Shops, eateries slowly reopen doors in Banda Aceh

Shops, eateries slowly reopen doors in Banda Aceh

Ahmad Pathoni and Cindy Sui, Agence France-Presse, Banda Aceh, Aceh

The Grandma's Advice Cafe in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh is back in business, but customers should not expect to be greeted with music. And half the menu items are no longer available.

"To respect people still in mourning, we don't play music," said manager Sukriadi, who stopped serving chicken and other dishes because prices had gone up and he did not want to pass on the cost to his customers.

The eatery, a popular hang out for young people in the city, reopened Monday for the first time since the devastating December 26 earthquake and tsunamis.

Two weeks on, those who can are slowly beginning to rebuild their livelihood in the city lashed worst than anywhere by the giant waves, with tens of thousands of residents killed.

Still devastated by the loss of family and property, many are forced by the need to earn a living to try to pick up the pieces.

Saefuddin was a carpenter before the tsunami, but the waves flattened the carpentry shop where he worked. He now sells fruit from a wagon he bought with his savings.

"I have to feed my family. If I look for work, where can I find it?" said Saefuddin at the city's Ulee Kareng Market.

Stall operators at the market busily served up fried rice and eggs wrapped in paper while customers filled a nearby restaurant Monday, but the bustle of activity masked a life that was far from normal.

In addition to taking lives and property, the tsunamis also took away jobs, when it destroyed shops, factories and offices.

Jobless people like Saefuddin have set up stands along the streets of the market, selling anything they can to make ends meet.

While businesses in less affected areas reopened, Banda Aceh's city center is still a wasteland of torn-up buildings, heavy debris and mud, but even here a handful of businesses and some sidewalk snack stalls have opened.

A branch of the state-run Bank Syariah Mandiri, located at the heart of the devastation but which suffered only slight damage, reopened last week to the relief of disaster survivors desperate for cash.

"I'm waiting for a money transfer from my brother in Surabaya... I have nothing left in my pocket," said Jamburi, a 60-year-old retired civil servant.

Other banks in Banda Aceh, as well as private and government offices, remained closed.

A telephone kiosk operator, Erwin Syah, said business has been brisk since he reopened the stall Sunday.

"After the disaster, we closed the place and it was used to accommodate hundreds of dead bodies before they were taken for mass burial. It's kind of spooky here, but I'm OK," he said.

Even as they struggle to make a living, vendors said they are struggling with grief.

"Everybody here has lost some relatives," said Sulaiman, 58, a fried rice vendor, surveying the intersection where the market is spread out.

Two of his sisters and 10 of their children were washed away by the powerful waves or buried in debris. His son-in-law's cafe was destroyed, so he set up the food wagon with Sulaiman.

"It's beyond sadness because too many people died... We are strong, but we are also traumatized," he said.

In the market where many survivors now sell food for a living, people cannot stop talking about what happened, but no one watches TV, which reminds them of the haunting images they witnessed.

"We don't have the strength to watch TV," said Sulaiman.

Customers at the market stay away from buying seafood, even though the market is known as Fish Head market for a once thriving seafood business.

"They're scared the fish might be contaminated by dead bodies because so many dead bodies were swept away to the sea," Sulaiman said.

For cafe manager Sukriadi, who lost 15 members of his extended family, reopening his business does not just mean making a living, but giving the community a much-needed sense of normalcy.

The spacious cafe full of low pink and green plastic chairs once hosted many birthday parties.

Few people will be in the mood to celebrate now, but Sukriadi said regular customers still want a place to meet and talk.

"Some people miss this place," said Sukriadi.

But looking around the empty establishment, he said sadly: "We cannot predict when things will return to normal."