Ground zero

On the 3rd day of our trip, we visited Ground zero. This is the place where most of the houses and plantations were being wiped out by the Tsunami. Rizal, a local Meulaboh Mercy Relief volunteer brought us around and painted to us the scene before and after Tsunami. Something that struck me was this leafless coconut tree.

Rizal shared with us that when Tsunami hit, he climbed unto this tree and stayed there for 1.5 days without water and food! I cannot imagine myself how I would have reacted if I am placed in the same situation as that of Rizal. As we continued to walk along the coastline, we see more of the debris that were left behind. We bypassed one of the few wells that were left after the Tsunami. Rizal explained to us that one of the wells belonged to his sister's family who was wiped out. At that point, I was thinking in my heart, how does Rizal feel when he bring various groups to visit Ground Zero? I thought it must be quite tough on him to flash back memories of the past as he narrated to each one of us..