The
Long Process of Re-establishing IDP’s
Some Millennium workers have experienced first-hand what it is like to
live in the crowded conditions of the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons)
camps. Before they had found a more permanent place to live in Lamno,
two workers were invited to stay in one of the local camps. A hard
floor, no protection from mosquitoes and no privacy meant that they got
little sleep; however in many ways they felt there was ample
compensation. They now have a first hand understanding of the realities
of camp life. Their presence in the camp and their willingness to
identify with the Acehenese in such a personal way was much appreciated
by the locals. Continuing to build on these relationships will be an
important part of the on-going process to help people come to terms with
their new circumstances as they work towards rebuilding their lives.
When walking around the compact township of Lamno one of the first
things you notice is the large clusters of tents and the rows and rows
of washing hung out to dry on lines and fences. All the public
buildings and their grounds are taken up accommodating some twelve
thousand IDPs. The term IDP is one of those sadly unavoidable
abbreviations referring to people made homeless by a natural disaster or
man-made conflict, but who remain within the borders of their country.
(The term ‘refugee’ is used to describe those who have been forced to
flee across national borders to escape from conflict or disaster). Much
less visible – in fact it was more than a month before a there was a
proper survey of this segment of the people – are thousands of others
who crammed in the houses of relatives and friends. Their initial lack
of visibility meant that they missed out on the earliest distributions
food, toiletries, clothing and school materials.
As mentioned above, public buildings are housing IDPs; this includes
school buildings. One of the priorities in restoring a semblance of
normalcy to everyday life in Aceh is to reopen the schools and begin
classes. This will undoubtedly be a bittersweet event because of the
conspicuous gaps in the ranks of both pupils and teachers who perished
in the disaster. Nonetheless, the pressure is strong to move the
displaced out of schools and other public buildings. But where will
they go?
With some 500,000 IDPs spread throughout Aceh province it will be years
before everyone can be settled into permanent homes. It is clear that
interim, semi-permanent housing is going to have to be developed.
However, for a variety of reasons, many find this an unacceptable
solution. Most of those who have seen the temporary wooden barracks
that are now being constructed are struck by the uncomfortable
similarity between these and the established government camps for rebel
insurgents. Various agencies are urging that the displaced people
themselves must be actively involved in the consultative process for
rebuilding. The clear preference of the majority would be to rebuild in
the same places where their houses once stood; strong attachment to
ancestral lands is understandable. Many see such a return as an
essential part of their healing process.
This desire to rebuild on their original home site, along with the
inactivity and boredom of camp life, energized local men involved in one
of Millennium’s programs; the work for cash clean up program just
outside of Lamno. Unfortunately, this project was put on hold. There
was confusion among the authorities as to whether or not the villagers
would be allowed to rebuild in locations that could be vulnerable to
another tsunami; the tectonic and geological conditions in the region
are still far from stable.
Some who oppose the use of the semi-permanent barracks cite the mistakes
made by the centralized planning organization, typified by the on-going
transmigration plan that the government has been using for decades to
relieve population pressure on Java. Given the enormous amounts of aid
money involved, others point to the potential for corruption in the
allocating of contracts for rebuilding. To complicate matters further,
the government office in Banda Aceh holding all the records of
boundaries and land ownership was completely destroyed. Clearly there
are many issues to consider in this massive rebuilding effort.
Issues of housing intersect with issues of livelihood in a variety of
perplexing ways. With fishing and farming being the most common
occupations along the west Sumatran coast, it is obvious that location
is of paramount importance. Fishing and farming go hand in hand for
most Achenese due to the realities of local climatic conditions. Most
fishing is done during the rainy season (October to March). During the
dry season (April to September) the prevailing off-shore winds make
fishing more difficult so they turn to farming. As a result, many
people cannot survive on one without the other.
Yet location is precisely why so many of the boats and handling
facilities have been almost totally wiped out. As a partial answer to
this dilemma, instead of the traditional beaching of the boats, some are
considering mooring boats and moving handling facilities several
kilometres up the Kr. Lambeso River in the Lamno valley. However, this
is not a perfect solution as the tsunami damage extended that far
inland.
Rice farmers occupy the flat coastal plains and there is much work to be
done to rebuild the devastated dykes and wash away the aftermath of the
ocean’s salinity. But once that huge task is completed, how will the
farmers’ traditional barefoot methods cope with all the debris – broken
glass, rubble, jagged wood and twisted corrugated iron – that remains
embedded in the thick mud blanketing all the areas where their paddies
used to be?
As Millennium continues its commitment to the Aceh people we learn first
hand the conditions they face, and we gain insight into how we can offer
the most useful assistance. By knowing the practical details behind
each problem and by paying attention to the hearts of the people we can
be a positive force in the rebuilding of their lives.
(c) 2005 Millennium Relief & Development Services
'Stories from the Field' is a periodic journal of stories from MRDS
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may be freely
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