25 December, 2011

7 yrs on, girl swept away by tsunami finds family


7 yrs on, girl swept away by tsunami finds family AFP | Dec 24, 2011, 


BANDAACEH ( INDONESIA):An Indonesian girl separated from her family during the 2004Indian Ocean tsunami has been reunited with her relatives after seven years living as a street child, her parents said on Friday.

Mary Yuranda, who is now 14, showed up at a cafe in the city of Meulaboh, in the tsunami-battered Aceh province, looking for her parents.

She was reunited with them on Wednesday after a local taxi driver identified her family from details she had provided, ending a seven-year ordeal in which she lived with a widow who forced her to beg on the streets. "When she saw her mother she yelled 'mama' and ran towards her," her father , Tarmius, said. "Both of them hugged each other and cried," he said.

Mary's mother, Yusnidar, said her daughter had grown so much that she had not immediately recognized the girl.

"The birth marks on her belly, plus a mole and a scar on her face proved that the little girl was mine," said Yusnidar. "I cannot tell you how grateful I am," she added.

The parents said Mary did not want to speak to reporters and was recovering from frequent beatings by the widow. who had found her and taken her to Banda Aceh, renamed her 'Herawati' and made her work as a beggar. Last Tuesday , Mary refused to beg, enraging the widow who put her on a bus to Meulaboh.


Read More:Yusnidar|Tsunami|Natural Disaster|Meulaboh|Mary Yuranda|Local Taxi Driver|Indonesia|Indian Ocean|Beggar



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