Mariana, an Aceh orphan hopeful about future

Annastashya Emmanuelle Contributor Jakarta

Left orphaned by the tsunami is not the end of the world. There is more to life than just grief, an Aceh orphan believes.

Shortly before the tsunami struck Umong Seribee village in Lhoong Aceh Besar district, 13-year-old Mariana was in her house planning to go to a friend's.

Suddenly people outside were scrambling about yelling "water rising, water rising" and she was unsure of what they meant.

While Mariana was still standing in her yard trying to make sense of the panic around her, she saw rushing water heading her way and began running along with the other villagers toward a hill. Yet the seawater that was at her waist managed to reach her while she struggled to keep going forward.

After reaching the hill she began searching for her mother, who had left the house earlier on an errand, asking around whether anyone had seen her.

Two days later, she found her mother's lifeless body among the debris of what used to be their neighbor's house. The villagers helped bury her mother and she moved to a market that has been transformed by survivors into a place of refuge.

"I felt confused, sad and tired," recalls Mariana, an only child, whose father died when she was nine years old. Since the end of January she has been living at the Social Department compound in Banda Aceh, which houses other children who were either orphaned, lost a parent or became separated from their family in the disaster.

Although nothing compares to one's own home, living in the compound is alright, Mariana says, although she now has to share a room with three other girls and yearns for the Rp 2,000 daily allowance her mother used to give her. "For buying books," she said.

"Well, actually... for jajan (snacking)" she cheekily confessed when given a questioning look.

Mariana who understands that crying all the time will not bring her parents back, does not consider her future grim, despite the fact that she lost everything.

"There are things that I can't change, but I don't feel depressed. Hope is there if we strive and make efforts," she asserted, adding that she must build her future with a combination of perseverance and prayers.

She is still musing about what kind of profession she will have in the future, including the possibility of joining the military, hoping to be a Kowat (women command) that would treat Acehnese people fairly. Not wanting to return to Lhoong because there are no more schools there, Mariana hopes the reconstruction process would not neglect the importance of giving Aceh children an opportunity by ensuring their education.

"Schooling is important. If we are uneducated how are we going to build our area?"

In other children's shelters in Banda Aceh few are as resilient as Mariana.

The trauma of the disaster and the impact it has wrought turned many of them silent in their untold sadness. Others masked grief with humor, while a trace of sadness is evident in their eyes. In January, the Social Affairs Ministry estimates that 35,000 children lost their parents in the tsunami.

Five months later, the ministry is still without an exact assessment on the number of orphans. UNICEF estimates 7,000 children have been separated from their families, while the Social Affairs Ministry now puts the number at 5,270.

The government decided not to allow the adoption of Acehnese children temporarily to avoid controversy and possible trafficking cases. The remaining option is foster care, either by foster families or an orphanage.

Adoption of Acehnese orphans could be a sensitive matter due to concerns over ethnicity and religion.

According to Law No. 23/2002 on child protection, foster parents should believe in the same religion as the adopted children.

Acehnese community leaders also prohibit outsiders from adopting Acehnese orphans out of concern that the children might be raised in a different culture.

When asked whether Mariana would prefer to live in a different area if there was an opportunity, she said she had not given the idea much thought.

"I'm not sure whether I would be better off in a different place. Maybe I would. But perhaps it's better to stay here in the mean time," says the girl who physically and mentally survived the tsunami.