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A woman paints the woodwork of a new Oxfam house in Beurngin, near Lhokseumawe, in Aceh. Two teams of female painters are now going through training in order to help them win further house-painting contracts as part of an Oxfam livelihoods project. Photo: Jim Holmes/Oxfam.
Returning to Aceh
Ian Woolverton first visited Aceh just days after the tsunami in December 2004. He returned there recently to see how the lives of the Acehnese have changed.
Downtown Banda Aceh is a construction site, I thought as our vehicle picked its way along a labyrinth of dirt tracks and sealed roads.
Last time I’d travelled these roads, bloated dead bodies lined the streets, parentless children wept and shell-shocked traders picked at the rubble, while the homeless wandered aimlessly. That was late December 2004, days after the tsunami claimed the lives of more than 230,000 people and affected another 1.3 million people in 12 countries.
I was glad to have returned even though I knew it to be a place of human suffering. This was my third trip to Aceh since the disaster and I was elated, admittedly, to be back. I wanted to witness the changes. It wasn’t idle curiosity — more a need to know. I wanted to get a feel for the reconstruction effort, as well as how life had changed for the Acehnese — or how it hadn’t.
As we drove through Banda Aceh, our vehicle passed the site of a motorbike shop that once belonged to Yassir, a man in his early 30s whose wife and unborn child were washed away by the tsunami. He was the first person I ever interviewed in Aceh and the last person I shall forget.
Ever since that day in December 2004, I’ve thought about Yassir and how he’s getting along. And to find myself outside his newly-built business was strange. I was caught between the past and present. Our vehicle continued its slow rumble past his shop. I never got to see him.
I wanted to be ‘on the ground’ for another reason too. From time-to-time a story pops up in the media that’s critical of the recovery effort in Aceh. I wanted to find out if this criticism was justified.
Let’s be clear. The tsunami sucked large swathes of Aceh out to sea, especially on the west coast. Towns such as Meulaboh, Teunom, Calang and Lam No, were practically wiped from the map.
Bridges and roads were destroyed. All the ports were knocked out and land was submerged — title deeds were lost so no-one knew who owned what land and where. Add to all of that, the ongoing conflict making Aceh off limits to most aid agencies and you’ve one of the most complex and difficult disaster response and recovery efforts ever mounted.
But despite the problems, a lot has been achieved in a relatively short space of time.
Just outside Calang on the west coast of Aceh, I met a group of women who’d received Oxfam grants to establish businesses. Here the women used individual cash payments worth 4 million rupiah (AUD $570) to start a handicrafts business specialising in sewing wedding costumes and accessories such as umbrellas, chairs and tables. They’re doing well now, able to make a living and provide for their families.
Job creation or livelihoods assistance allows people to get back on their feet as I also discovered in Kuta Glumpang, some five or six hours drive east from Banda Aceh.
Here I met father of three Mr Dahlani, 46. He’s overcome more challenges than most in his life. As a child, polio paralysed both his legs. More recently, his life and livelihood was threatened when the tsunami obliterated the village he’s called home all his life. The disaster robbed Mr Dahlani of the means to provide for his family. His decade old business, a small successful kiosk, was washed away.
Because of Mr Dahlani’s disability, Oxfam fast tracked him for a business grant. In the aftermath of disaster, we target support and assistance to the most vulnerable, such as widows, the elderly and disabled.
In April, Mr Dahlani received two lump-sum payments totalling about AUD $600, to help replenish the kiosk with merchandise. A couple of hundred dollars may not seem much. But a little goes a long way in Aceh. Oxfam’s cash grant has helped Mr Dahlani build a thriving enterprise so he can continue to support his family. And it’s helped restore his self-esteem and confidence.
I visited a number of other communities that we have assisted — communities such as Kuala Kerto Barat, an isolated fishing hamlet not far from Lhokseumawe. Everyone in the community has at least a mild form of leprosy, a condition which, if left untreated, can lead to progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes.
Oxfam’s been working here for 18 months to help build a fish market and replace fishing boats destroyed by the tsunami.
Muktar,of Luala Kerto Barat, in Aceh, stands with the new fishing boat he received from Oxfam after his was destroyed in the tsunami. Oxfam has been working in the village for 18 months, helping to build a fish market and replace fishing boats. Photo: Jim Holmes/Oxfam.
I was introduced to a young man named Muktar aged 25, a fisherman, whose boat was smashed to pieces when the tsunami struck. But gently bobbing on the calm blue waters of the bay was his new fishing boat that Oxfam had donated six months after the disaster.
Mutkar expressed happiness at being given such a good boat — one that would have normally cost around 8 million rupiah (AUD $1,100) taking him years to pay off as a loan.
Livelihoods regeneration is, of course, just part of a mix of activities to help tsunami-affected communities return to pre-tsunami levels of development. In Lhokseudu, a fishing village 24 kilometres west of Banda Aceh, life is returning to normal.
Our assistance in Lhokseudu covers a range of activities such as job creation, housing, water and sanitation, as well as basic health promotion. So far Oxfam has built 38 semi-permanent homes each with two bedrooms, a kitchen and a washing area. Soon we’ll be building more permanent homes.
We also gave the community 80 million rupiah (AUD $11,500) to repair its most profitable fishing boat — a Palong badly damaged by the tsunami. With a crew of eight and two hulls, a Palong is one of the largest Achenese fishing boats. It is also one of the most expensive. There’s little change from AUD $40,000 for a new one.
Last season, the Palong generated 30 million rupiahs (AUD $4,300) for the Lhokseudu community. But it was only in service half the season. This year it’s hoped the Palong will generate 100 million rupiah (AUD $14,300).
It was good to be in Aceh. I was struck how the province had changed. It was extremely heartening to see parts of Aceh converted to a construction site. The houses are going up, businesses have returned, fishermen have the means to make a living once again — it feels like a place that’s coming alive. But there’s still some way to go.
While certain aspects of the recovery probably could have moved faster, such as housing reconstruction, it’s important to remember that this is a disaster response of bewildering proportions. Large parts of Aceh will be virtually built from scratch and that, make no mistake, takes time.
I don’t know when I’ll return to Aceh. But I shall forever remember the people I met on that first dreadful visit in December and January two years ago. I shall always remember the resilience and enduring kindness of the people. And I shall always remember Yassir, whose family was taken from him. I wished I’d got to meet him again to ask how he was. I can only hope he’s doing well and is able to put the past behind him. For Yassir and thousands like him, Oxfam is committed to Aceh for at least the next two years.
Ian Woolverton is Oxfam Australia’s National Media Coordinator and visited Aceh for Oxfam International.