Dock construction underway in Meulaboh
Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post/Meulaboh
No ritual like that had ever been performed in Meulaboh. Tsunami survivor Hendri Gunawan watched nervously from a distance of some 200 meters. "Are they going to build houses for us? If not, what's the use of it all?" He whispered to his fellow survivors.
The purification ritual on Thursday saw popular Muslim figure T. Arsyad Kadam lead a group of construction workers in prayer.
Hendri's vision of houses being constructed for the homeless was shattered soon after the prayer finished and the groundbreaking ceremony began. Attended by a number of high- ranking officials from Singapore -- including Foreign Minister George Teo, and head of the Aceh Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency Kuntoro Mangkusubroto -- it became all too clear that the ceremony was for the construction of a dock in Ujung Karang harbor.
Hendri and the others left the place and made the 500-meter trip back to the shelter for displaced people.
They were disappointed, no doubt about it; how crucial was a dock in the reconstruction process? they asked themselves.
In many areas of Meulaboh, no much reconstruction work has been done six months after the catastrophe. Rubble has been pushed aside in piles, the town's detention center for Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels is just as it was after the tsunami struck.
Still the markets are crowded, people go about their business, even with no homes to return to.
"What we need most now is a house. We have faced enough misery. For almost six months we have slept in tents, come rain or shine," said Hendri, who erected his tent right on the spot where his house once stood in Suaindrapuri village, Johan Pahlawan district.
The 35-year-old man explained that before the tsunami, Suaindrapuri village had a population of 7,000.
In the Dec. 26 earthquake-triggered tsunami, houses in the village, which is located near the coastline, were leveled to the ground. Most of the villagers have been reported dead or missing.
Based on data from the West Aceh administration, as many as 62 villages -- comprising 17 villages in Johan Pahlawan district, 16 in Meureubo district, 16 in Samatiga district and 13 in Arongan Lambalek district -- were destroyed in the disaster.
"My wife and child perished in the disaster, and my mother's remains were never recovered," Hendri said.
Most of the tents in the shelter in Johan Pahlawan district are worn out or damaged now.
The tents, provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have changed from white to a muddy brown color. The UNHCR logo on several tents can no longer be made out.
West Aceh Regent Nasruddin verified that many of the tents in Meulaboh had been damaged. He said the basic problem faced by displaced people now was the poor condition of the tents.
Nasruddin said the number of displaced people in Meulaboh had reached 70,346. They are being sheltered in 14 locations in five districts in a limited number of tents and 196 temporary housing units.
"We need at least 100 new tents to replace the damaged ones, not including (those needed for) refugees who are yet to be given a place to stay," said Nasruddin.
He said his office had no intention of delaying reconstruction work on houses for the homeless. According to him, one of the obstacles was limited funds, besides the overpriced land in Meulaboh.
Nasruddin said the price of land in Meulaboh had increased five fold compared to before the tsunami.
"The average price of land now ranges from Rp 5,000 to Rp 50,000 per meter," said Nasruddin, adding that his office was planning to buy a 1,000-hectare plot of land for the construction of homes and office buildings.
Kuntoro said he was aware of people's desire for their own homes.
However, he said the construction of the dock, fully financed by the Singaporean government, was crucial so as to accelerate the reconstruction process in Meulaboh.
According to plan, the US$5 million project will be completed in February next year. "We plan to build around 20,000 housing units for the homeless in Meulaboh," said Kuntoro.