Acehnese tsunami survivors want certainty in life

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Rahmawati broke into tears while packing her belongings. The 30- year-old native of Aceh Jaya regency could not help but be sad.

"I feel like a cat having to move and move all over again. Now I don't know where to go," said the tsunami survivor, who was taking shelter in Lamreung village, Daru Imarah district, Aceh Besar regency.

Another displaced person, Saodah, also from Aceh Jaya regency, can only trust in her faith while, with the help of her five children, she packs up the few things she has left.

"We heard rumors a couple of months ago that we would have move, but I never suspected it would be so sudden," the 54 year old said.

Rahmawati and Saodah are among those from Aceh Jaya regency who have taken shelter on a one-hectare plot of land in the village for 10 months. Now, the owner wants the land back.

Rahmawati heard that the land owner, an Aceh Jaya resident named Sofyan Hasyim, would allow the refugees to stay on the land if he was paid Rp 200 million (US$20,000) in rent per year.

"We can't afford such an amount. Paying for food is hard enough," Rahmawati said.

She said the displaced persons had asked the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias about their fate but were told to move to the Social Affairs Office in Banda Aceh.

"We're worried that once we move there, we'll then be asked to move again," she sighed.

Almost a year after the tsunami devastated the province, killing 129,000 people and leaving 90,000 missing and over 500,000 homeless, the displaced persons of Aceh Jaya remain in tents.

Many of them yearn to return to their villages, but their land was devastated by the tidal waves. "We don't have land now, so how could we get a house from an NGO (non-governmental organization)?" asked Saodah.

Some remain traumatized by the disaster. "My husband and I are still terrified of the sea," said Rahmawati.

Meanwhile, the owner of the land where the refugees have taken shelter claims he does not want a high rent for his land.

"They've been living on my land since the tsunami. I hope they will return (to their hometowns), since it is unlikely that NGOs will build them houses if they are not around," said Sofyan Hasyim, who is deputy speaker of the Aceh Jaya regental council.