Acehnese uncertain about housing, work

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Contributor, Aceh Besar

Six months after the tsunami wrought havoc in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, destroying lives and dimming the hopes of thousands who were already living in uncertainty, Acehnese are still waiting for the promised rebuilding to start, while others have become apathetic and are simply grateful to be alive.

Pulot village in Leupung sub-district, 25 km from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, used to be a vibrant fishermen's village. The deadly wave of Dec. 26 turned part of the village into a sandy, golden brown beach, and the other part into empty space.

Houses, the market, and the fishermen's dock were all destroyed, and 750 residents killed. Today, the 120 survivors of the village, located in worst-hit Aceh Besar regency, are still building makeshift houses from debris, just as they were doing in January.

"I collected what was left after the tsunami to build this house. This is my village. I was born here and the sea is close by," said the fisherman turned debris cleaner Suardi.

After spending three nights in the nearby hills after the tsunami, he walked to the Matai'ie camp in Banda Aceh and stayed there for nearly a month before returning to Pulot.

Claiming to have no other skill than fishing, he hopes to be able to return to his old profession, and thus considers it necessary to live by the sea.

But because he lost his boat, Suardi along with other surviving fishermen in the village have been taking part in a debris cleaning program run by Mercy Corps, with each of them being paid Rp 35,000 (about US$3.65) per day.

While he is grateful to be alive and have his family intact, he finds it difficult being without a permanent job or a proper house. Now that the debris in their village has been cleared, his income has also come to an end.

Suardi laments the fact that very little assistance has come from the government since the disaster. So far, it has been various non-government organizations who have provided him with foodstuffs, medicine and drinking water.

Three months ago the central government announced that each displaced person would receive payments of Rp. 90,000 per month.

After hurdling all the bureaucratic procedures, Suardi got his first, and last, payment from the government in March.

"They said there would be reconstruction, but where is it? We're still in tents, aren't we?" he exclaimed, when asked about government assistance and the master plan to reconstruct Aceh.

In mid-April the government enacted a master plan for reconstruction of Aceh and Nias that comprised a wide-ranging four-year development program, estimated to cost around $4.8 billion.

"I hope in the future the government can help restore our livelihoods and provide permanent housing," he said, suggesting that the government come up with loan schemes and accommodate people who would like to return to their original locations.

Fishermen cannot live in the mountains, just as farmers cannot make do on the seashore, he reasoned.

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, chairman of the Aceh and Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) established in April, said it was not compulsory for displaced people to live in safer areas designated in the master plan.

He is now collecting input from village chiefs and community leaders whose residents aspire to return to their original locations, as well finding out what is needed to restore their livelihoods.

Kuntoro's other important task is to get amounts pledged by donors realized, and assuring that none of the funds will become entangled in Indonesia's notorious system of corruption.

However, not all Acehnese are aware that the rehabilitation process has only now just started, after a magnitude nine earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a massive tsunami that left 128,803 people dead, 32,066 missing and 513,278 displaced.

"I heard that many countries gave donations to our government to rebuild Aceh. I don't know where all that money went," Suardi said, voicing an opinion common to many Acehnese.

Meanwhile in the provincial city of Banda Aceh changes are becoming noticeable. Most of the debris that covered the main streets and residential areas has been cleared.

But this is just physical, said a public school teacher Khairul Razi. Too many are still without a house, and the economy is stagnant, he said.

He also thinks the government is not providing enough assistance to the devastated province. The legacy of distrust and suspicion between the Acehnese and the central government during the period of martial law imposed in 2003 to curb local rebel groups did not help matters.

"We (Acehnese) have learned not to expect too much when the government airs promises; there have been too many promises back then as well as now, and conditions are still the same," Khairul said.

Kuntoro said that housing and jobs were urgent for the people of Aceh as people could not live on donations forever.

For some, a job is more than just a source of income, it is also a way to heal the soul.

Nuraini, a Pulot seamstress who lost her two children, a house and all her belongings in the tsunami, thinks the same.

"If I can do my old job then I would have something to occupy my thoughts while I learn to let go ... rather than just sitting around like this filled with regret that I didn't hold them tight enough when the water engulfed us," she says.