The perspectives of emergency relief and rebuilding<\/p>\n
Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Meulaboh<\/p>\n
There is still a lot of help coming into this coastal town, even
\nwhile some emergency teams rushed to Nias following the latest
\nmajor earthquake late last month. The issue has been to identify
\nwhat sort of help is still needed, while the government has said
\nwe are over the \"emergency phase\" and entering reconstruction and
\nrebuilding.<\/p>\n
After one of several meetings on coordinating the work of non-
\ngovernmental and governmental bodies here on Thursday, the
\ndistrict chief of downtown Johan Pahlawan in Meulaboh, West Aceh,
\nmet with yet another NGO offering their services.<\/p>\n
The representative says they are mostly focusing on women and
\nchildren so they can get over their trauma. Such an effort is
\nvery important, she says.<\/p>\n
\"I know,\" says district chief T. Ahmad Dade, \"I'm going quite
\ncrazy myself.\" A big jovial man, he's sitting under a window with
\ndark blue curtains spotted with black stains, which after much
\ncleaning, it seems, are now quite representable for a local
\nauthority's office in a town descended upon by hundreds of
\nforeigners and distressed villagers apart from Jakarta
\nheavyweights.<\/p>\n
Among the contributors to his headache, he says, are the
\nharried requests for help in the event of another earthquake,
\nwhich locals say might come very soon.<\/p>\n
\"We're used to earthquakes by now, it's waiting for them
\nthat's driving me nuts!\"<\/p>\n
Rather than wait for another visitor reporting a coming tremor
\nhe takes the NGO visitors and a few reporters out for a short
\ntour of the city's ruins, which include the neighborhood of his
\nown destroyed home, a site where boats are being repaired and of
\nrows of shop-houses, apart from the makeshift market.<\/p>\n
\"I usually get good projects taking tourists like you people
\naround like this,\" he says with a chuckle. He proceeded to try to
\nget the NGO people interested in rebuilding the shop-houses,
\nwhile also showing interest in their offer to facilitate a kind
\nof children's center.<\/p>\n
While people are now supposed to be rebuilding their lives
\nafter the disaster struck three months ago, Dade said, \"we can't
\ndo that without the shops, they make our economy move.\"<\/p>\n
The NGO representatives express regrets, not to his surprise.
\nDade had said earlier that other NGOs have also declined, not to
\nmention the banks.<\/p>\n
\"I'm still finding ways -- you know it's very important that
\nwe get two-story buildings, also for people to run upstairs in
\nthe event of a tsunami again.\" He tries again at the sight of
\nthe activist shaking his head. \"At least you could build one
\nfloor but make the foundation strong enough for a (two story)
\nshop.\"<\/p>\n
Another member of the NGO explains patiently that shops would
\nnot fit into the category of emergency assistance that they see
\nis still needed, which in the case of buildings means housing.<\/p>\n
The NGOs might run into trouble anyway if they took up the
\ndistrict chief's proposal without reserve, as part of the
\nlocation of the stores seem to overlap with marked areas in the
\ngovernment draft blueprint for the reconstruction of Nanggroe
\nAceh Darussalam.<\/p>\n
The map for coastal areas like the capital, Banda Aceh, and
\nalso Meulaboh, identify the zones near the beaches, which should
\nbe free of buildings in a bid to minimize harm in the event of
\nanother tsunami.<\/p>\n
Lots of stores would have to be torn down in Meulaboh as the
\nbusiness center in this part of town runs along both sides of the
\ninlet, which of course means both rows are right in front of the
\nsea.<\/p>\n
But instead of abandoning them entirely, locals are fixing
\nwhat they can, indicating they will soon operate again at the
\nsame site. Residents will have the comfort of having at least
\npart of their spare-parts center, fish market and other needs
\nright where they were before the tragedy.<\/p>\n
If the government is intending to distribute the funds for
\nreconstruction so that shop owners can relocate their stores it's
\nclearly not happening yet.<\/p>\n
While Dade is trying to get all the help he can -- residents
\nboth inside and outside displaced persons camps and also the
\nbusiness community -- business woman Susana says she is not one
\nto beg.<\/p>\n
She says she is looking for the former local military
\ncommander, who has offered to help rebuild her devastated coffee
\nshop.<\/p>\n
\"He used to drink coffee with his wife there,\" she said. The
\nfirst step to getting on with life is a capital start, for which
\nshe hopes to collect only from close acquaintances who have
\noffered her assistance. Apparently she is not among the residents
\nwho NGO people fear are becoming dependent on outside aid.<\/p>\n
Judging from her account the closing of her own \"emergency
\nphase\" came with the final answer to her prayers.<\/p>\n
\"Dear God, please show me the body of my husband,\" Susana
\nsaid. And almost three months after she and her daughter and
\nfour-month grandchild emerged alive from the waves, on March 23
\nshe said a local Red Cross volunteer reported seeing her
\nhusband's body, which he recognized from the jade stone on his
\nbelt.<\/p>\n
With part of the money that friends donated, she said she
\nbought a modest coffin \"while asking for his forgiveness\", and
\narranged a proper funeral.<\/p>\n
Now she's ready to go on, once she can find that commander, to
\ncontinue the family business. She adds, \"I also must pray a lot,
\nbecause there must be a reason why God has extended my life.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-perspectives-of-emergency-relief-and-rebuilding-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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