It was a public holiday here yesterday. Besides helping Mama with housekeeping, we also spent a lazy afternoon watching whatever Brad is watching on TV. Then we saw a newsflash about a massive earthquake off the island of Sumatera at around 1638hrs Malaysian time. It sent Mama into a panic and she frantically tried to contact her colleagues in Acheh. She couldn't get anyone via phone or email. Then she started calling London to see if anyone from headquarters know what's going on. Our afternoon that started so easy peasy became hectic. It was only after 10.00pm that we got news about Mama's colleagues and by that time the tsunami alert was already withdrawn.
We sort of "interviewed" Mama about her experience in 2004, when the big one hit Asia, and reports say even all the way to Somalia. Mama said it was a disaster that she hoped she will never have to see again. The devastation was massive and in some areas, still unresolved. It wasn't just the loss of hundreds of thousands of life, it was also the untold damage to livelihood as homes were broken, businesses collapsed, schools inundated, boats beyond repair....Thus, the hardest part was to pick up your life and move on...
Lest we forget, here are some photographs that Mama and Dad took while visiting some of the places affected by that Boxing Day 2004 tsunami.
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| Mass grave of 46,718 lives in Acheh, Indonesia, this picture was taken in 2006, people perished while having breakfast. |
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| Badly damaged residential area in Acheh, this photo was taken three months after the disaster. |
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| This is Komala Beach, Phuket, Thailand in January 2005. Mamy people perished while sunbathing. |
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| This is in Kuala Muda, Kedah, Malaysia in January 2005. Many people perished while attending a wedding. |
Angelina's note: We have more gory pictures (you know....body bags, blood, mutilated limbs etc) but decided not to shock all you kitties. There was one of a blind kitten in Acheh that Mama cried on everytime she sees that picture. After all these years, we thought Mama would have been hardened by the sufferings she keeps seeing but no... my Mama has a soft heart (purrrlease don't tell her I told you that). Kitties, spare a minute to remember all those that have gone before us, humans or companions alike.
purrr....meow!
