CHAPTER 21 – Good News from Lamsenia
Days go by. Life is a whirl. Those who have left can slowly be forgotten until the Idul Fitri holiday comes. That’s when the lost souls return to their families. As if those who had gone—the children, wives, fathers, mothers, and relatives—have returned to their hometown, smiling and carrying souvenirs. Those who were left behind welcome them in tears and they hug each other, at least in memories…
That morning, together with about 300 people of Leupung subdistrict, I had just finished performing the Id prayer. The congregants started to leave the meunasah, leaving it quiet. The sound of the waves could be heard faintly.
“Please, come with us,” said Kak Neh, 28, beckoning in invitation. Together with her husband, Martunis, 32, I followed Kak Neh to a place submerged in seawater that reached our knees. “This used to be a very crowded village. Now it’s a lake,” said Kak Neh. “Over there was our father’s house,” she indicated.
We had to roll our sarongs and pants up to our thighs to walk to the remains of her father’s house. A lonely chipped pillar and a few segments of brick wall were all that remained of the house.
Kak Neh and her husband sat on pieces of bricks and opened the Yasin letter of the Koran. “This is where our children and friends died,” Martunis said, before starting to pray.
Wartawan Tempo sejak 1998. Menjelajah berbagai desk, antara lain ekonomi, nasional, kesehatan, sains, gaya hidup, dan investigasi. Sejak Januari 2009 ditugasi menjadi Direktur Eksekutif Institut Tempo, sebuah lembaga yang dicita-citakan menjadi pusat pengembangan jurnalistik di Indonesia. Lulusan Fakultas Biologi, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, tahun 1996. Setelah lulus kuliah, bergabung dengan Majalah Warta Ekonomi (1996) sebagai staf riset dan kemudian menjadi reporter di majalah Panji Masyarakat (1997).