Indonesia tsunami survivors find hope in peace deal

By Jerry Norton

KRUENG RAYA, Indonesia (Reuters) – As he impales coconuts
on a sharp blade and twists them to remove the husks, M. Nur
Taib says things are looking up.

The 35-year-old father of three lost his house and his job
when last December’s tsunami slammed into Indonesia’s Aceh
province. He and his family still live in a makeshift shelter
of plastic sheets, canvas and wood.

But he smiles as he works bare-chested in the tropical
heat, clad only in shorts and sandals.

“Things are getting better now, because we now have work at
the port,” he says, speaking of Krueng Raya’s harbour, some 50
km (30 miles) by road northeast of the provincial capital Banda
Aceh at the tip of Sumatra island.

And like others from the Lamreh community in Krueng Raya,
now living in anything from tents to new houses clustered among
palm trees back from the shore, Taib tells Reuters he believes
a peace pact signed last month between the government and Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels is also good news.

“Of course I know about the peace deal. Who doesn’t? And
things are better now. It’s been peaceful lately. I’m very
happy because this is what we’ve always wanted,” he said.

Decades of war between the Indonesian military (TNI) and
the GAM took 15,000 lives and created a climate of fear that
kept people off the roads at night, saw villagers harassed by
both sides, interfered with business and scared investors.

The fighting was also a worry for foreign countries and
agencies involved in a $5 billion post-tsunami rebuilding
program aimed at restoring normal life for people like Taib,
one of half a million Acehnese whose homes were destroyed by
the disaster. The tsunami left 170,000 people dead or missing.

Previous peace deals have fallen through, however.

“I hope this will last forever,” says Athiah, 45 and the
mother of nine children. “But then again it all depends on them
(TNI and GAM). I see that they have a good relationship now.”

Athiah coordinates a cash-for-work program sponsored by a
foreign agency, which on Wednesday involved several women
sweeping the grounds of the refugee village with straw brooms
for a daily wage of 35,000 rupiah.

With the tsunami having obliterated much of Aceh’s
infrastructure, analysts hope lasting peace brings investment
and better, permanent jobs.

“Many of us don’t have steady jobs. We only work
temporarily from one place to another,” said Darmiati, 47,
wearing an orange shirt and brown and yellow sarong.

GRUMBLES ABOUT HOMES

Community head Nasrul, 45, says he was a fisherman before
the tsunami but now does casual work at the harbour.

“Many NGOs or agencies came here and asked us what we
needed and promised to give us boats, but nothing has happened
since then. I’m just waiting.”

Others in the community grumble about the pace of new home
building, and the selection of who gets houses first and who is
still waiting in tents.

Land title issues are one problem, and Nasrul, who says
about half of those in his community have new homes, cites
delays in getting needed building materials as another.

Sitting in front of a tiny shelter Nurmala, 26, says:

“I have been living here in the tent with my husband and
two children for nine months. We built this tent. It is a big
problem when the rain comes and the hard wind blows.”

“A month ago my baby died,” says her neighbor, Zahrati, 33.
“The baby couldn’t bear living in the tent. It was too hot.”

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, who heads the agency charged with
coordinating the rebuilding of Aceh, has said it could be two
years before everyone now in tents or temporary barracks can be
moved into new homes.

He also said the peace deal, which should ease restrictions
on travel and working hours of aid agencies and groups, will
help reconstruction.

In Krueng Raya, refugees hope that he is right and, after
years of conflict, the peace agreement will hold.

“I don’t know if this condition can last forever. I just
hope so,” said Taib as he shelled coconuts.

“All I can do is pray.”