Source: CCTV.com

02-06-2007 18:54

The tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 left many families homeless. Now, two years later, many of those families are still waiting for new land and homes. Aceh is the site of the largest reconstruction project in the developing world. In today's Working Asia, Indiarto Priadi, from Indonesia's Surya Citra Television, tells us how reconstruction is progressing.

In tomorrow's Working Asia series, Bounkeut Vongxaya from LNTV Laos shows us the life of an ordinary Laotian girl.

It was a hot day, 6 months after the tsunami wrecked Banda Aceh. However for Safrina, the day was simply the same as before.

She spent the day by taking care of her baby while waiting for her brother to return from working as a Rickshaw wallah. After surviving the tsunami, Safrina with her 3 month-old baby had been living with her brother in the house which have miraculously untouched by the tsunami, while her husband was lost in the disaster.

Jobless and with no savings, Safrina was very unsure of her future. "It is hard for me to live like this. My husband died. I rely on my brother. There is nothing I can do. " Safrina said.

Safrina and her baby are not alone. There are many tsunami survivors amongst the refugees in Banda Aceh.

The children are playing warily, unsure about the future, but without understanding that they live in poverty.

Tarmizi, a former fisherman, his wife and his three children are tsunami survivors. His boat was broken after the tsunami, making it impossible to carry on fishing and hindering his ability to earn a living.

Although sometimes he can catch shrimp by the seaside, the yield is not enough to support his family.

Safrina said "There is nothing much to do. I catch shrimp to feed my family or buy cigarettes. "

Meanwhile for Nilawati, Tarmizi’s wife, living in poorness is something they ought to face. Lacking skills to depend on makes her rely on her husband’s activity.

Reporter: “What do you do to help your husband?”

Nilawati: “I do not have skills so I just rely on my husband. If he does not go fishing he can sweep the street to earn some money. "

More than 514,000 tsunami survivors now live in more than 800 refugee camps all over Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh. Tarmizi’s family and Safrina are 2 families who have had difficulty putting right their wrecked life after the tsunami.

Even though Jakarta has allocated 40 zillion Rupiah or equal to approximately 4 billion US dollars, for Aceh reconstruction, the plan is moving very slowly.

One of the housing developments was cancelled by the local government because the government does not have a supportive space management act.

The acting official Governor of Aceh province admits that Aceh reconstruction is far behind schedule.

Reporter: “It seems the government a has problem reconstructing Aceh. Is it because of the funding or coordination among the supportive bodies?”

Azwar Abubakar, acting governor of Aceh: “Errrr……The local government must cooperate with the reconstruction body to build Aceh. But yes we hope that we can build 100,000 houses within 2 months. But I think we are too slow in building that because so far only 5,000 houses have been built.”

So far the local government has received only 1.2 zillion Rupiah (approximately USD 1.3 billion) for Aceh. The money was allocated only for Physical development. As job creation projects for thousands of Aceh people is behind schedule, for the time being charity seems to be the only way to support the survivors' life.

Even though life is hard here, tsunami survivors living in refugee camps will have to wait longer before their lives can return to normal.

 

Editor:Du Xiaodan