Mariana, an Aceh orphan hopeful about future

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.