Survivors mark 100 days since tsunami
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Prayers were spoken and tears flowed as thousands of Banda Aceh residents joined on Tuesday to mark the 100th day anniversary since the tsunami disaster, with the acting Aceh governor calling on the survivors to focus on the future.
"You have suffered enough. Please don't be broken hearted for too long," acting Aceh governor Azwar Abubakar said during an emotional mass prayer held in the Baiturrahim Mosque in Ulee Lheu, Banda Aceh.
The mosque is one of few buildings still standing in the area after the tsunami disaster that was estimated to have killed more than 120,000 people in Aceh alone.
At least 5,000 people, including top Aceh figures, packed the mosque and tents erected outside the structure during the prayer.
After prayers and a Koranic recital, the crowd listened to speeches by Muslim clerics and government officials.
The Aceh provincial government slaughtered 20 cattle, and cooked two tons of rice for a communal meal. Many residents could not hold back their grief during the function.
Yuli, 35, a resident of Ulee Lheu area, prayed while she gazed at the picture of her husband who died in the Dec. 26 disaster last year. She had come to the Baiturrahim Mosque from the Lhong Raya refugee shelter especially for the prayers.
"My future is bleak. I have no hope," Yuli told The Jakarta Post.
Another resident tried to see the brighter side of the tragedy. "The disaster has reminded us that we have to be much closer to God," said Ainur Mardiah, 55, a Blang Oi resident here who said she had lost "many" immediate family members and relatives during the disaster.
In other areas in the city, residents also held similar prayers in mosques near their houses.
The commemoration came as people on the islands of Nias and Simeulue off the Aceh west coast were still struggling to recover from a huge 8.7 on the Richter scale earthquake a week ago that killed hundreds of people.
Another function was held earlier on Monday to award organizations which had helped in emergency relief and rehabilitation programs. Teuku Pribadi, the chief of the provincial information office, said the administration had given awards to the United Nations for general activities, the Indonesian Red Cross for corpse evacuation efforts and the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) for health assistance.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that much of the aid focus had shifted from Aceh to the new emergency spot in Nias and nearby islands. The U.S. navy hospital ship Mercy, which had wrapped up operations off Aceh and was in East Timor waters, arrived off the coast of hard-hit Nias island on Tuesday, joining the supply vessel USNS Niagara Falls, an Australian navy ship and a host of others from Indonesia and various International relief agencies.
"We have returned to Sumatra to help our Indonesian friends in any way we can," said Captain Mark Llewellyn, commanding officer of the Mercy's medical treatment facility, quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
On Nias, more government offices and private shops reopened on Tuesday, in signs that life was slowly returning to normal despite the lingering stench of death in some areas. But many people, even those with their homes intact, continued to sleep outdoors, worried about aftershocks.