Tsunami survivor takes up new challenge - college education

Tsunami survivor takes up new challenge - college education

Jasbant Singh, Associated Press/Kuala Lumpur

Rizal Shahputra, the poor Indonesian village laborer who survived
the Dec. 26 tsunami and an eight-day solo ordeal at sea, began
college on Thursday, the first step in his ambition to become an
Internet whiz.

Clad in a yellow shirt and gray slacks with sneakers, Rizal
arrived in a taxi at University College Sedaya International in
central Kuala Lumpur, carrying two bags of clothes. He reported
to the university administrators, who later took him to the
hostel and enrolled him for an orientation program this week.

"I am very excited but also very nervous," Rizal told The
Associated Press. "I am a very determined person and I will study
hard as I do not want to disappoint anyone."

Rizal, 20, who studied up to high school in Aceh province in
Indonesia hopes to do a degree in communications technology and
pursue a career in Internet and multimedia. But first he will
complete a three-month English-language course.

Rizal was cleaning a beachside mosque in Calang town in Aceh
when the Dec. 26 earthquake-spawned tsunami crashed ashore. He
had no time to run and was swept out to sea while clinging to an
uprooted tree.

Rizal's father, his mother and two of his three siblings were
killed in the tsunami. Their bodies were never recovered, and are
among the estimated 165,000 Indonesians dead and missing from the
disaster.

Rizal said he still mourns the loss of his family members,
including his father, a 45-year old teacher who advised him only
a month before the tsunami not to loaf around like many in their
village.

"I miss them very much. I pray for them every day," said Rizal
who lived on rain water for eight days until he was rescued by a
passing ship that brought him to Malaysia where he lived with an
Indonesian diplomat until Thursday.

Rizal counts his blessings in starting a new life in Malaysia.
The university has agreed to waive his tuition and hostel fees
while providing him a campus job.

"We hope this gesture will strengthen ties between our country
and Indonesia. Rizal is a very determined person and I am sure he
will do well," said Steven Ng, a spokesman of the university,
which has 4,000 students, including 400 foreigners.

Rizal said he cannot thank God enough for keeping him alive.
"I hope by getting a university degree, I can fulfill my father
wishes, get a good job and turn this tragedy into a blessing to
start a new and better life."

Rizal was one of three people known to have survived at sea
for several days after the tsunami. Another Indonesian, Ari
Afrizal, was adrift for 14 days before being rescued. A 23-year-
old Indonesian woman, Melawati, was at sea for five days.

Rizal, who speaks only his native Bahasa, said he is under no
illusion about the tough road ahead in his academic pursuits.

"But I always tell myself that learning English or studying
for a degree cannot be more difficult than surviving the tsunami
or dealing with the grief of losing my family."