For Aceh's Tsunami Survivors, a Step Toward Normalcy
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14. February 2005 Voice from America by |
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14. February 2005 Bernama.com by Mohd Zahari Morad |
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The first of more than 400,000 refugees from Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province are moving into temporary wooden barracks, in a small but important step on the region's slow road to recovery
A group of more than 400 refugees will move Tuesday from their tent shelters in the Acehnese capital of Banda Aceh to temporary wooden barracks, in what the government says is the first stage of the relocation process.
A director of the public works department, Totok Pri, says, by mid-March, the government will have built a total of 803 temporary shelters, which will be able to house up to 9730 families.
The earthquake and tsunami that struck on December 26 left a quarter of a million people in Aceh dead or missing. Entire villages, roads and bridges were destroyed. Another half a million refugees, survivors of the disaster, are currently dispersed across the province.
The United Nations public information officer in Banda Aceh, Hiro Ueki, says relocation to the new housing is temporary, and must be done on a voluntary basis.
"Nobody should be forced to relocate to those centers. As long as displaced people are willing to move to relocation centers, that's fine with us, but, basically, we would prefer that those people go back to their previous homes and start to rebuild their lives there again," Mr. Ueki says.
But Mr. Ueki says those who want to return home may not have that option for some time.
"But still a large number of people are not in the position to do so, given the fact that removal of the rubble continues, in some cases, entire towns or villages have been destroyed," Mr. Ueki says. "… So, it will take some time for many of them to be able to go back and start rebuilding their lives."
Despite the bitter memories awaiting them, many Acehnese have expressed a deep desire to return to their original villages.
But the government says those who wish to build new homes must do so in approved areas. It is considering turning the destroyed coastal areas into buffer zones for protection against any future tsunami.
Officials say the temporary camps are being built to internationally accepted standards for sanitation and other essentials, and will be run by the refugees themselves.
Resort Operator Seeks Help To Revive Business
The operator of a resort along the Lhoknga beach in Aceh that was washed away by the Dec 26 tsunami is crying for help from the Indonesian government to quickly revive his tourism business.
Haikal Tengku Hassan, 30, said that without aid from the government, he and his fellow entrepreneurs in the tourism industry found it difficult to restart their businesses.
"Money already spent to open the business was a big amount and now we can no longer afford it as our investment was destroyed completely while the loan taken has not been fully repaid yet," he said when clearing the rubble and mud on a site where the resort once stood.
He said operators like him could not afford to rebuild their resorts by themselves and even if they did so, the business would not be viable without an intensive promotion by the government.
When asked whether he would rebuild his resort on the site which had seen waves as high as two coconut trees demolishing everything in their path, Haikal said he had not decided on that.
"But if the land is left idle, it will add to the loss," he said.
The Lhoknga beach is serene and beautiful, with mountains forming a backdrop.
Off the coast, there were various enchanting corals on the seabed and good breeding grounds for fishes, making the area a popular spot for divers and fishing enthusiasts, Haikal said.
He said the 41-room resort he operated before the tsunami struck was built in 1988 by his family.
"Before the clashes between the armed forces and the Free Aceh Movement, the area received many foreign tourists who came to dive but after the bloodshed, foreign tourists rarely came," he said.
Its tourism industry was not as popular as Medan's as there is no direct flight to Aceh except from Medan, he said.
"That is why I stress the need for promotional efforts; perhaps the government should look into it," he said.
© 2005 BERNAMA. All rights reserved
UK troops end Aceh aid operation
British forces are due to leave the Indonesian region of Aceh where they have been helping victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.
13. February 2005 BBC News UK Edition
Around 36 pilots will be the last UK troops to leave Aceh where they have been working alongside the local army, UN staff and other foreign forces. The tsunami left more than 200,000 people dead in the region, with more than 110,000 killed in Indonesia alone. British troops have assisted several countries affected by the disaster.
Seabed probe
British ambassador in Jakarta Charles Humfrey said the British forces, due to pull out of Aceh on Sunday, had worked "with admirable enthusiasm".
HMS Scott will remain in Indonesian waters while British scientists, and two Indonesian naval officers, survey the seabed at the epicentre of the tremor that produced the killer waves. Since their arrival in Aceh on 2 January, UK troops have delivered more than 100 tonnes of aid, carried out medical evacuations, and transported 59 people displaced as a result of the tsunami. Britain also sent a team to the devastated area to help co-ordinate international aid efforts.
The United States is also withdrawing it troops from the area, which is being seen as an indication that the emergency aid effort is coming to a close.
Mobile hospital arrives in Aceh
With life in tsunami-hit Aceh slowly returning to normal, the arrival on Friday of a state-of-the-art rescue station was indeed welcome news.
It helped put the smiles back on the faces of the survivors of the Dec 26 tsunami killer waves that claimed the lives of thousands of Acehnese.
And it will go a long way in providing the medical assistance the people desperately need.The rescue station is a mobile hospital system called "TransHospital", which can be extended to a 250-bed hospital. It was developed by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company Electronics (EADS) and is used by German troops on humanitarian and peace-keeping missions worldwide.
A TransHospital costs 750,000 euros (RM3.7 million) and can be easily transported and assembled within 15 minutes.
In its basic form, it features an air-conditioned medical container for treatment, vaccinations and emergency operations as well as a medical examination tent and a sluice facility for hygienic protection.
The unit can also be upgraded to a mobile field hospital, complete with an operating theatre and can provide intensive care facilities, shock treatment, neurology treatment and X-ray facilities.
It was donated by EADS to the Indonesians at a small ceremony at the Sultan Iskandar Air Force Base in Banda Aceh.
German Ambassador to Indonesia Broudre Groeger handed over the station to the commander of the Indonesian Army in Aceh, Major-General Bambang Darmono.
Bambang said the unit would be transported to Lambaro, a new refugee camp about four kilometres from Banda Aceh, and will open tomorrow.
Copyright © 2004 NST Online
