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.