Picking up the pieces after disaster

By Kasparman

PADANG, West Sumatra (JP): "This was my house," 65-year-old Amai told The Jakarta Post recently on a hot afternoon at Duo Koto village, Malalo, West Sumatra.

Seconds later, tears ran down her cheeks.

What she meant by her house was none other than pieces of wood.

That was the only thing left of a home she and her husband worked so hard to build over the last five years.

In an instant, Amai saw her hopes and dreams washed away by the flood and landslide which swept her village.

Still sobbing, Amai then dropped onto the pieces of wood.

"Help, my house is gone," moaned the mother of five to passersby.

Despite the fatigue and the extreme heat of the sun, Amai tried to dig into the mud and stones, to salvage what ever possessions she could find.

"My house was here...," she kept saying.

All the houses in the village located by Singkarak lake was destroyed by the disaster.

Amai moved into the village five years ago with her husband Ajo Sidi Marajo. They decide to live in Duo Koto as it seemed like the perfect place to farm with a river flowing across the village.

The coupled started out by tending other people's farms. Their hard work paid off as their welfare improved, and they were able to send their children to school and start building a house.

But on Nov. 24, their dreams of a better life were shattered.

Flood inundated the whole village.

The river, which ironically had been the source of the villages' progress, overflowed. The water was black.

Locals call the flood galodo, or flood that carries stones, from pebbles to huge rocks.

Within two minutes, Duo Koto village turned into a sea of stones.

Hectares of rice fields, almost ready for harvest, were also completely destroyed by a the landslide.

Thirty houses were destroyed and 10 people were killed. The material loss is estimated at around Rp 3 billion.

The only consolation for Amai and Ajo is that the family was unharmed, at least physically.

Their children are now living in a relative's house, not knowing for how long.

Another victim in the village was Samsimar, 11, whose father Sidi Makmur was swept away in the flood.

When the flood hit the village, Sidi and Samsimar's older brother, Anas, were on a bridge on their way to dusk prayers at the mosque.

All of a sudden they heard a thunderous roar from the top of the hill.

A torrent of water, carrying wood and stones, rushed at them.

Anas, who was standing behind his father, fell to the side and was dragged about 50 meters by the water.

Luckily, Anas managed to hold on to a solid object. He saw his father desperately trying to reach for something, until he vanished.

"Thank God, my brother survived," sobbed Samsimar.

With Sidi gone, Anas has to be responsible for his family.

The two boys and their mother, Delisman, have taken refuge in a nearby school, as their home, like all the others in the village, is buried in rock and mud.

Amai, Samsimar, Anas and the rest of the disaster victims in the village can only wait for some miracle to help them put their lives back together.