Kami sendiri akhirnya bertugas di daerah Gempa/Tsunami Aceh selama dua tahun. Untuk mengenang awal-awal penanganan peristiwa itu kami memposting artikel yang menggambarkan situasi di sebuah desa di daerah Pidie, setelah 10 bulan peristiwa itu berlangsung. Artikel yang kami tulis Nopember 2005, masih bisa diakses pada mediaonline dimana kami pernah bekerja sebagai Information Officer: http://www.act-intl.org.
Ten months after the tsunami, people yearn to go back home
By Jannerson Girsang, ACT International
Pidie, Aceh, Indonesia, November 2, 2005--After ten months of living in barracks and tents, internally displaced persons (IDPs) yearn to leave these temporary living quarters and to return to their original villages. These desires are more intense for Indonesians during these times of Muslim and Christian religious celebrations (Idul Fitri and Christmas) because of the custom of gathering in one’s hometown.
The desire to return home had been previously constrained by the lack of shelter, water and sanitation, earnings and other reasons. Now, some of these constraints have decreased.
Among the people who want to return to their homes are residents of one small village in Indonesia’s Aceh province that was hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake last year, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, and the ensuing tsunami.
“I get fish enough for our daily needs and installment payments,” said 30-year-old Ramli with sparkling eyes on a day in late October. Three days earlier, the resident of Lampoh Kawat in Pidie district had moved into a new, 36-square-meter house after he and his family had lived in a settlement of barracks and tents for several months.
Ramli explained that he lost his house and boat in the tsunami, but he has been able to resume his job as a fisherman.
“We are very happy. We have our own house now. Compared to former days, now we have our private water and sanitation facilities,” said the father of a 3-year-old son. Ramli is a beneficiary of the shelter and livelihood-recovery program of Church World Service (CWS), one of three members of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International responding to the tsunami in Indonesia.
Another fisherman, Zakaria, 45, is also involved in CWS-ACT’s shelter and livelihood-recovery program, which has provided him with a boat to return to work. “If we went to the sea for several hours, we can catch fish, and in the afternoon we could go to the field or conduct other activities for additional income,” said Zakaria, whose house and all his possessions were swept away in the tsunami.
“I am thankful to CWS. The boat helps my family. I have now more choices to earn money,” he said. Zakaria’s other activities include transporting people to the market on his motorcycle and volunteering for the ACT member in its house-construction program.
Zakaria said he has participated in all the phases of house construction with CWS-ACT, from planning to implementation. “I myself participated in interior design and also the supervision of the construction. I am satisfied with my house-to-be,” the father of three school-aged children explained.
Ramli and Zakaria are two of the many people who have expressed out grateful they are to be going home.
Ramli and Zakaria are two of the many people who have expressed out grateful they are to be going home.
Everybody is busy earning an income in various ways while they wait for their new houses to be built. Some have even provided carpentry services themselves to hurry the construction along.
Ummiah Abbah and Ainsyah Amin are two examples of women who are actively supporting their families economically while waiting for their new houses to be completed.
While harvesting oysters in the river beside Lampoh Kawat sub-village, Ummiah, 45, said she does not feel comfortable in the temporary barracks where she has been living since the tsunami struck.
“My house was destroyed by the tsunami, but I miss this place to live and to work again,” she said, referring to the river near her original home. “It is too far from the barracks to work here. No place can replace the harmony in this village. When can I occupy my house, sir?” she asked with slight impatience.
Ainsyah, a 60-year-widow, slashed sike (a plant used as a raw material for woven products) next to her house, which is under construction. Ainsyah can make three mats from sike in ten days and sells them at the local markets. She is living in a temporary shelter built from the ruins of her house, like many other families in this village.
“I prefer to stay here because I can do my routine job and socialize with people. I miss the harmony of life,” said Ainsyah, whose husband died several years ago. Some of her five adult children are married, some of whom also live in this village.
The village where Ummiah and Ainsyah live is 200 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. The village is two kilometers off the main road. When the earthquake and tsunami struck here ten months ago, houses and property - boats, cattle, shrimp ponds and personal belongings – were damaged or destroyed. One woman was killed, and many people were injured. Before the tsunami, Lampoh Kawat was rich in resources. It is located near the coast of Malacca Straits, where people catch fish in abundance, raise shrimp in ponds, raise animals and grow coconuts. Plenty of pandanus trees, used as a craft material, also grow naturally in this tiny village of 34 households.
The village where Ummiah and Ainsyah live is 200 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. The village is two kilometers off the main road. When the earthquake and tsunami struck here ten months ago, houses and property - boats, cattle, shrimp ponds and personal belongings – were damaged or destroyed. One woman was killed, and many people were injured. Before the tsunami, Lampoh Kawat was rich in resources. It is located near the coast of Malacca Straits, where people catch fish in abundance, raise shrimp in ponds, raise animals and grow coconuts. Plenty of pandanus trees, used as a craft material, also grow naturally in this tiny village of 34 households.
CWS, with the support of partners and ACT members around the world, began working here in April and has contributed to a significant change of the lives of the village’s residents.
Beginning with health services provided through mobile clinics, CWS started a livelihood program and has distributed 26 boats to fisherman to replace their boats that were swept away by the tsunami. In its livelihood program, CWS-ACT cooperates with PASKA, a local foundation. Fisherman who receive a boat also participate in a community-based revolving loan system as a token of social accountability to the community.
“Every time when the earnings of the fisherman is more than Rp 50,000 [US$5], they should contribute 15 percent of the excess earnings to this community-based revolving fund system, compiled by chosen members of the community,” explained Evy Kaban, CWS-ACT’s livelihood-recovery program coordinator in Banda Aceh. “The money collected from all fishermen will be used as a revolving fund to the 16 people who haven’t had earnings yet. They can use the money as seed capital for small enterprises.”
Since August, CWS-ACT has completed some of the 34 houses in the shelter program for the families of Lampoh Kawat whose houses were destroyed. CWS-ACT plans to build 300 houses across Aceh, but is finding it difficult to locate the right land for new houses. A lack of coordination and persistent claims from other donor agencies over land ownership has led to confusion among the local authorities and community members.
Since August, CWS-ACT has completed some of the 34 houses in the shelter program for the families of Lampoh Kawat whose houses were destroyed. CWS-ACT plans to build 300 houses across Aceh, but is finding it difficult to locate the right land for new houses. A lack of coordination and persistent claims from other donor agencies over land ownership has led to confusion among the local authorities and community members.
Constructing houses in Aceh is not a simple task. Indra, CWS-ACT’s technical shelter officer stationed in Banda Aceh, said he faces constraints in providing materials for the housing construction. “We have to take legal logging material from Medan. It takes time to deal with administration of things,” he said.
In order to increase the local income, CWS-ACT also outsources the work of windows and doors to local carpenters and the construction to the local people and the owners of the houses. “It is easy to build houses if not considering the local participation. We just let contractors build, but I worry if we do so, the continuation and sense of belonging will be different,” said Indra.
One factor in the success of the CWS-ACT housing program, according to Indra, is that the small sub-village is easy to manage and monitor. “They are very cooperative and contribute their talents that make this construction take place well,” said Indra.
Indra said the government and local people are working together to preparing land and when it comes to construction.
In the village, the French Red Cross is taking care of the drinking water supply with water trucks and a tank. However, the long-term supply of drinking water for the village is uncertain. CWS-ACT is ready to take on this responsibility, but has to consider many other players and factors, such as other agencies competing and the fact that the government’s rehabilitation and reconstruction program began late.
Source: http://www.act-intl.org.
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