Healing the Wounds of Disaster with Sugarcane Juice
Thin dust particles float between vehicles passing through the alley, marking the traces of the disaster at Simpang Upah Market in Aceh Tamiang Regency, Aceh.
At the edge of the asphalt alley coated with remnants of flood sediment lying silently, Fatima is immersed in activity at her small wooden stall. She stands like the other traders, offering various dishes to residents hunting for takjil as dusk approaches.
One by one, she feeds sugarcane stalks into the juicing machine. From between the spinning iron rollers, sweet liquid flows out, collected and sold for Rp5,000 per plastic packet.
That machine is the only possession Fatima has left from the flood event in November 2025, which devastated her family’s home and 400 square metre sugarcane garden in Seuneubok Dalam Upah Village, Bendahara Subdistrict.
The 38-year-old woman once felt herself sinking deeper into the abyss of suffering when she found the juicing machine no longer functioning after being submerged in the flood.
However, when the sound of the machine roared back to life two months later after repairs, the hope that had been extinguished slowly reignited like a small flame refusing to die. From that simple hum, Fatima reanchored her hope to improve her family’s economy through the sugarcane juice business she has run for more than ten years.
“At least with this machine, I can get back to work, little by little fixing everything that was destroyed,” said Fatima when visited by ANTARA.
She realises that the tragedy 110 days ago will never truly fade from memory. However, lamenting her fate for too long will not rebuild what has collapsed.
Fatima chose to head to the market, like the other small traders, so that the pulse of her household’s economy keeps beating. Because there are seven children to support. Not only that, her husband, who has not yet been able to return to farming, is still burdened by debts that must be repaid.
For Fatima, restarting the sugarcane juice business is not a choice, but a necessity to mend the torn wounds of life caused by the disaster.
Ramadan Momentum