Tears of a War Veteran's Widow Following Flores Earthquake, Struggling to Find Three Foster Orphans

The scorching sun in the northern coast of Nageleko Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), felt stinging. Siti Sulbiati (57) sat alone on a bamboo platform shaded by a tree in front of her house. Siti is a resident of Nangadhero Village, Aesesa District, Nagekeo Regency.

Her speech was gentle as she greeted and invited every guest to sit. Her house, built with bamboo walls, is aged and weathered.

This house, left by her late husband, stood as a silent witness to the 7.7 magnitude earthquake three weeks ago. Siti, who was fast asleep at the time, was startled and jumped from her bed.

Unfortunately, the powerful tremor caused her to fall, but she quickly regained her footing. That morning, her voice rang out loudly, urging her neighbours to flee their homes. At that moment, Siti could not run outside because her door key had been scattered by the shaking.

In the darkness, she crawled slowly to search for the key so she could exit the house. The situation grew more complicated as items inside her home were thrown everywhere. A glass display case used for storing house keys was shattered. Shortly after, Siti found the key and managed to open the door to escape.

Siti only managed to save two sarongs and a suitcase containing her important documents. Once outside, a pickup truck was already on standby to evacuate them to a safe location.

As they were preparing to leave, Siti noticed a neighbour, who had long suffered from a stroke, was still remaining in his house. Seeing this, Siti ordered everyone to evacuate him.

This was despite the rising sea levels flooding houses along the coast. Fortunately, the man, named Yohan, was successfully evacuated and brought to safety with the group.