Acehnese uncertain about housing, work<\/p>\n
Annastashya Emmanuelle, Contributor, Aceh Besar<\/p>\n
Six months after the tsunami wrought havoc in Nanggroe Aceh
\nDarussalam, destroying lives and dimming the hopes of thousands
\nwho were already living in uncertainty, Acehnese are still
\nwaiting for the promised rebuilding to start, while others have
\nbecome apathetic and are simply grateful to be alive.<\/p>\n
Pulot village in Leupung sub-district, 25 km from the
\nprovincial capital of Banda Aceh, used to be a vibrant
\nfishermen's village. The deadly wave of Dec. 26 turned part of
\nthe village into a sandy, golden brown beach, and the other part
\ninto empty space.<\/p>\n
Houses, the market, and the fishermen's dock were all
\ndestroyed, and 750 residents killed. Today, the 120 survivors of
\nthe village, located in worst-hit Aceh Besar regency, are still
\nbuilding makeshift houses from debris, just as they were doing in
\nJanuary.<\/p>\n
\"I collected what was left after the tsunami to build this
\nhouse. This is my village. I was born here and the sea is close
\nby,\" said the fisherman turned debris cleaner Suardi.<\/p>\n
After spending three nights in the nearby hills after the
\ntsunami, he walked to the Matai'ie camp in Banda Aceh and stayed
\nthere for nearly a month before returning to Pulot.<\/p>\n
Claiming to have no other skill than fishing, he hopes to be
\nable to return to his old profession, and thus considers it
\nnecessary to live by the sea.<\/p>\n
But because he lost his boat, Suardi along with other
\nsurviving fishermen in the village have been taking part in a
\ndebris cleaning program run by Mercy Corps, with each of them
\nbeing paid Rp 35,000 (about US$3.65) per day.<\/p>\n
While he is grateful to be alive and have his family intact,
\nhe finds it difficult being without a permanent job or a proper
\nhouse. Now that the debris in their village has been cleared, his
\nincome has also come to an end.<\/p>\n
Suardi laments the fact that very little assistance has come
\nfrom the government since the disaster. So far, it has been
\nvarious non-government organizations who have provided him with
\nfoodstuffs, medicine and drinking water.<\/p>\n
Three months ago the central government announced that each
\ndisplaced person would receive payments of Rp. 90,000 per month.<\/p>\n
After hurdling all the bureaucratic procedures, Suardi got his
\nfirst, and last, payment from the government in March.<\/p>\n
\"They said there would be reconstruction, but where is it?
\nWe're still in tents, aren't we?\" he exclaimed, when asked about
\ngovernment assistance and the master plan to reconstruct Aceh.<\/p>\n
In mid-April the government enacted a master plan for
\nreconstruction of Aceh and Nias that comprised a wide-ranging
\nfour-year development program, estimated to cost around $4.8
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
\"I hope in the future the government can help restore our
\nlivelihoods and provide permanent housing,\" he said, suggesting
\nthat the government come up with loan schemes and accommodate
\npeople who would like to return to their original locations.<\/p>\n
Fishermen cannot live in the mountains, just as farmers cannot
\nmake do on the seashore, he reasoned.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, chairman of the Aceh and Nias
\nReconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) established in
\nApril, said it was not compulsory for displaced people to live in
\nsafer areas designated in the master plan.<\/p>\n
He is now collecting input from village chiefs and community
\nleaders whose residents aspire to return to their original
\nlocations, as well finding out what is needed to restore their
\nlivelihoods.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro's other important task is to get amounts pledged by
\ndonors realized, and assuring that none of the funds will become
\nentangled in Indonesia's notorious system of corruption.<\/p>\n
However, not all Acehnese are aware that the rehabilitation
\nprocess has only now just started, after a magnitude nine
\nearthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a massive tsunami
\nthat left 128,803 people dead, 32,066 missing and 513,278
\ndisplaced.<\/p>\n
\"I heard that many countries gave donations to our government
\nto rebuild Aceh. I don't know where all that money went,\" Suardi
\nsaid, voicing an opinion common to many Acehnese.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in the provincial city of Banda Aceh changes are
\nbecoming noticeable. Most of the debris that covered the main
\nstreets and residential areas has been cleared.<\/p>\n
But this is just physical, said a public school teacher
\nKhairul Razi. Too many are still without a house, and the economy
\nis stagnant, he said.<\/p>\n
He also thinks the government is not providing enough
\nassistance to the devastated province. The legacy of distrust and
\nsuspicion between the Acehnese and the central government during
\nthe period of martial law imposed in 2003 to curb local rebel
\ngroups did not help matters.<\/p>\n
\"We (Acehnese) have learned not to expect too much when the
\ngovernment airs promises; there have been too many promises back
\nthen as well as now, and conditions are still the same,\" Khairul
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro said that housing and jobs were urgent for the people
\nof Aceh as people could not live on donations forever.<\/p>\n
For some, a job is more than just a source of income, it is
\nalso a way to heal the soul.<\/p>\n
Nuraini, a Pulot seamstress who lost her two children, a house
\nand all her belongings in the tsunami, thinks the same.<\/p>\n
\"If I can do my old job then I would have something to occupy
\nmy thoughts while I learn to let go ... rather than just sitting
\naround like this filled with regret that I didn't hold them tight
\nenough when the water engulfed us,\" she says.<\/p>",
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