Dock construction underway in Meulaboh<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Meulaboh<\/p>\n
No ritual like that had ever been performed in Meulaboh. Tsunami
\nsurvivor Hendri Gunawan watched nervously from a distance of some
\n200 meters.
\n "Are they going to build houses for us? If not, what's the use
\nof it all?" He whispered to his fellow survivors.<\/p>\n
The purification ritual on Thursday saw popular Muslim figure
\nT. Arsyad Kadam lead a group of construction workers in prayer.<\/p>\n
Hendri's vision of houses being constructed for the homeless
\nwas shattered soon after the prayer finished and the
\ngroundbreaking ceremony began. Attended by a number of high-
\nranking officials from Singapore -- including Foreign Minister
\nGeorge Teo, and head of the Aceh Reconstruction and
\nRehabilitation Agency Kuntoro Mangkusubroto -- it became all too
\nclear that the ceremony was for the construction of a dock in
\nUjung Karang harbor.<\/p>\n
Hendri and the others left the place and made the 500-meter
\ntrip back to the shelter for displaced people.<\/p>\n
They were disappointed, no doubt about it; how crucial was a
\ndock in the reconstruction process? they asked themselves.<\/p>\n
In many areas of Meulaboh, no much reconstruction work has
\nbeen done six months after the catastrophe. Rubble has been
\npushed aside in piles, the town's detention center for Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM) rebels is just as it was after the tsunami struck.<\/p>\n
Still the markets are crowded, people go about their business,
\neven with no homes to return to.<\/p>\n
"What we need most now is a house. We have faced enough
\nmisery. For almost six months we have slept in tents, come rain
\nor shine," said Hendri, who erected his tent right on the spot
\nwhere his house once stood in Suaindrapuri village, Johan
\nPahlawan district.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old man explained that before the tsunami,
\nSuaindrapuri village had a population of 7,000.<\/p>\n
In the Dec. 26 earthquake-triggered tsunami, houses in the
\nvillage, which is located near the coastline, were leveled to the
\nground. Most of the villagers have been reported dead or missing.<\/p>\n
Based on data from the West Aceh administration, as many as 62
\nvillages -- comprising 17 villages in Johan Pahlawan district, 16
\nin Meureubo district, 16 in Samatiga district and 13 in Arongan
\nLambalek district -- were destroyed in the disaster.<\/p>\n
"My wife and child perished in the disaster, and my mother's
\nremains were never recovered," Hendri said.<\/p>\n
Most of the tents in the shelter in Johan Pahlawan district
\nare worn out or damaged now.<\/p>\n
The tents, provided by the United Nations High Commissioner
\nfor Refugees (UNHCR), have changed from white to a muddy brown
\ncolor. The UNHCR logo on several tents can no longer be made out.<\/p>\n
West Aceh Regent Nasruddin verified that many of the tents in
\nMeulaboh had been damaged. He said the basic problem faced by
\ndisplaced people now was the poor condition of the tents.<\/p>\n
Nasruddin said the number of displaced people in Meulaboh had
\nreached 70,346. They are being sheltered in 14 locations in five
\ndistricts in a limited number of tents and 196 temporary housing
\nunits.<\/p>\n
"We need at least 100 new tents to replace the damaged ones,
\nnot including (those needed for) refugees who are yet to be given
\na place to stay," said Nasruddin.<\/p>\n
He said his office had no intention of delaying reconstruction
\nwork on houses for the homeless. According to him, one of the
\nobstacles was limited funds, besides the overpriced land in
\nMeulaboh.<\/p>\n
Nasruddin said the price of land in Meulaboh had increased
\nfive fold compared to before the tsunami.<\/p>\n
"The average price of land now ranges from Rp 5,000 to Rp
\n50,000 per meter," said Nasruddin, adding that his office was
\nplanning to buy a 1,000-hectare plot of land for the construction
\nof homes and office buildings.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro said he was aware of people's desire for their own
\nhomes.<\/p>\n
However, he said the construction of the dock, fully financed
\nby the Singaporean government, was crucial so as to accelerate
\nthe reconstruction process in Meulaboh.<\/p>\n
According to plan, the US$5 million project will be completed
\nin February next year. "We plan to build around 20,000 housing
\nunits for the homeless in Meulaboh," said Kuntoro.<\/p>",
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