Victims' remains waiting for burial in Aceh<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Lamno<\/p>\n
Five months after the Dec. 26 tsunami, hundreds of the victims'
\nskeletons can still be found scattered along the coastal areas of
\nNanggroe Aceh Darussalam.<\/p>\n
In Lubuk hamlet, Glee U village in Lamno district in Aceh Jaya
\nregency, some 80 kilometers from the provincial capital Banda
\nAceh, hundreds of the skeletons are still waiting to be buried,
\nmostly found among the tsunami debris or in sand near the beach,
\nwith only parts of many of the skeletons intact.<\/p>\n
Before the tsunami struck, the village of the west coast of
\nAceh had 1,000 residents but only 20 percent of them survived the
\ndisaster, giving an eerie deserted feeling to the village. Many
\nresidents are still reluctant to return to their hometown since
\nmany skeletons are still lying around, waiting for a proper
\nburial.<\/p>\n
It seems that the village has not been touched by cleaning
\nprograms usually conducted in tsunami-hit villages.<\/p>\n
Lubuk hamlet resident Abdurrahman said that several days after
\nthe tsunami devastated the hamlet, survivors managed to bury some
\nof the dead. But since they were not buried deep enough, the
\nskeletons resurfaced.<\/p>\n
\"Many skeletons are still scattered throughout this hamlet,
\nmaking people afraid to return home,\" Abdurrahman said, adding
\nthat many residents were still living in refugee shelters.<\/p>\n
Another resident, Ishak, said the survivors there had
\nconducted a simple burial for 500 of the victims.<\/p>\n
\"We need help from volunteers to give the tsunami victims an
\nIslamic burial,\" Ishak said.<\/p>\n
Some volunteers who were still working to search for the
\ntsunami victims recently found 118 skeletons while cleaning up
\nthe Lhoong area in Aceh Besar regency.<\/p>\n
The volunteers then continued their work in Aceh Jaya regency,
\nstarting at Babah Dua village in Lamno district. After working in
\nthe village for a week, the volunteers discovered 38 skeletons,
\nbelieving more are still to be found.<\/p>\n
It means Lubuk hamlet residents will have to wait a while
\nlonger to get the hamlet cleaned up and the skeletons properly
\nburied.<\/p>\n
\"We are working without proper equipment so it's slow,\" said
\nHeri, a young volunteer who has been working to retrieve the
\ntsunami victims' bodies since January.<\/p>\n
He is certain that thousands of skeletons are still scattered
\nalong the west coastal area of Aceh since most volunteers were
\nstill focusing on retrieving bodies in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar
\nareas.<\/p>\n
Since he has been working as a volunteer, Heri said he and his
\n10 colleagues had retrieved hundreds of bodies.<\/p>\n
When the Aceh provincial administration announced the province
\nwas cleared of corpses in March, his group kept on working
\ndespite the absence of assistance from the government and non-
\ngovernmental groups.<\/p>\n
\"We'll stop when Aceh is completely 'clean',\" Heri said.<\/p>\n
He set three months as a target to clean up Aceh from the
\ntsunami's wrath.<\/p>\n
\"Poor victims, they must want a proper burial,\" said Hasan,
\nanother volunteer.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/victims-remains-waiting-for-burial-in-aceh-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}