Wasnt a long time ago when tsunami struck Aceh. This time the horrible news came from a place not far away from Jakarta. The communities along the coast line of southern west java were hit by tidal waves following a six point something ritcher scale on 17th July 2006.
Water can be such a terrifying beast. It swapped away everything it could to unleash its power. Everything. Including house of someone we might know. Including some husband of a young wife who might had been out fishing in the ocean. Including some kids who played football on a sunny afternoon pretending they are the next Christiano Ronaldo. The beast didn’t take anything for granted. That’s for sure.
As soon as the rumor became a headline news, reflections of nice view, friendly waves and people, the smell of not so cold beer and the taste of fingerlickin’ sea food emerged to my mind. It was Batukaras Village, in Ciamis, West Java… a place where we had 1 of the best shooting locations back in 2003. It was Batukaras.. that we all had in mind.
The place has been well known as one of the best secret spots for surfing in West Java. If you happened to ever visited Batukaras, you would know what I mean.. Nothing more than surf, sand, sun, sleep, then surf again before we got too hungry to play.
Waiting if we could read the name of the village on “ticker news” became unbearable. A phone call from a good friend who got there 2 days after the tsunami explained everything. We have to help.
After plenty of phone calls and text messages, donations started to pour in. We had a great amount of support from BENGKEL AMAL, a circle of good people who were in the position of helping those in needs. There are also some other individuals and organizations that have played an important role in this mission. Its probably something that is not even close enough to what the victims feel… But its another form of saying… Brothers, we care!
Tonite, 25 July 2006 at 11.00pm, Fictionary will send the donations and (is it still..?) humanitarian aids to Batukaras, accompanied by Sobar and Zwingly. Its great to be able to help. We shall wait their report when they come back.
Thank you all…
Sakti Parantean