Acehnese bond with Katrina victims

Acehnese bond with Katrina victims

Antara, News Agency/Jakarta

The bonds between the child survivors of the earthquake and
tsunami in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Nias island, North
Sumatra, and their peers affected by Hurricane Katrina in New
Orleans, USA, have become all the closer through the letters they
have sent to each other.

"After receiving the letter sent earlier by their peers in the
United States some time ago, the children in Aceh and Nias have
responded with a letter to show their sympathy for the children
affected by Katrina," the coordinator of the National Committee
for the Protection of Children, Rachma Fitrianty, said by
cellular telephone recently.

According to Rachma, the letter was conveyed to their friends
in New Orleans in conjunction with President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono's visit to the country a few days ago.

"In conjunction with the state duties of President Bambang
and Ibu Ani in the United States, 10 children from Aceh and Nias
have sent a letter through the President to their peers in New
Orleans," said Rachma.

In the letter, they conveyed their deepest sympathy for the
children of New Orleans in connection with the Katrina disaster
that ravaged New Orleans recently. They hoped their friends there
would be patient and resolute in facing their ordeal.

Two of the children who were conveying their sympathy were T.
Muhammad Haris and Dara Maulini, who survived the tsunami on Dec.
26, 2004, and are now continuing their studies at a senior high
school in Jakarta.

"Thank God, despite the loss of my mother in the tsunami ... I
am very thankful that I was given the chance to continue my
studies," wrote Haris.

In the letter dated Sept. 10, 2005, he also wrote, "Please
accept my deepest condolences on the Katrina disaster in America
which has claimed the lives of thousands. May you all be resolute
and patient in facing this trial from God."

"We are very thankful to God because we were saved from the
disaster in Aceh. We remained resolute although we had just been
hit by the natural disaster," wrote Dara Maulini.

Dara expressed the hope that the unfortunate children in New
Orleans would persevere and be calm in facing the misfortune. The
spirit to keep on living was needed, as all trials and tests were
sent by God.

"May the disaster bring us closer to God. And most of all, we
send this letter as a sign of our friendship," Dara wrote in the
letter.

The letter is a follow-up from the Aceh and Nias Children's
National Letter Writing Movement, set up by the President on Feb.
3, 2005.

"We hope the letters can strengthen the bonds of friendship
among the children of Indonesian and the U.S., and foster empathy
among children for their unfortunate friends," said Rachma.