Tsunamis haunt nightmares of child survivors

Tsunamis haunt nightmares of child survivors

M. Jegathesan
Agence France-Presse/Penang, Malaysia

Killer tsunamis are coming again, over and over, in the
nightmares of children who survived the waves which swept them
from their homes or picnics on Malaysia's Penang island.

Rahibah Osman's 11-year-old son, Mohamad Fikri Rahim, who was
caught by ferocious waves "as high as coconut trees and blackened
with mud", has troubled dreams in Penang General Hospital.

He cries in his sleep and shouts "No, no!", his mother, 49,
told AFP.

"I don't know what he's talking about, but when I ask him, he
starts to cry," she said.

Mohamad Fikri was playing with his 13-year-old sister outside
their home about a kilometer away from the beachfront when
massive tidal waves struck their village.

"I heard the loud thundering roar of what I thought was the
engine of an airplane," Rahibah said.

Within seconds, huge black waves engulfed her house and her
two children disappeared. Her daughter had been swept into a
neighboring house and Rahibah managed to grab a pole. Boats were
hurled into houses. Mohamad Fikri was nowhere to be seen.

"When the waves died down, his cousin went into the water to
search for him and managed to find him. He was covered in mud,
even his mouth was full of mud," she said.

Mohamad Fikri was rushed to hospital and revived but the
nightmarish experience has changed him, she said.

"My son used to be a cheerful boy, but now he is quiet and
reserved. He has lost his appetite.

"I pray he will recover quickly and that he has not lost his
memory, because he is taking time to answer questions.

"I do not know what the future holds for us, whether it is
dark or bright. But what is most important is that my kids are
alive, unlike other parents who have lost their children in the
disaster."

Two-year-old Mohamad Ashraf also survived the deadly waves
which killed more than 80,000 across Asia that Sunday, including
66 in Malaysia, and he is also showing signs of the trauma in
Penang hospital.

His father, Mohamad Rozi, 44, had decided to take his wife and
five children to one of Penang's popular picnic areas known as
"Miami beach".

"The weather was fine and the sun was shining," he said, and
they all sat down for a traditional Malay meal of 'nasi lemak' or
rice cooked in coconut milk.

"All of a sudden I saw a white line on the horizon. We were
mesmerized by the white line as we stood and watched it."

Within seconds, enormous waves engulfed him and his family.

"We tried to escape but the high slopes to the road made it
difficult. My legs were stuck under the roots of a tree. The
water and sand were pounding me fast and hard. i just closed my
eyes," he said.

"My son was lost in the water for a while. When the waves
subsided, we found him lying on the beach, face upwards," Mohamad
Rozi said.

"Water was coming out from his nose. I pressed his stomach and
water came out from his mouth. I managed to resuscitate him and
carried him to higher ground."

"I was in the water for five minutes. I thought of God and
asked him to give me strength and to save my family. I never
learnt how to save a drowning child, but all of it just came to
me."

His wife, Khatijah Sahidan, 42, said the "nightmare will never
fade away."

"We will never go back to the seaside. My daughter says they
don't want to go back ever."

Little Mohamad Ashraf, 2, who sustained injuries to his head,
hands and body, just buried his face in his hands when asked if
he ever wanted to return to the beach.