Reading audio
Banda Aceh, Indonesia
13 August 2009
The 2004 tsunami that ravaged Indonesia's Aceh province helped convince
Acehnese separatists and the central government in Jakarta to work
together to end 30 years of war and rebuild the province. August 15
marks the fourth anniversary of the peace settlement. While today the
peace still holds, the tsunami recovery
no longer unites the people of Aceh.
In the Aceh village of
Lam Thoe children play in the streets and farmers plant rice in the
fields. But in 2004 the tsunami that inundated coastal communities in
11 countries destroyed this village.
Village leader Arachman Yusuf and most of the people of Lam Thoe fled to hills before the tsunami hit.
He says he thought it was the end of the world.
But
what followed one of the greatest natural disasters in history was one
of the greatest humanitarian relief efforts in history.
International aid helped rebuild the village and clear the farmland.
Reconstruction and peace
The
rebuilding effort also helped bring peace as Aceh independence fighters
and the central government chose compromise over confrontation. With
the peace settlement came new requests for aid to rebuild an economy
that was battered by 30 years of separatist fighting.
Many
areas of Aceh affected by the tsunami received aid that not only helped
them rebuild, but also helped people recover from years of war.
The village of Lam Thoe received funds to build a new school where today children practice verses from the Koran.
And villagers were given a number of goats to produce milk and meat, creating new sustainable sources of income.
Areas being left behind
But
because much of the international assistance was targeted just at
tsunami victims, areas that were only affected by the conflict have not
been eligible for aid.
Bobby Anderson works on post-conflict
programs with the International Office for Migration. He says areas not
affected by the tsunami are being left behind.
"There is almost this perception that there are two Acehs," said Anderson.
The
village of Lam Durian was not hit by the tsunami but some of its
victims were relocated here. Village leader Ali Endi says helping the
tsunami victims was the right thing to do.
He says they have to put first the ones who got into trouble by accident.
But
he says his village's development was stifled because of the war. As
its name suggest the village of Lam Durian relies on growing and
selling the durian fruit. Endi says villagers would like to build a
school and dig a well to expand their opportunities. And he says his
village is entitled to some assistance.
He says he is going to
feel a bit desperate because at the moment they can see the tsunami
victims are getting very good housing and they would like the same kind
of housing.
Anderson says the generous tsunami aid is creating unrealistic expectations for victims of the separatist war.
"A
lot of time at the grassroots level, if you don't have adequate
socialization of what the government is going to deliver, then people
just talk themselves up into a frenzy of how much they are going to
get, and frankly it is not that much," he said.
Anderson says
the international community is starting to address the discrepancy. But
he says the dramatic images of the devastation caused by the tsunami
elicited unprecedented levels of donations while Aceh's post conflict
needs are not well known or well funded.
Category