Soldiers, others isolated after tsunami<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Meulaboh<\/p>\n
First Lt. Kartika Sudrajat was angered by a private TV station's
\nnews ticker that said many soldiers in Aceh were among the
\nvictims of Sunday's powerful tsunami.<\/p>\n
\"The news ticker was not correct and may have unnecessarily
\nworried and distressed our families,\" said the military doctor
\nfrom the 623 Bakti Wira Utama Infantry from Banjarmasin, South
\nKalimantan, who is currently stationed in Kuala district, Nagan
\nRaya regency.<\/p>\n
The news ticker said that over a hundred soldiers from 623
\nInfantry were killed in the catastrophe.<\/p>\n
Kartika, along with other infantry soldiers, watches the news
\nfrom Aceh on the infantry's TV set, which is equipped with a
\ngenerator set and a parabola.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, only one soldier was found dead and another was
\nmissing after the tsunami,\" said Lt. Col. Ruddy Prassemilsa Max,
\nchief of the infantry that was deployed to Nagan Raya to crush
\nthe Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group.<\/p>\n
As the post is located a few kilometers away from Nagan Raya
\nbeach, its soldiers were not physically affected by the deadly
\ntsunami.<\/p>\n
Those infantrymen who were injured or killed were in nearby
\nMeulaboh town for medical care or business reasons on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Kartika's fellow soldiers also spoke of feeling unsettled as
\nthey could not inform their families back home they were safe.<\/p>\n
Phone lines have been down in Nagan Raya and the West Aceh
\ncapital of Meulaboh since the tsunami hit, but latest reports say
\nthat phone services have started to return to normal as of Sunday
\nafternoon, though connections are still limited.<\/p>\n
Mulya Agus, a postgraduate student of Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity, said he was unable to contact the university to tell
\nthem he is safe and in need of help. Mulya, a civil servant and a
\nnative of Meulaboh, had been doing research for his thesis in the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
The manager of a transportation company, Daniel Aon, could not
\ncontact his relatives in Central Java and Medan as his address
\nbook had been swept away by the water.<\/p>\n
Police chief Sgt. Budi Setiawan, whose house is located in a
\nmilitary complex some 200 meters from Meulaboh beach, was
\ndesperate to learn of the fate of his nine-year-old son, Wahyu
\nSetiawan, who was staying with his relative in the devastated
\nBanda Aceh.<\/p>\n
Budi's two other children -- Ilham, 3 and Meutia, 1 -- are
\nstill missing but his wife, Rosana Harahap, survived.<\/p>\n
\"We keep searching for Ilham and Meutia here, but for Wahyu,
\nwe don't know what to do. The phone lines are still down,\" Budi
\ntold The Jakarta Post and a Medan correspondent of Gatra weekly
\nnews magazine. The two were the first print journalists to arrive
\nin the isolated town.<\/p>\n
Others, however, have found solutions to their communications
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
Learning that the Post's journalist had on his personage a
\nsatellite cell phone, some middle-ranking military officers used
\nit to call their families back home.<\/p>\n
\"Hi Ma, we're still alive... I'm teasing you by calling early
\nin the morning. I'm borrowing a friend's phone. I'll talk to you
\nlater,\" said Lt. Col. Ruddy.<\/p>\n
Others followed suit. \"Hi darling, please call me back at
\nxxxxx,\" said First Lt. Dadang, referring to the Post's satellite
\ncell phone number.<\/p>\n
Lower-ranking soldiers only asked the Post's journalist and
\nGatra correspondent to relay information to their families via
\nSMS or a call, giving their families' house or cell phone
\nnumbers.<\/p>\n
\"You don't need to talk too much with them... just tell them
\nthat we are still alive. At least our families will know that we
\nare safe,\" said Kartika.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soldiers-others-isolated-after-tsunami-1447893297",
"image": ""
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