Mass Graves Of 2004 Tsunami Victims In Siron, Aceh Besar Crowded With Pilgrims

Mass graves of 2004 tsunami victims in Siron Village, Aceh Besar. (Between/Azhari)

JAKARTA - The mass graves of the 2004 tsunami victims in Siron Village, Aceh Besar District, have been visited by pilgrims since the end of the 1444 Hijri Eid prayer.

One of the pilgrims who came from Banda Aceh, Muhammadiyah (63), Saturday, said that every Eid after Eid prayer, he always came to visit Siron mass graves to pray for his family who were victims of the December 26, 2004 tsunami.

"For Lebaran, I still came here, my wife and child were hit by a tsunami," said Muhammadiyah.

At the cemetery there were as many as 46,718 martyrs who were buried on a field without a headstone.

Muhammad conveyed that the tsunami incident that claimed the lives of his small family was still remembered even though it had been almost 19 years.

He still remembers very well how the tsunami incident made his wife and three children who were sitting on the weight of elementary school and who were a year old have to leave themselves alone forever.

He said that at the time of the fateful incident he was selling clothes at the Aceh Market when he saw a high wave moving to the intersection of Muhammadiyah Elementary School, he panicked while running to save himself at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.

Meanwhile, his wife and three young children are at home. The incident is still very much remembered by Muhammad until now.

Currently, he has built a household together with his new wife who was married after the death of his first wife who had been martyred.

However, he will not forget the family who left him. In fact, he also invited his wife to join the pilgrimage and send prayers.

"It doesn't have to be Lebaran, whenever I have time I will definitely come to visit here to send prayers to the families who have died," said Muhammad.