Lampuuk, once a bustling beach, now a ghost coast
Lampuuk, once a bustling beach, now a ghost coast
Lampuuk, 20 kilometers west of Banda Aceh, was popular among
tourists for its waves, clean white sand, grilled fresh fish and
coconut drinks. Lampuuk, which was inhabited by some 5,500 people
before the tsunami, is now nothing but rubble. Only about 750
residents survived the tsunami. The Jakarta Post's Nani Afrida
examined how the survivors of Lampuuk are dealing with the
tragedy, and combed the area for any signs of life. The following
is the first in a series or articles about Lampuuk and its
survivors.
On the Sunday of the tsunami, Nurhayati, 45, went shopping at a
nearby market in Keude, Aceh Besar regency. Not knowing the
horror that was coming, she left her house that morning after
preparing breakfast for her three children.
She realizes now that that was the last time she would see her
children, who were killed in the tsunami.
"All three of my children were killed. Luckily, though, my
husband Ibrahim survived," said Nurhayati at the Lham Lhom camp,
about five kilometers from her village.
Nurhayati is one of only about 40 women from Lampuuk who
survived the disaster. About 5,000 other residents of Lampuuk
were lost in the tsunami.
Most of the survivors are between the ages of 15 and 40. The
young and the old had little chance to survive as the large waves
crashed down on top of the village, which sits next to the once-
beautiful beach.
"The tsunami brought us to Lham Lhom. Almost all of the
residents of Lampuuk are gone," said Ibrahim.
Nothing was left intact in Lampuuk, about 20 kilometers west
of Aceh. There is no more white sand and no more tourists coming
to enjoy Lampuuk's beach.
For foreign tourists, Lampuuk was a place to surf, while for
locals it was a place to enjoy grilled fish and coconut drinks at
stalls along the beach.
Most of the residents of Lampuuk worked as fishermen, with
others running food stalls.
After the tsunami, there are few signs of life and none of the
former beauty of the beach.
Surviving villagers are still too afraid to return to the
village.
"Go home? Where? We do not have homes anymore," Nurhayati
said.
Some men ventured back to the village only to find a horror
scene, with hundreds of corpses littering the area.
"We don't think any volunteers have reached our village to
remove the corpses," said Zul, 40, who lost his entire family in
the tragedy.
He said he and other survivors were too traumatized to return
to the village and remove the bodies themselves.
"Please, help us and take care of the corpses," said Zul.