Calang,
Aceh Jaya - Nearly two years after the mighty tsunami swamped
the once scenic town of Calang in the Indonesian province of
Aceh, reconstruction and recovery work is steadily steering
lives back toward normality.
Calang, the capital of Aceh Jaya district, breathes with new
vigor and the survivors’ sheer determination to recover
from the fatal waves in December 2004.
The tsunami claimed the lives of about 70 per cent of the town’s
inhabitants – about 12,000 people – turning Calang
into a ghost town overnight. The survivors have had to come
to terms with the loss of loved ones and their own memories
of the tragedy. Many have accepted that the tsunami was God’s
will and that life must move on.
Maurizal, 39, his wife Yushida, 33, and four children, are starting
their new life in their creatively adorned transitional shelter,
which Maurizal, his brother and carpenter friends built on his
land in Kabong village which fronts the main Aceh Jaya motorway.
Motorists always do a double take at the beige house, its windows
draped with pink and white curtains. It definitely stands out
from the others.
Maurizal and Yushida lost their house to the tsunami and lived
in a tent with their children for almost a year. They then moved
in with relatives for a few months before transferring to their
transitional shelter provided by the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang
Merah Indonesia, PMI) with the support of the International
Federation.
Maurizal and Yushida are both very happy with their new house.
Maurizal says he still has no idea of what a permanent house
for the family would look like, and if and when he can have
it. He really doesn’t mind. “This house is enough
for us” he smiles.
Fatima, 38, of Mon Mata village in Calang, lost her father,
her husband and two of her four children. She has lived in a
tent for more than 18 months after the tsunami and is among
the first group of beneficiaries to be awarded a two-storey,
two-bedroom permanent house built with the assistance of the
German Red Cross.
Fatima and her new husband, a pedi-cab driver, managed to start
a small store on the ground floor of their house with money
given by a friend and the modest savings they had accumulated.
Only two months into starting the business, the small store
has now become a mini-market, the biggest in the village, stocked
with goods from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
In yet another village in Calang, seamstress Zainah Isma, is
working double time to finish dresses ordered in time for the
end of the year. “Women especially dress up for New Year.
This is one occasion for me to earn more,” says Zainah
who completes one dress a day for Rupiah 45,000 and Rupiah 80,000.
A mother of three children who all go to school with her small
earnings and her husband’s salary as security guard, Zainah
says that despite difficult times, life goes on in Calang. “There
is nowhere to go but forward, and accept things as they come
with an open mind and heart.”
Over at the fishing village of Blang, fisherman Rashman relates
that his coffee shop, which he operates at his makeshift house
to augment his finances, earns much less than before the tsunami
as half of his customers were killed in the disaster.
Rashman is not complaining though. “My family survived
the disaster, I could not ask for more. My only wish is for
my children to complete their education, so they can help rebuild
Calang.”
Helping to rebuild Calang and the two other neighbouring sub-districts
of Lamno and Teunom in Aceh Jaya, is the humanitarian mission
of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, spearheaded
by PMI and with the participation of other National Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies.
PMI and the International Federation recently capped months
of relief operations for 14,081 families in Aceh Jaya district
by awarding of certificates of appreciation to 32 volunteers
who have worked relentlessly since the tsunami struck.
Bob McKerrow, International Federation head of the country delegation,
says, “We work together to help bring new life to tsunami
survivors. But, as in all other disasters, it takes time to
recover. And the Red Cross will keep on doing its humanitarian
work to save and improve lives.”
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Maurizal
says his family is happy and comfortable with their transitional
shelter provided by the Red Cross, which he and his brother
helped build on his land in Calang. The shelter, creatively
adorned by his wife and children, stands out among the
others. (p15092)
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Fatima,
with her two surviving children, starts a new life in
Calang with the help of the mini-market which she runs
on the ground floor of her two-storey permanent house
built with the assistance of the German Red Cross. (p15084)
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Seamstress Zainah is determined to move forward after
the tsunami. (p15100)
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Fisherman Rashman continues to run his coffee shop at
their makeshift house to augment finances for the education
of his two children. (p15088)
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Helping
to rebuild Calang and the two other neighbouring sub-districts
of Lamno and Teunom in Aceh Jaya, is the humanitarian
mission of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
Movement, spearheaded by PMI and with the participation
of other National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
(p15093)
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