BANDA ACEH,SUMATRA

I have seen many things in life,a few of which I did not want to talk about.Today I want to share a little episode-The Tsunami story.As I arrived in Banda Acheh a few days after the wave struck,the stench of rotting corpses was everywhere.Many social workers took the next flight out,for fear of diseases and the inability to cope with what was about to unfold before our eyes.But for some reason,I was unmoved within me.Maybe because I have read of Noah's flood.I don't know how I coped.I walked about the city for a day,then I called in the tractor and paid them to dig the usual common grave in times like these.Then we wrapped the dead in rice bags and put the remains to rest.I spent whole days burying their dead.One strange thing-nobody was weeping,just silence-some staring from a distance.One old man said-Terima Kasih,to me for helping to bury his dead.A month later,I was sent off by the Muslim community there after a simple meal.
They felt a tinge of sadness as I left.I felt none.I learnt the lesson while on assignment in Bosnia-be detached or be unhinged.I did not reveal these photographs as it concerns tragedy.I have a feeling I will return there someday to reconnect-hopefully to see a restored people. Vijay- The Midnight Owl.