As
the sun rises to illuminate a new day and the clear skies unfold,
birds sing, flowers bloom and leaves dance to the morning breeze
as the sea laps gently at the beach and the verdant mountain
reveals its heights - a picture of paradise that is, or was,
Nias, a breathtaking island off the western coast of Sumatra,
Indonesia.
At the capital district of Gunung Sitoli, sadness and depression
lingers at the sight of collapsed buildings and houses, broken
bridges, piles of debris, rugged roads, locked-up shops and
tents of various colours and big water tanks lining the roads.
These are the traces of the disaster that ruined the charm of
Nias.
Nearly two months since a massive earthquake measuring 8.7 on
the Richter scale shook Nias on March 28, leaving almost 700
people dead and hundreds of families homeless, the once pristine
Nias is now a picture of devastation and despair.
On the waterfront, several ports were destroyed. Water has receded,
exposing coral formations and sea weeds that now cover the shore.
Sorake beach in Teluk Dalam sub-district, once a surfers’
paradise in the south of the island, is now a ghost town, with
the holiday bungalows and the solitary hotel heavily damaged
and not a single tourist in sight.
It is disheartening to hear children say "tourists, tourists"
to any stranger they meet, apparently in innocent desperation
to see ‘white people’ once more. Even the local
folk who survived the disaster dare not go back for fear of
more disasters to come.
“It was a nightmare, it was like the end of the world,”
says Nelly Laiya, a cook in one of the restaurants on Sorake
beach. “We didn't know what was happening. We just grabbed
our children and ran for our lives.”
A mother of six children who used to earn three million rupiah
a month, Nelly’s was one of 60 families here who lost
everything, including jobs in the once-vibrant tourism industry.
“This is the first time we have experienced such a disaster.
It will take a long time before we can get over it,” says
Filipus Zagote, a 29-year-old surfer whose two-room bungalow,
rented out to tourists for 25,000 rupiah per room per night,
was smashed by nature's wrath.
“But we cannot afford to dread it more than we should.
We have to survive on whatever is left to us,” Filipus
stressed as he took his surfboard from his boat, to challenge
the giant waves once more.
After the disaster hit the island, he and many of the local
surfers initially avoided the sea because of trauma and an unexplained
hatred and bitterness they felt inside.
“But life must go on,” Filipus added as he sprinted
seaward, surfboard by his side.
Indeed, life goes on in Nias.
Despite a trauma aggravated by frequent aftershocks, the sun
continues to shine, the birds still sing, the leaves still dance
to the cool air, the children play, students are back in their
school uniforms, young boys surf wildly on the beach, men fish
or farm as their women try to make the best of home in the tents
where they live for the time being.
Once again, market day is the busiest day of the week.
In Gunung Sitoli, heavy pieces of equipment roar as they clear
away debris, motorbikes scoot about and it's business as usual
in the shops.
On Sunday, people go to church to worship, to thank the Almighty
for having survived the calamity and to pray that no disaster
happens again.
Prominent among the international institutions helping the people
of Nias pick up the pieces are the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang
Merah Indonesia, PMI), the International Federation and several
sister National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Apart from delivering relief, ensuring a safe water supply,
and providing medical and other welfare assistance, the International
Federation is welcoming to its fold young people whose dreams
were shattered by the disaster.
One of them is Santa Dehi, a 23-year old college student, hired
to help with the upkeep of the Federation’s base camp
in Teluk Dalam.
Santa was forced to stop her college education when their four-room
bungalow, her family's source of income, collapsed during the
earthquake.
“The disaster took away our future, our dreams,”
says Santa, “but we are not giving up. I, as well as other
young people in Nias, will do our best to help regain what our
parents have built through the years for our education.”
“The road to recovery will be long and winding and the
obstructions along the way will definitely be challenging. But
as I always believe, no guts, no glory,” she added.
Santa vowed she would never leave Nias even after she finishes
college. "Nias has been good to us. It has been a paradise,
and will always be a paradise, and that we assure you."
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Destruction
is evident everywhere on this once idyllic island (p12876)
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In
many places, the only possible means of transport is motorbike
(p12875)
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