Survivors mark 100 days since tsunami

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.