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."