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January 13, 2005, 4:21 AM EST

KLANG, Malaysia -- An Indonesian man who survived for 15 days at sea after last month's tsunami hopes to soon talk with his mother but faces the tragic possibility that his father and two siblings are dead.

Ari Afrizal, a construction worker, captured the attention of people around the world with his miraculous survival tale after being rescued from a Robinson Crusoe-style raft on Sunday by a container ship in the Indian Ocean.

Ari, 21, who was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, told The Associated Press that he doesn't want to go back to his old construction job, where he was working when he was swept out to sea.

"I don't want to build houses. It brings back painful memories of the tsunami and the earthquake," he said.

Ari said he spoke by phone with an uncle who told him that his mother and two brothers are alive. But his father, sister and a third brother are feared dead.

"I feel relieved. My prayers are somewhat answered. I shall continue to pray for my father and siblings. I miss them, but I don't know yet when I can return," he said.

Ari was found floating on a partially enclosed raft after being swept into the sea by tsunami waves while working on a beach house in the Aceh Jaya district of Indonesia on Dec. 26.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Ari, a devout Muslim, recounted his ordeal and spoke of his will to live, surviving only on coconuts he found floating in the debris around him. He attributed his survival to prayer and fighting depression.

Ari and compatriot Rizal Shahputra, who survived for eight days in the sea before being similarly rescued, will be housed temporarily in an Indonesian Embassy official's home pending arrangements for travel to Aceh, embassy spokesman Budhi Rahardao said.

Meanwhile, the embassy will try and get Ari's mother to speak to him on the phone. "We will try our best but you must understand that all communication system has been broken," he said.

He said no decision could immediately be made about the wishes expressed by both men to eventually live and work in Malaysia. "We will do what is best for them," he said.