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The burst of laughter that suddenly erupted from a group of kids in Cikelet subdistrict in Garut belied the suffering they have gone through.

They joked and teased when they spotted a friend shampooing in a makeshift shower not far from the shelter where they have been staying since the quake hit their village.

But when they stopped laughing, one by one they told the Jakarta Globe about the day a happy afternoon suddenly turned into panic. All of them recalled the day the ground shook. “I’ve been crying a lot,” 9-year-old Pini said. “I’m sad every time I see my house. It’s all gone.”

Like most children in the affected areas, Pini has stopped going to school and said she had no idea when she would return.

Third-grader Panji said he planned to go back to school after the Idul Fitri holiday. “I’m still scared. When the quake hit, I ran outside my house crying and looking for my mother,” he said. “Then I saw her, she was crying too and we hugged each other.”

Despite the earthquake trauma, the children in the shelter seem to enjoy being together. “I’m not bored. It’s fun here because we joke and laugh a lot,” 11-year-old Sandy said.

Some children whose houses still stand chose to stay in the shelter as well. “I’m scared that the earthquake will strike again,” Devi said. “I feel much safer here.”