Traders donate shrouds for Aceh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If suffering can bring people together, the calamity in Aceh has pulled the textile traders of Mayestik traditional market in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, together to donate the most needed items: Shrouds for the dead and blankets for the survivors.

Tarmizi, one of the traders, said on Wednesday that they felt compelled to come to the aid of the Acehnese people when they saw a customer desperately trying to get as many shrouds as she could buy with the money she had, which was enough only to buy 20 shrouds made of unbleached cloth.

"We were told that a friend of the customer would leave for Aceh and she and her other friends intended to send some goods needed there, such as shrouds and blankets.

"As we don't have the access to send the goods ourselves to Aceh, we sent our donation through the customer," he said.

Hundreds of shrouds and flannel to be cut for blankets were soon handed over to the customer.

Tidal waves swept through the northern tip of the island of Sumatra on Sunday hitting the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. The death toll stood at 32,000 on Wednesday, with hundreds of others still missing.

Reports revealed that dead bodies were seen strewn across the streets, while starvation and disease were imminent for survivors in refugee camps.

Relief workers had started to bury the dead who had already been identified. According to Islamic practices, except in emergency situations, a body should be wrapped in a shroud for burial.