Acehnese kids express grief, hope through poems

Dedy Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Meulaboh

Our Prayer
Oh Allah, the most compassionate and merciful
We are subservient to You and we are weak
Don't bequeath this ordeal anymore
Don't deal out this suffering again
As we know the blame is ours

Oh Allah, You have put us to the test
We don't want to see our people cry anymore
And the cries of our little brothers and sisters
Oh Allah, will You forgive us
Only to You can we plead and only to You can we pray
Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin

This poem, titled Our Prayer, was written by Cut Nurfajria, 13, an eighth grader at SMP 3 junior high school. During a Bahasa Indonesia class, Cut, as she is fondly called, and 40 of her fellow students were asked by their teacher to express their emotions about the tsunami disaster that ravaged the town of Meulaboh on Dec. 26.

Her friends listened closely as Cut read out the poem in her soft voice. She read the poem with emotion but not to the point of crying. "I'm sad as many of my friends were victims of the tsunami," said Cut after reading the poem.

Cut and her family were lucky to be spared by the disaster. Their house in Lapang village was far enough from the beach. In spite of that, she can feel the pain that her schoolmates and their families went through.

The poem she had written was also a prayer to God that there no more tsunamis would occur, not only in Aceh but anywhere else around the world, as well.

Cut was not the only student who expressed her grief and sadness over the impact of the tsunami disaster. Her surviving friends also diligently wrote poems, most of which were related to the tsunami disaster. The tsunami and earthquake have been horrible experiences for these children, and are still fresh in their minds. Thirteen-year-old Hendri Rizky, for example, wrote a poem titled The Cries of My Relatives.

When The Jakarta Post visited their school last week, the students were studying under the trees around the school compound as a section of the school has been used as a relief post by the French military for the past week. They form circles and some also sat in lines facing each other, while teachers sit on one side. "Come, let's sit in a cooler place, or you'll be sick," a teacher told some students who were sitting in the sun.

Even though lessons are still brief, the students' interest in continuing their studies is quite high. Laughter was frequently heard among them. They were all glad to get back to school after a month off.

"I'm glad to return to school and get back together again with my friends here," said Furqon Muttaqin, a seventh grader.

The school had earlier planned to accommodate students from the No.1 and No.2 junior high schools, which were leveled by the tidal wave. But according to its principal, Kasmuddin, the capacity of the 16 classrooms can only accommodate his own students, which number 665.

The earthquake and ensuing tsunamis in West Aceh damaged 99 schools with 48 of these totally destroyed. The calamity also claimed the lives of 189 civil servants working at the West Aceh Education Office.

Twelve teachers were also killed, all of which led Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo to choose Meulaboh as the place to announce Education Awakening Day in Aceh and Nias, North Sumatra.

Cut and many of her school friends are more fortunate than others. They still have school uniforms, and Cut is not living in a refugee camp.

Cut is aware that there is not much she can do to help less fortunate fellow Acehnese, who lost their families, friends and homes. The only thing that she can do is to write a poem, which she believes will be able to inspire her fellow children to cope with the situation and look to the future.