Survivors take brave, first step toward new life (Part II)<\/p>\n
Chisato Hara
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
The shelter settlement is located on the far end of Tingkeum
\nnext to a small stream and along the village's main road. A wide
\ngravel pathway lined with potted plants leads up to the numbered
\nshelters, and on each door is a pink placard indicating the head
\nof household and their dependents who will live there. Roped,
\ncoconut-log \"fences\" painted white mark the boundary of the
\nsettlement, as well as cordon off the three village graveyards in
\nthe area.<\/p>\n
There is a well in a rear corner of the settlement; on the
\nopposite end are two \"open-bottom\" septic tanks buried in the
\nground and sealed with concrete -- one for \"grey\" water, such as
\ndish- and laundry water, the other for \"black\" water, or sewage.<\/p>\n
While bed mattresses were not part of the original shelter
\ncontract, IOM Banda Aceh received approval for their procurement
\nfrom its Jakarta headquarters, purchased and delivered them
\nwithin 24 hours after the families identified the need.<\/p>\n
Even as the families move in, dozens of construction workers
\nin IOM T-shirts, hardhats and rubber boots -- all recruited
\nlocally -- are busy building across the road. There, foundations
\nfor an additional 32 units have been excavated, another site for
\n55 units is being marked and laid out, and concrete panels and
\ncement tiles are stacked. Another site slightly apart from the
\nmain settlement has been located for the remaining 11 units, so
\nthat all 107 IDP families in Tingkeum will be accommodated.<\/p>\n
\"It is essential that we maintain the cohesiveness of previous
\ncommunities,\" said IOM Indonesia Mission head Stephen Cook during
\nthe symbolic handover ceremony that afternoon.<\/p>\n
The families are visibly more relaxed as they sit together
\nunder a marquee erected for the event, and their faces emit a
\nquiet radiance. The women have donned clean, white head-scarves
\nfor the occasion, and several IDP boys are playing in the
\nvicinity with village children.<\/p>\n
\"I'm happy. Everyone is happy. My wife is happy,\" said Yatim,
\nwho is wearing a fresh shirt. Eddy seconds him: \"We are happy
\nbeyond belief.\"<\/p>\n
Cut Ayah is sitting with Rafdi, and his face is lit up by a
\nsmile. \"We lost everything ... now I can be proud (as the head of
\na household). I have a house again, a place for my family to stay
\ntogether. It is very important that we stay together, and now we
\ncan.\"<\/p>\n
\"I am so happy. We are all so happy. We have homes again. We
\nare so grateful to the IOM, the regency head, the district head,
\nthe provincial government, the people of Tingkeum, the donors and
\neveryone else who made this possible,\" said Ira after moving,
\nthen became uncharacteristically solemn.<\/p>\n
\"I don't mean to sound ungrateful in any way, but we still
\nneed jobs. We can't keep receiving donations for the rest of our
\nlives. We can't continue to live on rations ... we want our
\nchildren to have better lives than us. We want to live in
\ndignity,\" she said, then burst into tears.<\/p>\n
Two days later, the families have settled down somewhat in
\ntheir new homes.<\/p>\n
Samsinar, 41, lost her husband, a child and her only
\ngrandchild, and is living in a shelter with four surviving
\nchildren and son-in-law Bahrum, whose younger brother is married
\nto a Tingkeum villager. She has covered the concrete floor tiles
\nwith a vinyl sheet in a gay, green pattern, and has set up her
\nkitchen with racks provided by Bahrum's in-laws in Tingkeum.
\nBahrum has found construction work in Banda Aceh and brings home
\nsalvaged wood and other recyclable material when he can.<\/p>\n
\"Today, someone gave us an old wardrobe they'd thrown out, so
\nthis place will look more like home.\" Just as Samsinar finishes
\nspeaking, a small rickety truck backs up outside with the
\nwardrobe, and Bahrum hops down with fellow workers to unload it.
\n\"Come, come! I'll put on some tea.\"<\/p>\n
Villager Salbia is visiting a shelter where her younger sister
\nFatimah's husband, 45-year-old Samsuddin, his mother Khatijah and
\neight nieces and nephews -- the youngest of whom is two
\nyears -- live. Fatimah, 35, and her eldest daughter Safrida, 19,
\nwere lost. Samsuddin, a farmer, is out working a field in
\nLhoknga, the same job he had before, and won't return until late
\nin the evening.<\/p>\n
One of Salbia's nephews, 17-year-old Julaidi, is one-half of a
\ntwin with niece Julaida. He has made some friends in the village,
\nand is beaming: He must share a room with several siblings, but
\nhe is happy because he can sleep in a room again.<\/p>\n
\"We can remain a family,\" Salbia said. \"But there's not enough
\nwater, no electricity. The children can't study at night ... if
\nwe only had a street lamp out front, it would make a difference.\"<\/p>\n
The units are wired for electricity, but sourcing power is
\nanother matter -- not all houses in Tingkeum have electricity and
\nwho would pay the bills?<\/p>\n
Certainly, conditions are not perfect, and the most common
\nworry in the settlement is that there is not enough water. Due to
\nthe unusually high clay content of the soil, the well does not
\nfill with water fast enough to keep up with the consumption rate
\nof 75 people.<\/p>\n
IOM water\/sanitation engineer Rob Garlick has identified a
\nlocation for a second well, and his team will break ground on it
\nafter the weekend. In the meantime, many residents are bathing at
\nthe house of a village relative and have set out plastic pails
\nand buckets to collect rainwater -- just in case.<\/p>\n
The high clay content also presents another challenge: the
\npossibility of a slow ground absorption rate of residual liquid
\nfrom the septic system. In anticipation, Garlick and his team are
\ncompleting a back-up filtering mechanism to aid absorption -- a
\ngravel pit designed to catch excess residual water from the grey
\nwater tank through a perforated pipe grid. As a further
\nprecaution, a second back-up system is being installed -- a run-
\noff pipe from the gravel pit to the stream.<\/p>\n
\"It's a learning process ... and every site is different,\"
\nsaid Garlick. The IOM has 708 other units in various stages of
\nplanning and development in Aceh Besar, and a total commitment of
\n11,000 units across the province.<\/p>\n
As Cut Ayah said of his new house, \"It is a start. A step at a
\ntime.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ira has placed woven mats on the floor, set up the
\nkitchen and hung makeshift curtains in the windows, but she is a
\nlittle out of sorts today -- Fayyath is being naughty and won't
\ntake his nap, she is trying to give Tasya her bath, and she wants
\nto fold and store a pile of clothes that has arrived. Ma'ruf is
\nout looking for work.<\/p>\n
\"Water is a problem,\" she sighed, a sleepy Tasya in her
\narms.\"We just have to be patient a little while longer.\" Then she
\nadded, \"Please, come in. Won't you have some tea?\"<\/p>",
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