Despite adversity, refugees determined<\/p>\n
Dedy Ardiansyah, Contributor, Medan<\/p>\n
An 18-year-old girl is sitting alone on a mat, tidying up a
\nheap of clothes in front of her and then folding them all over
\nagain.<\/p>\n
Evi is one of the many people who are suffering from
\ndepression following the tsunami that ravaging Banda Aceh on Dec.
\n26.<\/p>\n
When somebody asks her a question, the dark-skinned girl will
\nonly laugh. Even if she replies, the words she mutters are
\nunintelligible, only to be followed by smiles. Evi is now on her
\nown, with no news about her family since the disaster.<\/p>\n
Tunggul Hutapea, a physician from Deli Hospital in Medan,
\nNorth Sumatra, said Evi was suffering from severe depression and
\nshe had to receive more intensive care in a mental hospital.<\/p>\n
Along with hundreds of other refugees from tsunami-stricken
\nAceh, Evi is being housed in a former sawmill storehouse
\nmeasuring 200 meters by 400 meters on Jl. Binjai, Medan, an
\nevacuation center set up by the Aceh Sepakat (Aceh in Concord)
\ncommunity on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
This center provides a 50 meter by 200 meter room where
\nrefugees rest and sleep on mats, two separately placed 21-inch TV
\nsets, and another room of the same size for kitchens and
\ntarpaulin covered latrines.<\/p>\n
The laughter of children aged from one to 10 enlivened the
\notherwise dismal atmosphere at the refugee camp on Friday
\nmorning. Unable to do anything more, the children are too young
\nto drift into the gloom of those who have lost their spouses and
\nloved ones.<\/p>\n
Malik, for instance, was playing badminton with Iwan using a
\nmakeshift racket, laughing heartily once in a while. \"Om ... om
\n(uncle), take our picture, please,\" they shouted to be
\nphotographed as visitors arrived.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, on the piles of clothes contributed by donors, two
\nlittle girls, Ririn and Inai, were trying some dresses on and
\ngiggling as they found them too loose.<\/p>\n
\"Ha..look, Ririn's like Santa Claus..,\" cried Inai as she saw
\nRirin wearing a santa cap.<\/p>\n
The joy of these children consoled bereaved families and at
\nthe same time reminded them of their own relatives killed or
\nmissing in the calamity.<\/p>\n
Ali Umar, 41, a refugee from Meulaboh who lost his family,
\nsaid \"I long to watch my kids playing and my wife preparing
\ndinner.\"<\/p>\n
This yearning brought him back to his home village in Ujung
\nKarang, Meulaboh, West Aceh. \"I want to search for them. I hope
\nthey are still alive,\" said Ali in a tone that was unconvincing.<\/p>\n
A fisherman with five fishing boats washed away by the
\ntsunami, he is now thinking of starting a new life.<\/p>\n
\"I can't always remain in this camp. I must return to start my
\nlife anew. I have to work for a living and I just hope some of my
\nrelatives survived the ordeal,\" he added, already resigning about
\nwhatever happened to his family.<\/p>\n
Erniwati, 34, a former resident of Merduati subdistrict, Banda
\nAceh, also has a strong desire to go back home with her daughter,
\nRini Agustin, 13, while her husband and parents are missing.<\/p>\n
\"I'll return to my birthplace though my family members may
\nhave died. I'll go back to Banda Aceh when everything is normal,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Like Ali and Erniwati, Syaiful, 28, and Badaruddin, 29, too,
\nare among Acehnese evacuees who wish to go home despite the quake
\nand tsunami trauma. Badaruddin even left his job as a security
\nofficer in Malaysia to find 20 of his relatives lost in the
\ndisaster.<\/p>\n
The Aceh Sepakat center has registered over a thousand
\nrefugees from various towns in Aceh housed in eight locations.
\nAccording to Aceh Sepakat community chief Fauzi Usman, a third of
\nthe total have returned to Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"They could not bear staying too long in the barracks. Their
\nurge to seek loved ones was too strong to ignore,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fauzi said the refugees' longing to find their relatives and
\nrebuild Aceh was only human. Not only the tsunami survivors, but
\neven the Acehnese people now working abroad also wish to
\nreconstruct their devastated birthplace.<\/p>\n
\"The Acehnese have their own tradition and culture,
\ncharacterized by a very strong collective spirit and solidarity.
\nIt's not easy to forget their land even though three generations
\nhave been obliterated by the disaster,\" he noted.<\/p>\n
According to him, Aceh Sepakat as a community representative
\nof the entire ethnic groups and culture in Nanggroe Aceh
\nDarussalam will suggest a solution to the government for the
\nrestoration of Aceh without having to abandon customs and
\ntraditions.<\/p>\n
\"Rebuilding Aceh should be done while retaining its unique
\nculture. The government should not be too hasty in its
\nreconstruction,\" he warned.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/despite-adversity-refugees-determined-1447893297",
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