Exploring Aceh: From Mud, Hope, to Resilience (1)
She welcomes them like a mother meeting her children.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Four months have passed since flash floods and landslides claimed lives, property, and memories of many people in Aceh Province, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
During that time, questions have arisen: Has life in those areas recovered? Are the people alright? And are the government’s reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts proceeding as hoped?
Those questions cannot be adequately answered with hearsay. The answers can only be found by going there, seeing, and experiencing life among them firsthand.
ANTARA seeks answers to those questions through the ‘Bangkit Sumatera’ coverage, divided into three periods: 22–31 January (before Ramadan), 15–24 February (during Ramadan), and 15–24 March (up to Eid al-Fitr 2026).
10 days tracing the wounds
Over 10 days, the first batch of the Bangkit Sumatera Team travelled through several affected areas in Aceh, from Aceh Tamiang, North Aceh, to East Aceh, to witness directly how the recovery phase is progressing.
The journey began at 5 a.m. from Medan to Aceh Tamiang, taking 3 hours by car. After crossing the Aceh-Medan border and arriving in Aceh Tamiang, dust from the dried remnants of mud filled the roads, limiting visibility somewhat.
Along the way, life was starting to return. Small shops were reopening, markets were bustling again, and residents’ activities were slowly rising from despair. However, traces of the disaster lingered in every corner, from dusty roads, buildings still being cleaned, to the lingering smell of mud.
Upon arriving at the Aceh Tamiang Regent’s Office, ANTARA observed tangible recovery activities. Several pieces of heavy equipment, namely nine skid steer loader units from President Prabowo, were handed over to speed up mud cleaning.
‘Nine skid loader units, not the large class, but mini class to enter the alleys, because if they’re large, they might knock down houses,’ said Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian when distributing the mud cleaning equipment from President Prabowo Subianto to the Aceh Tamiang Government.
In addition, there were other aids such as thousands of rubber boots, shovels, hoes, and wheelbarrows also distributed to support fieldwork.
On the same day, the ANTARA team continued to the second location, Pondok Pesantren Darul Mukhlisin. When the flood hit, thousands of logs carried by the floodwaters were halted by the pesantren, preventing them from reaching nearby residential areas.
Entering the pesantren dormitory area, beds and books still bore traces of mud. There was an indescribable sense of awe upon witnessing the scene directly. It was as if some force had held back the logs from smashing into the surrounding settlements, even though the dormitory had not fully recovered.
‘We told them all our conditions, how we need furniture for teaching and learning activities. Also dormitory facilities for the students to board. The target is Ramadan (2026) we can board. So we discussed it yesterday, we conveyed it to Pak Qodari,’ said the Head of Pondok Pesantren Darul Mukhlisin, Mulkana.
Recovery of public services