From several countries in South-East Asia, prayers were raised this Thursday, December 26, in memory of the nearly 220,000 people swept away twenty years earlier by the Tsunami which had hit this region of the world so heavily. Epicenter of the earthquake with more than 165,000 deaths recorded on its soil, Indonesia opened the commemorations from the Baiturrahman mosque, on the island of Sumatra, where a siren sounded for three minutes, at the exact time of the earthquake. disaster. On December 26, 2004, this religious building was miraculously spared by the waves, reaching a height of more than 17 meters and destroying numerous infrastructures on the island.
For the occasion, the Aceh provincial government invited the famous preacher KH Abdullah Gymnastiar, better known as “Aa Gym”, to the Baiturrahman Mosque to deliver the tausiyaha term specific to the Indonesian Muslim community – the vast majority, with 88% of the faithful – to designate informal preaching. Zahrol Fajri, head of Aceh’s Islamic Sharia office, said the event ended with tafakkur – a time of meditation and contemplation – and prayers. “This commemoration is more than just a remembrance of the tragedy, it is our effort to raise awareness of the importance of strengthening humanitarian solidarity,” said Zahrol Fajri, on the Indonesian television channel, Metro TV. A few kilometers away, on the seafront, Muslim families also gathered at the mass grave of Ulee Lheue, where 14,000 people are buried.
Interfaith prayers
In Thailand, nearly 5,000 people died on December 26, 2004. Half were Western tourists who came to celebrate Christmas in the sun. Interfaith prayers, bringing together 300 people, were held in Ban Nam Khem, the hardest-hit Thai village in the south of the country. Those who came to pay their respects placed flowers and wreaths at the foot of a wave-shaped wall, bearing the names of the victims. Quoted on site by AFP, Francesca Ermini, 55, spoke in these terms to a delegation of rescuers during this memorial celebration: “ When we (the survivors) thinking of you, it gives us hope. »
Hindu rituals
With 16,389 deaths, India recorded the third highest human toll from the December 2004 tsunami. To the west, the state of Tamil Nadu – literally the “Tamil country” – was particularly affected: in the city from Thoothukudi, a fishermen’s association twenty years later paid homage to the dead by lighting candles and spreading flowers and milk in the sea, in a state where 87% of citizens are Hindu. State Governor Ravindra Narayana Ravi joined the floral commemorations as reported by national media The Times of India.
In Sri Lanka, where the tidal wave caused the death of 35,399 people, tributes paid to the dead were concentrated around theOcean Queen Expressa train caught in the middle of the breaking waves. It has become a symbol in the country of the tragedy of 2004. Around 1,000 people were killed. Passengers and residents alike rushed onto the train, desperately seeking shelter. Religious ceremonies, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim, were still organized in various localities on the island.