This post is written by Rebecca Young from ACT International. Christian Aid is a member of ACT International.
Policeman Abiudin Gulo is an active member of the West Indonesia Protestant Church whose church building is being used as an ACT International humanitarian relief post. He dropped by the post on Wednesday morning to chat with fellow church members working there, and to see the activities at this "post that never sleeps". While chatting with friends, he began to share some of his experiences of the recent disaster.
At the time the earthquake hit, Mr Gulo was at home with his family, relaxing. He recalls that his daughter was working on her homework. She is a student at the local university, studying to become a midwife. His teenage son was also in the room chatting with him and his wife. When the earth began shaking, the four of them jumped to their feet and ran out into the front yard. Moments after they were clear of the house, the upper level walls fell down into the living room where they had just been sitting.
The family discussed what to do next. For everyone who lives along the coast of south western Sumatra, the tsunami of 2004 experienced by their neighbours to the north is still a strong memory, even though it did not reach Padang. Whenever there is a strong earthquake, they fear that a tsunami is soon to come. Despite this, Gulo decided to stay and guard the house but he let his family evacuate to the hills while he kept an informal vigil with is neighbours.
By 11:00pm that night, the government had called off the tsunami warning, so Gulo's family returned home. Together they cleaned out the debris from a downstairs bedroom and went to sleep together in the single room. Unlike most Padang families who are scared to sleep inside their houses, Mr Gulo was once again not afraid. He said that whatever was going to fall had already fallen during the quake, so he did not need to worry.
When asked about his plans to find a way to repair the house, Mr Gulo had already discussed it with his family and made a decision. Allowing his daughter to continue studying at the university is the most important part of his life right now, and he will delay making any improvements until she has finished schooling in two more years.
In the meantime, the family will live downstairs and make do with the way things are. "When it rains, only a little bit comes in through the cracks, so we can handle it until she graduates," he said. Mr Gulo's rainbow, which he eagerly anticipates after this disaster has abated, is the image of his daughter walking down the aisle in her cap and gown.
Rebecca Young is reporting from ACT International member Yakkum Emergency Unit
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Indonesian army soldiers carry the body of an earthquake victim at the Ambacang Hotel which collapsed after an earthquake struck Padang, West Sumatra province October 8, 2009. Relief workers struggled to ...
