Acehnese uncertain about housing, work

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.