'God must have prolonged my life for this task'<\/p>\n
Survivors of the December tsunami who barely had time to
\ngrieve included the local leaders in Aceh and North Sumatra. T.
\nBustamam, provincial head of an organization of coastal and
\nfishing community \"commanders,\" the panglima laot, is among
\nsurviving Acehnese leaders who said they slowly managed to get
\nback on their feet by helping others and listening to \"much
\nworse\" stories.<\/p>\n
On that early Sunday morning the 67-year-old was exercising
\nwith many others in Banda Aceh, when the earthquake, now said to
\nbe 9.15 on the Richter scale, occurred.<\/p>\n
\"We were sure this was doomsday,\" Bustamam said, \"And we
\nwaited for the ground to crack open and swallow us all.\" But it
\ndidn't, and he drove home about 30 minutes away. But just as he
\ngot out of the car he said the giant black waves hit his house
\nwhere his wife was, and he has not seen her since. All their
\nchildren live elsewhere, some in Jakarta, and were safe.<\/p>\n
\"You cannot imagine,\" he said, \"how all those people died ...
\nthey ran but were trapped because the waves came in all
\ndirections ...\" For the next few months he said he spent most of
\nthe time in tears. \"When someone called I would pick up the phone
\nbut I could only cry ... I would become depressed very easily.\"<\/p>\n
Apart from the loss of his wife, he said he had been worried
\nsick of whether, at his age, he could start over, with \"all my
\npreparations for old age\" gone in a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n
But as a leader chosen for his seniority as a fisherman, he
\nsaid he had to go to meetings discussing emergency measures for
\nsurvivors. \"At home your role is only as grandfather; at work you
\nget to debate and laugh.\"<\/p>\n
\"And I would also ask refugees, how many children do you have,
\nand how many were lost? And many would say I have five, and all
\nare gone.\" He came to realize how lucky he was to live even after
\nhe was submerged \"for 30 minutes\". He is still under medical
\nobservation for his lungs, in case he swallowed harmful
\nsubstances.<\/p>\n
\"When I was in the water there seemed to be a voice
\nwhispering, 'this is not your place', maybe it meant I wasn't
\nmeant to die yet.\" He added, \"God must have prolonged my age for
\nthis task\" of catering to the needs around him, such as helping
\nto channel donors' funds for new boats.<\/p>\n
Besides, he said, \"Our village mosque is not ready and (before
\nthe tsunami) I was in charge of the construction; maybe I have to
\nfinish that, too.\" -- JP\/Ati Nurbaiti<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/god-must-have-prolonged-my-life-for-this-task-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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