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