Indian Ocean tsunami : How life goes on in Aceh Elena Cornellana  ;  A media officer at British aid organization Oxfam

JAKARTA POST, 28 Desember 2014

                                                

                                                                                                                       

“I was only 6 years old when the tsunami struck. I remember I was ill that morning. We were watching TV — a Japanese cartoon called Doraemon — and then it happened and everything changed forever. “The earthquake sounded like a big ship coming toward us. My father went outside to see what had happened and then we heard a deafening sound, like a huge bomb, coming from the sea. “My dad saw people running away from the beach, rushing toward their cars or bikes. When we left our house, I was in my underwear and still holding the TV remote control. We jumped into our car. I remember looking back at the mosque and seeing the water had reached there. All the coconuts had fallen from the trees. We wanted to go to Banda Aceh, but our neighbors said it was worse there, so we went to a mosque on a hill.” This is the story of Rahmat, who is now 16 years old. Arie, Rahmat’s cousin, was 10 at the time. Like Rahmat, he had no idea that an earthquake could cause a tsunami. “We saw the water heading our way, swamping our fishpond […] We knew we had to get to the mosque as quickly as possible, and we made it. We were really lucky,” said Arie. When the tsunami hit, Arie’s father was working at a cement factory and the family had to run away without knowing if he was alive. “We found him two days later,” said Arie. “Somebody came to check names and mentioned our father’s. My mother […] asked them to double check. He was indeed alive. We were so happy. It took us two days to find him because the bridge between the factory and the other side had been damaged.” Arie and his family stayed on the hill for four days until they felt it was safe to descend. Arie and Rahmat’s stories of survival and resistance in Lampaya — a small fishing community in Aceh — are symbolic of the experiences that millions of others had on Dec. 26, 2004. Some 230,000 people were killed and went missing, and 1.7 million were displaced. Some 5 million people needed assistance, including food, water and shelter across 14 countries. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were the hardest hit. The task facing the humanitarian sector was the equivalent of rebuilding a city of a million people. It remains Oxfam’s largest humanitarian response to date, with the international organization and its partners helping around 2.5 million people between 2004 and 2009. What went well and what did not in that response was — and still is — a key factor in how aid agencies function in other crises. “After two months, people from across Indonesia and international agencies came to our village to help us clean away the debris and remove corpses, as they were lying on the streets near our homes,” explained Arie. Managing the unprecedented public generosity was also a challenge. Described by the UN as the “most generous and immediately funded emergency relief effort ever”, Oxfam alone received US$249 million in donations with 92 percent coming from private donors. The Oxfam International Tsunami Fund was set up, to ensure funds were allocated in a coordinated and transparent way. This led to the tsunami response becoming a model often referred to as “building back better”. “Aceh is getting better and we think we can have a good life here,” Arie said. “The international community heard about Banda Aceh for the first time because of the tsunami [...] We are rebuilding our communities.” Arie and Rahmat’s families were among many that benefited from the international humanitarian response in Lampaya. Oxfam set up new water and sanitation facilities and built new houses for the displaced. “I see Rahmat sometimes as his family lives nearby. He comes back once a week and during holidays […] we usually go to the fishpond with our friends and feed the cows.” Arie and Rahmat were only children when the tsunami happened. However, they talk about what they experienced with a great sense of calm. They are both in full-time education now and believe their past experiences have led to a desire to do something for their community. But the trauma remains. “When the other earthquake happened [in 2014], I had that big fear again. I wanted to run away because it made me think that a tsunami would strike again. Just run and run, I thought. After the tsunami, there were many aftershocks and each time I was searching for high places to be safe. “I will probably continue to have these feelings for the rest of my life,” said Arie. Arie and Rahmat have proven resilience and they, like many others, have adapted well. But there are still too many people living precarious lives in countries affected by ongoing conflict, disasters and unjust situations. Supporting organizations like Oxfam will be there for them. ●