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Reunited after separated by tsunami for 10 years
Raudhatul Jannah, also known as Weniati, 14, looked tired and sleepy
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R
audhatul Jannah, also known as Weniati, 14, looked tired and sleepy. Yet, her face beamed with happiness knowing that she would soon return home to her parents after being separated for 10 years by the tsunami that devastated Aceh in 2004.
Accompanied by her mother Jamaliah and father Septi Rangkuti, Raudhatul recounted the experiences she went through when the disaster hit.
She said she was found by a fisherman named Bustami and was later taken to Banyak Island in Aceh Singkil. A boy was with her when she was found by the fisherman.
Raudhatul said she was only 4 years old at the time and could not remember her name. She was later called Weniati by the family who adopted her.
She was adopted by Sarwani, Bustami's mother, on Banyak Island before the family moved to Blangpidie, southwest Aceh.
'My son, Bustami, brought home two kids displaced by the tsunami. As we had no daughter, we decided to adopt Weniati,' Sarwani said, adding that she only learned of Weniati's real name after it was confirmed that the girl's parents were still alive.
Jamaliah, the biological mother of Raudhatul, said she was very happy to have finally found her missing daughter. She also expressed hope that her son, who also went missing when the tsunami hit, was still alive and being taken care of by another family.
'I call on everyone who knows the whereabouts of by son to please inform me,' she said.
Raudhatul was found by her uncle Zainuddin of Blangpidie, who noticed her one day as she was on her way home from school. Zainnudin saw a resemblance in the face of the girl with his sister, Jamaliah.
Driven by curiosity, Zainuddin sought out information on Weniati and finally discovered that she was a child displaced by the tsunami.
'My brother then called me and asked me to send him a picture of my daughter to be matched,' Jamaliah said.
After they were sure Weniati was their lost daughter, Jamialiah and Septi Rangkuti left for Southwest Aceh to meet the girl in person.
Raudhatul is to be taken to South Tapanuli in North Sumatra because her biological parents have moved to the city from Aceh after the devastating disaster that killed more than 130,000 people in the province.
