Indonesia: Shelter and Jobs Needed Now in Aceh

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

If you've wondered how things are getting along in the area hit by the December tsunami, you might wish to check out this article

http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/5959/

The reconstruction program in Indonesia’s Aceh province needs to shift into high gear to provide shelter and livelihoods to hundreds of thousands of people whose homes and property were destroyed in the December 26 tsunami. The greatest needs of survivors are shelter and a means of earning a living. They desperately want to get their lives back to some degree of normalcy, which will not be possible while they live in tents and other temporary shelters and depend on aid handouts and temporary jobs.

The tsunami killed at least 150,000 people in Aceh. In some seaside villages, such as Calang, the destruction of buildings was near total and an estimated 80 percent of the people were killed. In the cities of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, wide swaths of housing and businesses near the sea are still devastated, although a few people have begun reconstruction of their homes and offices and marked the boundaries of their land with signs and red and white flags. Earthquake aftershocks are still frequent and some experts predict that additional killing earthquakes such as the one that hit the islands of Nias and Simeulue in March 2005 will strike the region. Fear of future tsunamis does not seem to have deterred people from moving back to their original properties near the sea, and even the UN compound and non-governmental organization offices in Calang are located only a few steps from the ocean.

The international aid community, Indonesian and foreign military units, and the Indonesian government moved quickly to meet the humanitarian needs of tsunami survivors. Humanitarian needs are being met by an army of government and relief workers, but most reconstruction plans are still on the drawing board. According to the government, the number of persons displaced by the tsunami has actually risen from 580,000 in March to 595,000 today. Most of the displaced are living with relatives or host families, an arrangement that is growing less and less comfortable as time goes on and families desire their own housing. Many of the displaced are living in shanty towns of tents that seem to be everywhere. Others live in government-constructed barracks which, according to officials, are a temporary solution for up to two years to meet housing needs.

The government’s construction of barracks after the tsunami aroused international suspicion that survivors were being herded into what might become permanent camps. With a separatist insurgency operating in the province, Aceh is a sensitive political region for Indonesia and the Indonesian military presence is heavy. However, residence in the barracks thus far has been voluntary. Refugees International did not find any survivors who alleged they had been pressured or forced to move into barracks. .

More at link.