Acehnese long for renewal

Acehnese long for renewal

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

If the woman still had money, she would either be unloading
fresh fruit at a market or trying out her best lines to get
passersby to buy her produce.

But the tsunami that hit Aceh last month destroyed her house,
leaving her penniless.

These days she spends her time in a tent erected for tsunami
victims, contemplating her ruined fruit business.

Twenty-nine-year-old Hanifah cooks leftover meat distributed
during the celebration of Idul Adha (Islamic Day of Sacrifice).
One of her 13-year-old twin daughters, Salmiana, is taking a
sewing class in a tent adjacent to Hanifah's inside the TVRI
compound in Banda Aceh.

"I want to get back on my feet again. I want to sell fruit
again like I used to. I feel so cooped up in here, life seems so
boring," she said while pulling her faded sarong further down her
legs.

Hanifah's husband, Abdurrahman, is still missing. Despite all
her searching, all she found was some photos of him amid the
rubble of her destroyed house in Pungee Blangcut in Jaya Baru
regency.

Her other twin daughter, Salmiati, is staying with Hanifah's
mother in a village in Panton Labu, North Aceh.

"My siblings also live there. My husband and I moved to the
town after we got married in 1991. And no, I can't ask for
financial help from them to start a business because they aren't
much better off than me," she said, casting her eyes downward.

For Kamal, life has also turned gloomy. When Kamal realized he
had probably lost his wife Rahma and his parents, he could only
hug his daughter. He wipes away her tears when the loneliness of
the night starts creeping up on her.

"My daughter cries at night because she remembers her mother.
Worse, I can't help crying inside whenever she points to a woman
and runs to me saying the woman looks like Rahma," he says.

With his dignity and his little girl -- all that he has left
in the world -- Kamal said he only wished to go back to the sea,
from which he had managed to earn a good living.

"We had a good life, you know? I'd go to the sea at night and
bring lots of fish for us to sell and eat. We probably did more
than OK, but now I have no house, no money, and my other half is
gone," he said, smiling bitterly through cracked lips.

Hanifah and Kamal are just two of the 400,000 displaced
persons trying to get by while living in camps in the tsunami-
battered province.

Many of the people seemed at a loss when asked about their
plans, simply saying: "I don't know ... I really don't. I'll just
wait and see what happens."

Most of them are also curious, and frequently asked The
Jakarta Post about the government's plan to build temporary
barracks and eventually permanent housing.

"If we could ask for anything right now, I would ask for money
to restart my business. I doubt the government will supply food
aid for ever. But if we get a particular amount of money, I'm
sure many refugees would immediately return to their former way
of making a living.

"If they can't give me money, I'll probably approach some
families and ask for a job as a servant. I'm sure many families
need servants right now. Once I have enough money, I'll go back
to the market and enjoy the fun of selecting fruit. That's what
I'm going to do," a determined Hanifah said.

Kamal was more upbeat about his future.

"I heard they have a plan to repair and deploy new boats for
fishermen. I guess I'll just take one of those boats. As for my
daughter, I don't know where I'll leave her when I'm sailing.
Perhaps, I'll just take her with me to show her the great world
of fishing," he said.