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Kyodo

Martunis was eight when he was found alive, stranded in a swampy area near the beach, 21 days after a giant tsunami hit and devastated Indonesia's northern province Aceh on December 26, 2004.
His survival story made him famous, not only because of his nearly unbelievable experience, but also because he was wearing a fake Portugal national soccer shirt.
Martunis was playing soccer with his friends in his village of Tibang about 7 km north of the provincial capital Banda Aceh when the magnitude 9.3 earthquake struck Aceh.
He went home to check on his family, but was swept away by the tsunami that followed the quake.
The earthquake - which unleashed 1,500 times as much energy as the Hiroshima atomic bomb - and the tsunami that followed killed about 220,000 people in 14 countries around the Indian Ocean. In Aceh alone, 170,000 people were killed or unaccounted for.
Martunis' mother and two sisters were among those missing, caught in the tsunami in front of his eyes.
He clung to a school chair, then a mattress, then a big log and finally a sofa as he was pulled into the ocean and then deposited in the swamp by the returning waves.
For 18 days, surrounded by bodies, Martunis, who could not swim, survived on packs of instant noodles, bread, soft drinks and bottled water washed out to sea and floating around him.
"I was not afraid at all at that time because I still wanted to be alive to meet my family and to be a football player," Martunis said.
By the 19th day, no food or water was washing up any more, leaving the boy dehydrated and near death when someone found him and delivered him to a British television journalist.
The journalist took Martunis to a Save the Children staff member who got him to hospital.
Martunis, wearing the Portugal team shirt, appeared on television screens across the world and attracted the attention of soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, then playing for Manchester United in England.
A member of Portugal's national team, Ronaldo raised money to rebuild the house where Martunis now lives.

Five months later, Ronaldo, who now plays for Real Madrid, also invited Martunis and his father Sarbini to Portugal to meet him and other soccer stars.
A couple months later, Ronaldo visited Martunis in Aceh, and gave him a cell phone with contact numbers for all members of Portugal's national team.
Since then, Martunis has received invitations from international celebrities, including singers Madonna and Celine Dion.
Martunis, now 17, just graduated from senior high school.
Like many others his age, he doesn't really know what he wants to do in his community, although his miraculous survival has certainly made him appreciate life more.
Now, his focus is on his dream to be a professional soccer player like his idol Ronaldo, attending English classes three times a week and playing soccer every day at Banda Aceh's Real Madrid Soccer School, built by the Real Madrid Foundation.
When he turned 17 in October, he joined a selection to be chosen for the Indonesian national team and passed the first stage, but failed at the second.
But Martunis clings to his dream. He met Ronaldo in Bali in June where the star told him "to study hard, to practise hard."
Ten years ago, he fought for 21 days to survive the tsunami, never giving up. Now, "the miracle boy" believes that kind of determination will get him into professional soccer as long as he fights for it and perseveres.
 


Miracle tsunami survivor Martunis chases his dream of pro soccer

Tsunami survivor Martunis (centre) with students from a Lisbon high school in 2005. Photo: AFP

Martunis with Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

After escaping death, Martunis is determined to succeed on the pitch


Martunis was eight when he was found alive, stranded in a swampy area near the beach, 21 days after a giant tsunami hit and devastated Indonesia's northern province Aceh on December 26, 2004.


Miracle tsunami survivor Martunis chases his dream of pro soccer

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}After escaping death, Martunis is determined to succeed on the pitch

After escaping death, Martunis is determined to succeed on the pitch