IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
PARAK BURUK, Indonesia – Despite destruction engulfing the quake-hit western Indonesian island, Linda Wati is still preparing for her wedding.
"Our wedding will continue as planned on Friday,” Wati, 25, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday, October 2.
“We're expecting about 40 guests. I consider this a challenge from God."
Wati was just two days from her wedding when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck bustling port city of Padang, capital of Sumatra Island, on Wednesday.
"We were making final preparations for my wedding when the quake hit Padang," said Wati.
"My cousins were decorating the house and building a platform to host the musicians when the quake happened."
The United Nations estimates that 1,100 have died in the disaster, while the government puts the death toll at 777, but the figure is expected to rise as many more are still trapped under the rubble.
Wati’s house was destroyed in the quake and she is living with her family in a teetering shell.
“I consider this a challenge from God," Wati said.
"We have to demolish the house and rebuild again. I'm not angry with God. I think it's a test of our will."
A massive 9.1-magnitude quake off Aceh in northern Sumatra triggered the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000.
Plead for Help
Wati’s neighbours are now sleeping on the stage that had been set up for the wedding band.
"My kids can't sleep,” said Erfayulis, who is spending the night with her family on Wati’s stage.
“We're getting attacked by mosquitoes. And my gut feeling says another big quake will hit Padang."
The Indonesian mother pleaded for world countries to help.
"We're asking for the government and neighbouring countries for aid. Give us materials to rebuild our homes and give us food."
The Indonesian government on Friday renewed calls for foreign aid to the quake victims.
"Our main problem is that there are a lot of victims still trapped in the rubble. We are struggling to pull them out," Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told reporters.
"We need help from foreign countries for evacuation efforts. We need them to provide skilled rescuers with equipment."
Several countries have already pledged aid, but efforts to organise a full-scale rescue operation are being hampered by blocked roads, broken power lines, and patchy communication networks.
"We don't have proper equipment. We don't even have dogs," said Suryadi Soedarmo, a surgeon from an emergency ambulance service in the capital Jakarta who arrived with 10 experts trained to enter collapsed structures.
"The command and control is also bad. It will jeopardise our rescue efforts."
Many quake-hit families are still waiting for help.
"We're living in fear of another bigger quake angry that no aid has come,” said Ernalis, a 40-year-old resident of Parak Buruk on the edge of Padang.
“We're hungry and we're traumatised."
| Home | Daily News | We Are On... |
