Love blossoms in camp for displaced Acehnese

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

If Gabriel Garcia Marquez were to write the story of Syamsu and Karmilawati, refugees sheltered in Mata Ie, Banda Aceh, the title could be, "Love in the Time of Tsunami."

The lovebirds laid their eyes on each other a little over two months ago at the refugee camp where they fled to after walls of water swallowed their homes. After a month of companionship, they have already decided that they were meant for each other.

On Monday, Syamsu, 23, and Karmila, 21, will tie the knot at the camp and host a one-day feast for families and neighbors.

"He's macho," said Karmila bluntly on Sunday, to describe what she likes about her 23-year-old future husband. "He came to my father himself to ask for my hand," the 21-year-old told The Jakarta Post.

On paper, he is not her type -- Syamsu is not tall and not good at whispering sweet nothings in her ears. Karmila did not even like him at first. "But his confidence, his commitment to this relationship, lured me to him," said the university student.

Karmila had a boyfriend -- a friend of Syamsu, in fact -- for four years and Syamsu was also in a relationship when they met. "But she is my soul mate, I know it," said Syamsu, who handed over five mayam (one mayam equals about three grams) of gold to Karmila's parents as a dowry.

"I love her sweet, dark skin, her eyes, her nose," he said.

They have not actually spent much time with each other, as they could only meet in the late afternoons after Syamsu returned from his job at a garage downtown. After 9 p.m., unmarried couples are not allowed to fraternize.

"We had to steal moments; I missed him all the time," said Karmila.

Getting married may cure their longing, but will bring with it another problem: where to spend their honeymoon. Karmila lives in a tent with her parents and two little brothers -- she lost three other sisters and brothers in the tsunami -- while Syamsu also lives with his family.

But Cupid finds a way after all. "Our neighbor has agreed to lend us her tent for one night while she goes out of town," said Karmila, grinning. "But you know, these tents get transparent at night (when lights are on)."

After the wedding, the couple will live temporarily in the tent of the groom's family, while they wait to get a tent of their own.

Karmila's father, Muhammad Noer, scraped together all his money and borrowed some more to get Rp 4 million (US$430) to make sure that the wedding feast would be a proper one, as is the custom of the Acehnese.

"We invited about 500 people. My friends from outside Banda Aceh are also coming," he said, beaming.

All the preparation was made easier for the families as many neighbors lent a hand, like cooking rendang (beef in chili sauce) and chicken in coconut milk or grinding peanuts to make sauce for gado-gado (stewed vegetables with tofu and tempeh) and many other details.

So on Monday, amid the tents in the packed refugee camp of Mata Ie, people will see that indeed, love can still thrive despite adversity.