Acehnese refuse to be relocated to govt barracks
Acehnese refuse to be relocated to govt barracks
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Standing in front of his ruined house in Lampu'uk, Lhoknga in
Aceh Besar regency, 35-year-old Effendi expressed his
determination to stay and rebuild his house no matter what.
"This is our ancestral land. We'll live and die here. Even
after the tragedy, I'm not afraid to continue living here," said
the man, who lost his wife and all of his children in the Dec. 26
disaster.
He then pointed to a small, unfinished wooden house visible
among the many ruined houses in the village. Proudly, he said he
had begun rebuilding his house without waiting for the
government's assistance.
"I collect wood from the debris around here. I prefer living
here over living in a tent or some camp," Effendi said.
Located right on the coast on the northwestern tip of Sumatra,
Lampu'uk was one of the hardest-hit villages. Out of its
approximately 7,000 pre-tsunami population, an estimated 1,000
survived and all of the houses were razed. Only a mosque was left
standing.
Half of the Lampu'uk residents now live in camps located among
the remains of the houses in the village, while the rest live in
camps in other areas.
It was the scale of the devastation that prompted a visit to
the village by former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George
Bush during their trip to tsunami-hit countries last week.
Effendi's strong will to stay was shared by most of the
survivors in the village, who told the former presidents they did
not want, for any reason, to be relocated to another area in
government barracks. The two retired Americans responded by
telling them they would see to it that the villagers' homes were
rebuilt
Hasballah, 36, one of the residents who lost all of his family
members and belongings in the disaster, said he was happy that
the two ex-presidents promised them houses in the village.
"We don't want move to other areas. I told the former
presidents that the land has given us what we need to live. We
can grow rice and other crops and fish in the sea," he said.
However, the Indonesian government has set aside approximately
Rp 200 billion (roughly US$22 million) to build over 800
semipermanent barracks to house over 50,000 displaced persons
throughout the province.
But many Acehnese are staunchly opposed to being relocated to
the government's plywood-walled, tin-roofed housing blocks, with
some saying the whole project is waste of money.
"Why didn't they (the government) ask us first what we want
before building those barracks? I think it's just another project
to benefit 'certain' people. Why can't they just build us
houses?" asked Muhammad, a 43-year-old survivor currently staying
at the Lambaro displaced persons camp.
Hundreds of refugees, who come from a number of tsunami-
ravaged areas in Aceh, have been living in Lambaro camp since the
disaster struck on Dec. 26. Some of them have, however, agreed to
be relocated to the barracks.
"I've agreed to move because the government said they would
build us permanent houses later. Besides, it's better than living
in these tents," said another survivor.
National coordinator for relief aid in Aceh, Alwi Shihab,
defended the allegation that the construction of the barracks was
a waste of money and would only benefit certain people.
""We have around 600,000 people that need a place to stay. The
barracks will be useful for many of them while we also plan to
build around 80,000 houses for 400,000 people," he said.
The United Nations has estimated that out of the 2.8 million
people that have been directly or indirectly affected by the
tsunami across Asia, 2 million people are in need of support and
over 700,000 people have lost their homes.