Aceh fishermen reject resettlement program<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people from 14 villages in Aceh Besar regency and
\nBanda Aceh municipality gathered in Lam Isiek village here on
\nTuesday to pledge to rebuild their homes, which were destroyed by
\nthe tsunami.<\/p>\n
The villagers, who have formed a joint team (udeep beusare),
\nsaid they would not live in government camps for internally
\ndisplaced people but seek assistance from other parties.<\/p>\n
\"The team will collect aid and coordinate the reconstruction
\nproject,\" Addil, a representative of Kampung Pie hamlet said.<\/p>\n
Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor Linkage (Uplink), which has
\noffered survivors advice and support, said the villagers, who are
\nmostly fishermen, cannot be relocated far from the sea.<\/p>\n
\"We will rebuild their houses, bridges and other
\ninfrastructure using funds from donors. They are determined to
\nreturn to their villages as the government is not ready with its
\nblueprint for the reconstruction of Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar.
\nThey cannot wait,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The villages were inhabited by 30,000 people before the
\ndisaster, but only around 10 percent of their joint population
\nsurvived.<\/p>\n
A village head, Zulkifli, said rebuilding the villages was a
\nbetter solution than staying in shelters.<\/p>\n
\"We are hard workers. We can't live in shelters. If the
\ngovernment wishes to help us, please give us boats,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier, acting Aceh governor Azwar Abubakar said that as many
\ntsunami survivors preferred to rebuild their homes the
\nconstruction of some shelters would be suspended until further
\nnotice.<\/p>\n
\"We made this decision after learning that many residents,
\nparticularly fishermen, wish to return to their villages,\" Azwar
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The provincial government has been building 400 temporary
\nshelters for around 56,000 people, only to find that few are
\nwilling to stay there. The construction of 200 more shelters will
\nfollow.<\/p>\n
\"Because many shelters remain uninhabited. we have no choice
\nbut to ask the public works agency to suspend the construction of
\nsome other shelters, otherwise it will be a waste of money,\"
\nAzwar said.<\/p>\n
The acting governor admitted that limited water supply,
\nelectricity and poor sanitary facilities, including lavatories,
\nwere other reasons why the displaced people were not keen to move
\ninto the shelters.<\/p>\n
\"We are not going to prevent them from returning to their
\nvillages. But they will not receive our assistance until we
\ncomplete the construction project,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A shelter has 12 bedrooms and costs Rp 200 million (US$21,500)
\nto build. Five shelters are located within a block, which is
\nequipped with 20 lavatories, five public kitchens and a multi-
\npurpose hall.<\/p>\n
The size of each shelter varies from between 36 square meters
\nand 54 square meters. They are made of plywood with a zinc roof
\nand are expected to last for two years.<\/p>\n
The public works agency has denied allegations of corruption
\nin the project.<\/p>\n
\"There was no mark up. The shelters are expensive to build as
\nwe have to bring in materials and workers from outside Aceh,\"
\nTotok Pri, a public works ministry official, said.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the Peaceful Aceh Sans Corruption (ADIK) corruption
\nwatch criticized the government for not revealing the source of
\nfunds for the shelters. It said the project was prone to
\ncorruption as the government could use foreign aid but claim the
\nproject was funded by the state budget.<\/p>\n
ADIK activists have also reported cracks in the foundations of
\nsome shelters, which could mean that an insufficient proportion
\nof cement was used.<\/p>",
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