Amid the devastation, news of hope from home - a son is born Eds:

Amid the devastation, news of hope from home - a son is born Eds: RETRANSMITTING to correct Irwan Firdaus' byline.[ ---[ UNDATED: satellite phone.[ By IRWAN FIRDAUS= Associated Press Writer= BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) -

Amid devastation, news of hope -- a son is born

Irwan Firdaus Associated Press/Banda Aceh

I've seen many tragedies in Indonesia, from the slayings of 1,500 people in East Timor in 1999 by Indonesian troops to battles between Christians and Muslims that killed nearly 10,000 in the Maluku islands.

Nothing prepared me for what awaited when I arrived in devastated Aceh province from Jakarta to report on the tsunami's aftermath. I never imagined such utter destruction was possible.

Everybody I spoke to had lost at least one relative or friend. Many lost several. A doctor who rushed from Jakarta to check on family found only one of his 25 relatives who had lived in the coastal town of Meulaboh before the waves flattened it.

"We don't have any more tears to weep," one survivor told me. The tragedy took several of my close friends, including a journalist who often provided stories to The Associated Press from Banda Aceh, Muharram M. Nur. His house was demolished by the inrushing sea and he is presumed dead; his wife is hospitalized and their three daughters were still missing two weeks after the tsunami.

When the earthquake hit, Muharram had immediately contacted AP's Jakarta bureau and then raced to a prison reportedly hit by the quake. The waves swept in after he called.

I lost a friend who got married in November and spent his honeymoon in the couple's home village in Aceh province. Arief Rusli and his wife were swept away on Uelele beach, where they had been walking when the big waves roared in that Sunday.

Another Acehnese friend was Rufriadi Ramli, a lawyer who was often a source for stories on human rights abuses in the region's long-running separatist conflict. He hasn't been heard from since the disaster.

Thoughts of other places were swept away by the devastation. One had to deal with the grim here and now -- bodies in rivers, pieces of flesh on roads, expanses of shattered buildings, the fear of disease outbreaks, hunger among the many homeless.

Then, suddenly, I learned of a new life coming -- my first child. My wife in Jakarta called early on Jan. 7 to say she was about to give birth.

I felt sad, nervous and confused.

After three hours and several phone calls from my sister came news that brought a smile to my face despite the apocalyptic scenes around me. My wife had given birth to a boy.

I rushed to the airport for the flight home. It should have taken only a couple of hours, but the trip stretched over 17 hours because my jetliner was diverted first to Malaysia amid the huge number of relief planes flying in and out of Aceh.

In the frustration of the delays I consoled myself with one thought: My wife and son were safe and healthy.