Acehnese tsunami survivors celebrate Idul Fitri in tents, remember victims

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post/Banda Aceh

Many still living in tents, the Acehnese celebrated their first Idul Fitri almost a year after the tsunami devastated Aceh and parts of North Sumatra.

The time was also a time for many to quietly remember the loved ones, relatives and friends not present at festivities this year.

"Please come in," Asiah, 25, greeted her guests in her tent for displaced persons in Gano village, Lambaro Skep district, Banda Aceh regency.

Guests took their seats inside and out and were served with traditional cakes, including tinphan, an Acehnese dish made out of rice flour and wrapped in banana leaf.

Asiah had prepared the cake -- a must-eat for the celebration -- a day before Idul Fitri. "It doesn't seem right to celebrate Idul Fitri without tinphan," she said.

The guests were also treated with syrup and dates, donated from Malaysia, which were distributed several days before Idul Fitri.

"We plan to visit mass graves to pray for our relatives who were killed in the tsunami," Asiah said.

The calamity left more than 126,000 people dead and over 90,000 missing. Around 100,000 of the 500,000 people made homeless are still living in tents around the province as they wait for houses to be constructed for them.

Abdurrahman and his wife, Nusari, both live in a tent in Payung, Baitussalam, in Aceh Besar regency. They ate chicken to celebrate the day.

"Back then, our children were still around, but now, since it's just the two of us, we only had one chicken, which will be enough for a couple of days," Abdurrahman said. The most important thing was they could perform the Idul Fitri morning prayers at the Baet Mosque, some 500 meters from their makeshift tent and then visit their neighbors to ask for forgiveness, he said.

"We're not going anywhere since, most of our relatives died in the tsunami," Nursari said.

"This year's Idul Fitri is very different compared to last year," she whispered, "It's so sad celebrating Idul Fitri without a complete family."

Abdurrahman and Nursari also intended to visit mass graves and to pray for their relatives.

The one good thing to come of the tsunami, the peace deal signed between the government and the Free Aceh Movement in Helsinki in August, improved the mood in Pidie regency, with residents reviving the once-prohibited practice of firing bamboo canons to celebrate Idul Fitri.

Loud bangs filled the air as children and adults joined in the game.

"It's been a long time since we've heard the bangs of the canons," a resident, Ali, 60, told the Post on Friday. "Since the sound made was similar to a gunshot, it was prohibited by the military."

The bamboo-canon is about 1.5 to 2.5 meters long and is filled with a kerosene-gasoline mix. A fire built at the lower end heats the liquid until it explodes.

"Now that it's safe, we think it's fine to play with bamboo canons again," said Muktar, a Pidie resident.

"The canon is harmless but fun, only the sound is loud."