Please, Help Your Mother, My Dear Son

During my pregnancy, I always talk to this baby, “Dear, please, help your mother. Be a good kid. Be calm. Mommy has to work, darling.” I kept saying these just like a mantra, like a prayer.


In July 2018, he was born. His name is Hans. He was only two months old when the earthquake and tsunami happened in Palu. When the earth was moving, I was making sambal.


I panicked. My husband was out of town. I held Hans. I didn’t care my hands were full of sambal. Everyone was screaming in panic, frantically saving their lives. Our house was not far from the land that was vanished into the bowels of the earth during the liquefaction in Petobo. There was a loud noise. Horrific!


My prayer was answered. Hans becomes a very calm child. He did not cry even a bit. He was very quiet. And even though we stayed in a windy tent, just an emergency tent made by neighbours, Hans did not catch a cold.

The fifth day after the earthquake and tsunami, as an RRI reporter, I was contacted by the office. They asked me if I could do a new coverage on the disaster.


I was actually on my maternity leave. Okay, duty called. I took the baby holder, I took Hans to the tents, I rode motorbike whenever I go. He stayed still and quiet when I did the interview, only a little baby cooing every now and then. Just like an added background noise.


I am a Batak. I came to Palu in 2005 when I got accepted at the University of Tadulako. I did not know anyone in this city back then.


I chose communication at UNTAD. I studied in Palu because I was curious to find out about what actually happened in Poso. What was the trigger? Could media be contributing to worsening the situation? Hehe, even until now I have not comprehended what actually happened there. Why did they have to hurt each other?


I did an internship at RRI in 2010, then I was promoted to be a reporter until now. I met my husband, a Batak man in Palu. He was a nurse.


What do I like about Palu? People are nice here. When I first got here and during the disaster aftermath, everyone helped each other. For example, somebody would help me to watch Hans while I did my interview or attended a workshop such as this one. We seek for knowledge too, right my son?


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PUBLISHED BY Puan Indonesia
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