Photo exhibition shows that grief lingers among tsunami victims

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The massive tsunami that hit Aceh and North Sumatra in December was so cataclysmic that many of the victims of the natural disaster have been unable to come to terms with the reality of what happened.

This impression is inevitable for visitors who step inside the Antara Gallery for photo journalism and look at the first three pictures on display at an exhibition titled 100 Days After: Struggle Continues.

In spite of the exhibition's title, which is aimed at highlighting the reconstruction efforts in tsunami-hit regions, about half of the photos display the trail of destruction and how the victims of the tsunami are still shaken by the events of that day.

Greeting visitors upon entering the gallery is a large photo taken by the American-born Eric Grigorian, a photographer with the Polaris photo agency, showing a woman standing amid a sea of rubble, gazing into the distance under a torn umbrella.

The cloudy sky above the woman adds to the feeling that her hardship is far from over, while she had little resources to help her through it all.

A picture by Zarqoni Maksum of the Antara photo news agency shows the difficulty of people coming to grips with such unspeakable destruction.

In the picture, a man in traditional Muslim attire is seen standing on the edge of a platform that was once an upper floor of a mosque, which has been reduced to little more than a bare and broken structure.

Another photo by Maksum, however, is a strangely beautiful depiction of the tsunami's path, suggesting that nature indeed works in mysterious ways.

This photo, simply titled Temaram (Shimmering), shows a serene and barren landscape marked only by the still-standing structure of a mosque and dead trees. The evening sun is about to set, accenting the emptiness and desolation filling the hearts of Acehnese.

Staying true to the exhibition's main objective of emphasizing the reconstruction efforts, there are photos of bruised Acehnese putting their lives back together and leaving the agony behind.

Pictures by another Polaris photographer, Kemal Jufri, portray efforts by fishermen along the west coast of Aceh to rebuild lives that were brought to an abrupt halt by the tsunami.

In a picture by Tempo weekly photographer Rully Kesuma, two children run through an open field, unaware or unconcerned by the darkening sky above them.

A work by Antara photographer Maha Eka Swasta shows a small boy pointing a toy gun at two Singaporean aid workers.

The incident brought the refugee camp to a standstill as both the refugees and the aid workers shared a joyous laugh.

There is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel.

100 Days After: Struggle Continues runs until May 24 at Galeri Foto Jurnalistik Antara at Jl. Antara 59, Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta; tel: 021-3458771