A survivor’s story forwarded from friends assisting survivors of Cyclone Nargis…..
“I lived in xxx Township, xxx village Track, xxx village. When the storm- (Nargis) began on 2 .05 .08, I was then in the village. At noon 12:00 am I realised that the wind became stronger than as it was usual. However I didn’t think that such a terrible misfortune would happen. When evening came, about 6:00 pm, I realised the flooding water covered all the ground under my house. The wind began stronger. We thought that the situation would remain as usual and not moved to the church as a precaution from danger. We kept watching and listened to the progress situation of the storm. My house was located in the midst of a garden. When the first storm swept through the village the roof of my house was blown off, but the house remained un-collapsed as my house was not too high enough and still could with stand forces of the wind. Forces of the storm decreased at about 8:00 pm for awhile, but the tide rapidly flooded the ground surface, estimated at a man height. I built up a shelf within my house to keep my wife and children safe. Soon after moving my family on to the shelf, the second burst of wind began to blow. The wind, this time was really strong as my wife and children began to cry and pray to God, No sooner, the waves, one after another hit my house and within minutes, we all were scattered among the waves in darkness. I noticed that my elder sister was on the shelf when we made the first moved on to the shelf, but after the waves bitterly stormed my house, I could not see her anymore. As it was dark, we could not see each other, but one of my children was still holding on to my Neck, and the other two were holding each of my hands. We could not breathe as the waves continuously roll one after another over us. No sooner, I realised that two of my children holding my respective hands were slipped off my hands for lack of hold and sank into the water, drowning.
When I drew the one in my hand out of the water, he was already dead. All I could do was to release and let him be carried away by the waves. I was then left alone and swam for my life in darkness. I, fortunately, reached a bamboo and hold on to it and stayed there for the whole night till dawn. During the incident I saw my wife holding her breast-feeding baby, but when I was looking for her dead at dawn, I found only her body, with no baby at all. I knew that my eldest son was still alive only when he returned to me in the morning. I sorry sorrowfully buried my wife in the morning. I never found my four children that were lost during the night. I could no more bore the experience and do not want to live any more in this world.
When I was living about one week in the village, I received some small amount of food from some of our neighbors. Next day, the village chief ask me with two other person, to go and ask for rice in a near by big village, but we got nothing at all. I knew that it was hard to get help from human being then. By the grace of God, on returning to he village, I heard that some Christian leaders from xxx came down to take the victims to a relief center. We got ready, came up to xxx and took a car to xxx.
We were welcomed and well Treated with kindness by the Christian leaders in xxx. While we were there, my brother came and told me not to go for work any more in Rangoon. He told me that our elder sister living in Australia phoned him that she will ask one of her friend, working somewhere close to the border to take us to a safer place. I thanks God that we were now safe and pray that God bless all our brothers and sisters who are lending their helping hand for “Nargis” victims who are still in the midst of great Troubles.”
(Nargis Victim)
Jewels in the Ashes 