Ten Years Later On December 26th 2004 Arif was seven years old and his sister Raudatul was four. They lived in Indonesia when a terrible tsunami occured. Their parents tried to run away from the water

Carlos Suárez

Ten Years Later On December 26th 2004 Arif was seven years old and his sister Raudatul was four. They lived in Indonesia when a terrible tsunami occured. Their parents tried to run away from the water riding a motorbike, but it was in vain. There were five of them on the motorbike; Raudatul, Arif, their parents and their eldest brother. They were separated by the water; Raudatul and Arif with their father and their mother with their other brother. Their father put them on a log that was floating on the water when a big wave made him lose his balance. When he could stand up again he saw that his children were being dragged by the water. That was the last time that he saw them. He and his wife were searching in many places, even between the corpses but they found nothing. Then, ten years later, the father of the children got a phone call from his brother who lived in another town and who told him that he had seen a girl very similar to Raudatul on the street. At first he didn't believe it, but he and his wife went to that city to check it out and the girl turned out to be their daughter, She told them that she and her brother had been brought up by a poor family. This family eventually had to separate them because they couldn't afford their upbringing, so Arif was given to someone else. The parents were on a television programme telling their story and thanks to this they could find their son, who was living in another town. Now they are back at home, which is a miracle especially for Arif. He spent several years living on the streets doing whatever he could to eat; from selling food to work in a cafe.

Dec 21, 2014 3:17 PM

Corrections · 2

Ten Years Later

On December 26th, 2004, Arif was seven years old and his sister Raudatul was four. They lived in Indonesia when a terrible tsunami occured. Their parents tried to run away from the water riding a motorbike, but it was in vain. There were five of them on the motorbike; Raudatul, Arif, their parents and their eldest brother. They were separated by the water; Raudatul and Arif with their father and their mother with their other brother. Their father put them on a log that was floating on the water when a big wave made him lose his balance. When he could stand up again he saw that his children were being dragged away by the water. That was the last time that he saw them. He and his wife were searching in many places, even between the corpses but they found nothing. Then, ten years later, the father of the children got a phone call from his brother who lived in another town and who told him that he had seen a girl very similar to Raudatul on the street. At first he didn't believe it, but he and his wife went to that city to check it out and the girl turned out to be their daughter. She told them that she and her brother had been brought up by a poor family. This family eventually had to separate them because they couldn't afford their upbringing, so Arif was given to someone else. The parents appeared on a television program telling their story and, thanks to this, they were able to find their son who was living in another town.
Now they are back at home, which is a miracle especially for Arif. He spent several years living on the streets doing whatever he could to eat, from selling food to work in a cafe.