The 8-year-old Indonesian girl separated from her family after being washed away in the 2004 tsunami spent the last seven miserable years as a beggar — regularly beaten by the cruel woman who took her in.
Meri Yuranda, now 15, told her harrowing tale after being reunited with her parents in the city of Meulaboh on Wednesday.
“When she saw her mother she yelled, ‘Mama!’ and ran toward her,” her father said. “Both of them hugged each other and cried.”
“When I saw my mother, I knew it was her,” the girl said. “I just knew.”
Meri told her parents that after they were separated — when the tsunami devastated their town in the Aceh district on Dec. 26, 2004 — she was found by a widow and taken to the nearby village of Banda Aceh.
The widow “adopted” her, she said, renamed her “Wati,” and
But on Tuesday, she finally turned on
the woman and refused to beg anymore.
“Go ahead, leave,” the woman told her. “Go find your parents then. They’re in Meulaboh.”
Meri took a bus to the town, one of the hardest hit by the tsunami, but she had lost almost all memory of her relatives and didn’t know where to start. The only family name she remembered was that of her grandfather, Ibrahim.
More than 160,000 people from Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, were lost and presumed drowned in the tsunami, but many families cling to the hope of finding lost loved ones.
Every reported reunion in the past five years turned out to be untrue, as DNA tests have shown.
But this story had a happy ending.
Meri found Ibrahim’s home in Meulaboh. The grandfather didn’t recognize her, so he summoned the girl’s parents from their village, Ujong Baroh, to confirm the girl’s identity.
Her mother, Yusniar binti Ibrahim Nur, 35, said she had all the evidence she needed: Wati was definitely Meri, she said.
“She has her father’s face,” she said. “And when I saw the scar over her eye and mole on her hip, I was even more sure.”
In addition, Meri has telltale “birthmarks on her belly that proved the little girl was mine,” she said.
“I cannot tell you how grateful I am,” she told a reporter.
The events of the day of the tsunami remain vague.
Meri initially said she had lost her grip on her mother’s hand while they were fleeing the waters.
But on Thursday, she said she remembered her father putting her into a boat with her younger sister and getting separated.
She says she remembers being surrounded by water and crying. The younger sister has never been found.
Her father said he put both of his daughters on the roof of their house hoping they’d be safe.
“Maybe she fell into the boat, maybe someone helped her. I just don’t know,” said mother Yusniar.
“I just thank God my prayers have been answered,” she said.
“For years, I searched everywhere. I’d really given up.”
Meri Yuranda, now 15, told her harrowing tale after being reunited with her parents in the city of Meulaboh on Wednesday.
“When she saw her mother she yelled, ‘Mama!’ and ran toward her,” her father said. “Both of them hugged each other and cried.”
“When I saw my mother, I knew it was her,” the girl said. “I just knew.”
Meri told her parents that after they were separated — when the tsunami devastated their town in the Aceh district on Dec. 26, 2004 — she was found by a widow and taken to the nearby village of Banda Aceh.
SURVIVOR: Meri Yuranda reunites with mom Yusniar, baby brother Aris and dad Yusuf at their home in Indonesia yesterday.
forced her to beg on the streets, often until 1 a.m. To keep her obedient, the woman beat her regularly, Meri recalled.
the woman and refused to beg anymore.
“Go ahead, leave,” the woman told her. “Go find your parents then. They’re in Meulaboh.”
Meri took a bus to the town, one of the hardest hit by the tsunami, but she had lost almost all memory of her relatives and didn’t know where to start. The only family name she remembered was that of her grandfather, Ibrahim.
More than 160,000 people from Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, were lost and presumed drowned in the tsunami, but many families cling to the hope of finding lost loved ones.
Every reported reunion in the past five years turned out to be untrue, as DNA tests have shown.
But this story had a happy ending.
Meri found Ibrahim’s home in Meulaboh. The grandfather didn’t recognize her, so he summoned the girl’s parents from their village, Ujong Baroh, to confirm the girl’s identity.
Her mother, Yusniar binti Ibrahim Nur, 35, said she had all the evidence she needed: Wati was definitely Meri, she said.
“She has her father’s face,” she said. “And when I saw the scar over her eye and mole on her hip, I was even more sure.”
In addition, Meri has telltale “birthmarks on her belly that proved the little girl was mine,” she said.
“I cannot tell you how grateful I am,” she told a reporter.
The events of the day of the tsunami remain vague.
Meri initially said she had lost her grip on her mother’s hand while they were fleeing the waters.
But on Thursday, she said she remembered her father putting her into a boat with her younger sister and getting separated.
She says she remembers being surrounded by water and crying. The younger sister has never been found.
Her father said he put both of his daughters on the roof of their house hoping they’d be safe.
“Maybe she fell into the boat, maybe someone helped her. I just don’t know,” said mother Yusniar.
“I just thank God my prayers have been answered,” she said.
“For years, I searched everywhere. I’d really given up.”
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