Tsunami survivors still searching for missing children

Tsunami survivors still searching for missing children

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

"I have a hunch that my son is still alive. Someone saw him after
the tsunami," said Rahmadi.

His belief that his five-year-old son, Alif Miftahul Rizki, is
still alive drives the 32-year-old father to keep searching for
him, even a year after the tsunami devastated Aceh on Dec. 26
last year, killing 126,915 people and leaving 37,063 listed as
missing.

In searching for his only son over the last year, he has spent
a lot of money on placing ads containing Alif's picture in the
Serambi Indonesia local daily.

Rahmadi, a resident of Neusu in Banda Aceh, also regularly
visits children's centers, taking Alif's photo along with him.

"I don't know for how long I'll have to look for him but I'll
keep trying," Rahmadi said.

Another tsunami survivor, Salmiah, a 55-year-old resident of
Lingke in Banda Aceh, is still searching for her two missing
daughters, although she had not been able to afford newspaper ads
like Rahmadi.

"I'm sure my two daughters are still alive. Maybe they're
living outside Aceh now," said the widow before she broke into
tears.

Unlike Rahmadi and Salmiah, who are still hoping that their
children will turn up alive, 60-year-old Ngatinem, from Kajhu,
Mesjid Raya district, Aceh Besar regency, has stopped her search.

"I lost three children in the disaster but I have given up
hope," she sighed.

A year after the tsunami struck, many survivors have lost all
hope of finding missing relatives, but there are those, mainly
parents who lost their children in the disaster, that still have
hope.

As part of the effort to reunite parents with their children,
several children centers in cooperation with non-governmental
organizations like Save the Children, United Nations Children's
Fund (Unicef) and the social services department are still
posting up pictures of the missing children in various public
places. This has proved effective in helping many parents find
their children.

According to figures from the government, Save the Children, and
Unicef, 2,242 children are still separated from their families or
living on their own following the disaster.

A year on, the NGOs provide a range of support services to
help families search for their missing children, or wanting to
adopt children.

"We try to convince people that it's better for the children
to live with their families and in their own communities rather
than having them live in institutions," said Jon Bugge of Save
the Children.