n
Martunis was found by a British TV crew in Alun Naga, a
\nvillage the tsunami erased just southwest of the provincial
\ncapital of Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
He had apparently kept himself alive for 19 days by eating
\nberries and dried noodles and drinking puddled water.<\/p>\n
Moved by his story, the Portuguese Soccer Federation flew
\nMartunis to Lisbon as guest of honor at a June World Cup
\nqualifier with Slovakia, where he walked onto the pitch with his
\nheroes. He was given a cheque for 40,000 euros (US$47,312).<\/p>\n
As the anniversary of the disaster that killed his mother,
\nyounger sister and older brother approaches, Martunis seems to
\nlead an ordinary life. But he may soon be back in the spotlight.<\/p>\n
Sarbini, a fisherman, said he had signed a one-year contract
\nlast July with Multivision, a film company in Jakarta, but he had
\nnot pressured his son to enter show business. Martunis had
\nwillingly agreed, he said.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Multivision, which produces TV soaps,
\nconfirmed it had a contract with Martunis, but declined to give
\ndetails.<\/p>\n
The company will give Martunis time to sharpen his Indonesian
\nlanguage skills before he can start his acting career, Sarbini
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"He will have to go to Jakarta. I will come with him. My child
\ncan't live without me. Even now, he still sleeps with me.\"<\/p>\n
Martunis's shyness makes it hard to see whether he has any
\nhidden acting talent as he practices his Indonesian language
\nskills in front of his proud, chain-smoking father.<\/p>\n
But his face lights up when asked about his greatest passion
\n-- soccer -- and his favorite players.<\/p>\n
\"Ronaldo, Rui, Beckham,\" he says, rattling off the names of
\nManchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese legend Rui
\nCosta and David Beckham of Real Madrid.<\/p>\n
On the wall in Martunis's bedroom in their home in Banda Aceh
\nare two framed soccer T-shirts signed by famous footballers,
\nincluding Costa and another Portuguese legend, Luis Figo.<\/p>\n
Financially, Martunis and his father appear to be faring
\nbetter than most tsunami survivors in Aceh, where tens of
\nthousands are still living in tents or wooden barracks.<\/p>\n
His father said he now owns a plot of land and a prawn pond,
\nbut he gave few details about the money Martunis has received.<\/p>\n
Martunis was brought to the Save the Children office by a Sky
\nNews TV crew and sent to a local hospital before being reunited
\nwith his grandparents the same day.<\/p>\n
Sarbini said Martunis had stopped asking about his mother and
\nsiblings and he could not remember the last time his son talked
\nabout the disaster.<\/p>\n
Martunis is good, \"inside and outside\", he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aceh-tsunami-boy-prepares-for-film-debut-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }