In Christian countries, December 26 is a time when families gather as part of the Christmas season to celebrate the New Year.
However, for Khairani, from Indonesia, the date has significance for a different and tragic reason; the anniversary of the last day she saw her mother alive.
On December 26, 2004, Khairani had just moved to the city of Banda Aceh. In her early twenties, she had big dreams of graduating from college with her loved ones by her side.
Full of ambition and positivity about her future, Khairani had no idea of the devastation that would soon strike.
The deadliest tsunami in history claimed the lives of more than 227,000 people, including 151 British citizens, after hitting heavily populated Asian destinations including Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
It was caused by a massive earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale that occurred at 7:58 a.m. on December 26, 2004, 150 miles outside Banda Aceh. The city had no advance warning of the disaster that was about to affect 300,000 people.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Khairani, now 40 and a mother herself, said hitting the catastrophic tsunami felt like ‘the end of the world’.
She managed to ride away from the waves on a motorcycle, but the tsunami followed just five meters away.
Khairani, now 40, said hitting the catastrophic tsunami felt like ‘the end of the world’
‘It was a miracle that we were saved. “I thought it was judgment day,” she said.
Although Khairani was fortunate to have survived the catastrophic natural disaster, devastating news lay in wait for her.
She recalled, “One day after the tsunami, I finally found some relatives and asked about my mother. They told me she had died, that my village had been destroyed.
‘I saw bodies floating in the sea. I cried. I thought maybe it was my mother.
‘My world became an incredibly dark and sad place, [it was] the greatest loss of my life when my mother passed away.’
The mother of one added that she could not give her mother, named Rohani, a proper burial because she could not find her body; which she believes was among the piles of bodies left on the streets of her city.
“I saw countless bodies scattered on the streets of Banda Aceh, their shapes and conditions so unnatural as to be incomprehensible,” she recalled.
Khairani was terrified that she would find her Rohani’s body in a terrible state, as she had seen many other members of the community.
She added, “I prayed to God, ‘Dear God, please do not let me see or accept the sight of my mother’s body when she has passed away. If she’s still alive, please bring us together. is gone, please place her in Your most beautiful paradise.”
A photo taken on December 26, 2004 shows the aftermath of the tsunami in Banda Aceh
A helicopter image shows the damage to Banda Aceh on January 8, 2005, a few weeks after the tsunami
Khairani is pictured in 2014 with her daughter Alifa, who was about seven years old at the time of this photo
Khairani – who lost her father while she was still in daycare – believes God has heard her prayers as she still has not found her Rohani’s body; nor those of her extended family who died in the tsunami.
“If I had seen their bodies, I might have suffered severe trauma because my mother was the only person who became not only my mother, but also my father and my best friend,” she said.
“I am grateful and have learned so much from my prayer, even though there is no grave. My mother will forever remain in my memory and heart. Half my thoughts are still filled with her.
“Until now, I still live with my mother’s best memories and motivation.”
Khairani said she doesn’t even have photos of her late mother anymore as they were all destroyed in the tsunami.
When the tsunami hit Banda Aceh, the waves reached a height of over 30 meters and traveled across the Indian Ocean at a speed of 800 kilometers per hour, the speed of a jet plane.
The Earth was hit so hard by the natural disaster that the earthquake caused a shift in the changing rotation of the world.
A year after the harrowing event, Khairani, an only child, threw herself back into her studies and graduated from university in 2005.
She was able to get through this different time by remembering Rohani’s hopes and dreams for her for a good future.
In 2006, Khairani married her husband Surdirman and the couple had a daughter.
A year after the harrowing event, Khairani (pictured this year) threw herself back into her studies and graduated from university in 2005.
Khairani said, “She had prepared and provided me, her only daughter, with the best education.
‘Even after my father passed away while I was still in daycare, her love for me continued. With the support of my mother’s extended family – my uncles, aunts and other relatives – I was able to get back on my feet and successfully complete my studies.
“It was my mother’s hope and dream that I would become a teacher, and I was able to fulfill that wish.”
She then joined World Vision’s emergency response team and became a child-friendly space facilitator, helping children overcome their trauma from the tsunami.
She engaged in activities with them, including singing, dancing and playing games with them, which in turn also helped her heal.
Khairani said: “I am determined to help children and people around me with the skills I have. They also need someone they can confide in.
‘I want to help children who have lost their parents and people who have lost someone they care about, as I have experienced myself.’
The following year, 2006, Kairani married her husband Surdirman and the couple had a baby daughter, Alifa.
That’s when she realized she had a new mission in life: to make the world a better place for her newborn daughter.
A man sits in front of a boat that was swept onto the roof of a building on December 26, 2004
A motorist looks at boats pulled onto the streets during the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh
Kairani joined one of World Vision’s women’s savings groups, where people from vulnerable communities come together to save small amounts and lend each other when needed, such as when a family member falls ill.
The group supported women setting up their own small businesses and World Vision helped them obtain legal status and accounting training.
These women sold snacks, baked cookies and served coffee to make extra money.
‘Now a mother who has just completed her primary education can earn money so that she can ensure that her children go to school.
“From their businesses, women are adding rooms to their homes, they are no longer dependent on their husbands to make all the money,” Khairani said.
‘Abuse in families is lower than before the tsunami. Women are more respected by their husbands. [Men] now wants to listen to the women’s opinions. Things are better. They can listen, not just talk.
‘Before the tsunami, maybe only one girl would go to university here. But after that, just as many boys as girls go to university. Almost all the people who come out of high school are now going to college.”
Kairani said she is proud of what she has achieved when she looks at her life over the past two decades.
She said she wants to be an example for her daughter and feel more connected to her late mother as she watches her grow up.
‘It’s like I’ve been given a second chance at life with my mother. I want my daughter to be happy and receive all my love and affection.
“I want to give her the best education, better than what I had. I want to support her growth and development to become a strong, independent woman who can achieve her dreams.
“So when she grows up and understands the meaning of life, she will understand how much I hope and love her, just as I received love from my late mother.
“And one day she will proudly tell the world about me as her mother, just as I remember mine and share her story with the world.”