RI ambassador thanks U.S. girl

RI ambassador thanks U.S. girl

U.S.: Indonesia's ambassador to the United States visited a Michigan schoolgirl to thank her for writing a sympathetic letter to his country after it was devastated by a tsunami last December.

Soemadi D.M. Brotodiningrat came to the northern Michigan town of Charlevoix on Thursday, where he met 9-year-old Maggie Hamilton, her classmates and local officials in the elementary school.

"The beautiful simplicity of your letter ... symbolized the American compassion for others, and symbolized the compassion of all of mankind," Soemadi said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono read Maggie's letter during a May 25 visit with President George W. Bush at the White House, along with a reply from Nada Lutfiah, a 9-year-old girl from the heavily damaged Aceh province.

Nada's parents and two brothers were lost in the tsunami, which killed at least 126,000 people in Indonesia and 48,000 in 10 other countries in the Indian Ocean basin.

Soemadi said he didn't know how Maggie's letter came to the Indonesian president's attention, but that it "genuinely touched (Susilo's) heart."

Maggie's letter was among a batch sent in January by the school's third-grade classes. The children also made and sold friendship bracelets and held bake sales in support of the Red Cross's tsunami relief efforts. They included a bracelet with each letter.

Maggie wrote that she was praying for the tsunami victims and that "we are raising money for your country."

Nada's reply thanked Maggie, saying "I hope to receive your bracelet ... to remind me that I have a new friend."

On Thursday, Soemadi gave Maggie the letter from Nada and listened to her singing Indonesian national anthem. Maggie was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead from Soemadi.

The ambassador's visit was "exciting and cool," she said. "It made me feel proud." -- AP