'God must have prolonged my life for this task'
'God must have prolonged my life for this task'
Survivors of the December tsunami who barely had time to
grieve included the local leaders in Aceh and North Sumatra. T.
Bustamam, provincial head of an organization of coastal and
fishing community "commanders," the panglima laot, is among
surviving Acehnese leaders who said they slowly managed to get
back on their feet by helping others and listening to "much
worse" stories.
On that early Sunday morning the 67-year-old was exercising
with many others in Banda Aceh, when the earthquake, now said to
be 9.15 on the Richter scale, occurred.
"We were sure this was doomsday," Bustamam said, "And we
waited for the ground to crack open and swallow us all." But it
didn't, and he drove home about 30 minutes away. But just as he
got out of the car he said the giant black waves hit his house
where his wife was, and he has not seen her since. All their
children live elsewhere, some in Jakarta, and were safe.
"You cannot imagine," he said, "how all those people died ...
they ran but were trapped because the waves came in all
directions ..." For the next few months he said he spent most of
the time in tears. "When someone called I would pick up the phone
but I could only cry ... I would become depressed very easily."
Apart from the loss of his wife, he said he had been worried
sick of whether, at his age, he could start over, with "all my
preparations for old age" gone in a matter of minutes.
But as a leader chosen for his seniority as a fisherman, he
said he had to go to meetings discussing emergency measures for
survivors. "At home your role is only as grandfather; at work you
get to debate and laugh."
"And I would also ask refugees, how many children do you have,
and how many were lost? And many would say I have five, and all
are gone." He came to realize how lucky he was to live even after
he was submerged "for 30 minutes". He is still under medical
observation for his lungs, in case he swallowed harmful
substances.
"When I was in the water there seemed to be a voice
whispering, 'this is not your place', maybe it meant I wasn't
meant to die yet." He added, "God must have prolonged my age for
this task" of catering to the needs around him, such as helping
to channel donors' funds for new boats.
Besides, he said, "Our village mosque is not ready and (before
the tsunami) I was in charge of the construction; maybe I have to
finish that, too." -- JP/Ati Nurbaiti