Life in makeshift tents getting unbearable

Life in makeshift tents getting unbearable

Antara. Banda Aceh

Agusni, a resident in Lampoh Daya subdistrict, Banda Aceh, is barely able to walk steadily to her tent with strong winds almost blowing her over. Powerful winds have frequently hit the area in the past few weeks, making life in a tent precarious.

However, the problem is not faced by Agusni alone, but by some 100 families still living in tents provided by UN agencies, seven months after the tsunami disaster.

"I have been living in a tent with my five brothers and sisters here for five months; our parents died in the tsunami," she said.

Agusni expected that the government would meet its earlier promise that all tsunami victims would have houses six months after the disaster.

"It has been more than six months since the tsunami but the government has not fulfilled its promise. We have been suffering living in tents and we hope that we will be provided with a house soon," she said.

There was a glimmer of hope earlier when some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) visited the refugee camp where she is now living. They collected data on the refugees and promised that they would soon build houses for the tsunami victims, but the promises never materialized, she said.

"It seems that we have to give up hope. We have to accept the fact that we will be 'tent people' forever," said Agusni.

While Agusni and probably thousands of others tsunami victims still face a tough life in tents, other tsunami victims are much more fortunate, especially those people lived in Lamjene and Ulee Pata subdistricts, Banda Aceh. In these areas, dozens of permanent houses are being built and some are even close to completion.

"The 36-Type houses are being built by Uplink, a foreign NGO. The houses are earthquake proof," said a construction worker. There are 50 houses being built and the construction of each house costs the NGO Rp 9 million (US$947).

The houses being built are certainly fewer than the houses in the area that were destroyed by the tsunami disaster, which totaled some 400 houses. Some expressed resentment that they were not allocated a house, like Amat, a Lamjene resident.

"I am disappointed that I was not allocated a house. But, what can I do?" said Amat.

Separately, the acting Aceh governor, Azwar Abubakar, said that at least 100,000 houses were destroyed by the tsunami in 14 regencies and cities throughout Aceh. It will be a mammoth task to complete all houses, he said.

"However, the Aceh provincial government can only build 1,000 houses as our budget is limited," said Azwar, adding that the government called on more NGOs to participate in housing reconstruction for tsunami victims in Aceh.

He explained that currently a good number of NGOs had already participated in housing reconstruction and with the help of the NGOs, he expected some 30,000 houses to be built by the end of the year.