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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
A man surveys the damage to beachfront homes in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, after the tsunami.
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A
man surveys the damage to beachfront homes in Banda Aceh, Indonesia,
following the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated the area. A delegation of
mission and communications leaders of the United Methodist Church
visited areas of Sumatra, Indonesia, near the epicenter of the
earthquake that triggered the waves. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
Photo #05-067. Accompanies UMNS stories #034-040, 1/18/05
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Jan. 21, 2005By Orla Clinton* NIAS,
Indonesia (ENI) — Almost a month after tidal waves engulfed shorelines
across continents, people are still stranded in parts of Indonesia, and
emergency helpers are battling to reach areas where bridges and roads
were swept away and helicopters cannot land. International
media attention has focused on flattened cities like Banda Aceh and
Meulaboh on Sumatra island, which have received an outpouring of
assistance. But on the west coast of Indonesia, people are still
stranded, despite efforts to reach them. The
effect has been equally catastrophic on communities in such remote
areas as Sirombu on Nias island, a Christian pocket isolated from
Indonesia in north Sumatra. Here, the tsunami killed 119 people and
displaced more than 4,000. It swept away five schools, five churches,
two mosques, two health centers and 111 bridges, and more than 400 homes
were destroyed. Ama
Aspirasi Gulo sat amid the ruins of what was once his home in
Sisarahili. The area is accessible only by foot or motorbike, three
kilometers from Sirombu.
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
Residents of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, pick through debris left by the Dec. 26 tsunami.
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| Residents
of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, pick through debris left by the Dec. 26
tsunami. A delegation of mission and communications leaders of the
United Methodist Church visited areas of Sumatra, Indonesia, near the
epicenter of the earthquake that triggered the waves. A UMNS photo by
Mike DuBose. Photo #05-068. Accompanies UMNS stories #034-040, 1/18/05 |
"It was a peaceful
life," recounted the 40-year-old father of four, explaining how all the
families had their own economic resources through coconut farming and
selling. "We enjoyed life, even if we were far away from the city," he
said, showing the flattened homes of his neighbors who died. He
explained how the earthquake shook their homes, but no one fled as they
did not anticipate flooding. Then the waves rose and enveloped the
whole village. "People
were crying and shouting to God to come and help them. But God didn’t
come — only more water," lamented Ama. He knows 68 people who died, but
his family escaped by climbing coconut trees. Ama
said he plans to rebuild his life away from the sea, away from where
his forefathers had lived for generations. "I have finished with this
place," he said, motioning to the ghost village that was his community. Hundreds
of thousands of people now have radically changed lives. The U.N. Food
and Agricultural Organization estimates that 800 fishing canoes were
destroyed on Nias. Most belonged to poor fishing and farming
communities. Local people say their lives might as well have ended as
they have lost everything.
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
A family retreats to the edge of their tent to escape the rain at a camp for displaced people in Bateilik, Indonesia.
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| A
family retreats to the edge of their tent to escape an afternoon rain
shower at a camp for people displaced by the Dec. 26 tsunami in
Bateilik, Indonesia. The Methodist Church of Indonesia is helping
support programs at the facility. A delegation of church mission and
communications leaders visited areas of Sumatra, Indonesia, near the
epicenter of the earthquake that triggered the waves. A UMNS photo by
Mike DuBose. Photo #05-077. Accompanies UMNS stories #034-040, 1/18/05 |
Sirombu and Mandrehe
are areas not known in many places and few outsiders visit. Aid workers
say lives are a cycle of poverty and neglect in which women die in
childbirth, most people are illiterate, and where malaria and other
diseases kill. Surf
Aid International, the only international medical organization
operating on Nias and the Mentawai islands, said the area faces a
serious risk of epidemics. Malaria is already prevalent, affecting 25
percent to 30 percent of the population. "We
need to get these whole communities under nets," said Dave Jenkins,
Surf Aid’s medical director. He noted that malaria weakens the
population through chest infections and malnutrition as well as directly
killing people. Surf Aid is distributing mosquito nets, vaccinating
against measles and supplying micro-nutrients and vitamin A. The
United Methodist Committee on Relief is providing assistance to tsunami
victims in Indonesia and other parts of South Asia. Donations to
UMCOR’s "South Asia Emergency" relief efforts can be placed in local
church offering plates or sent directly to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive,
Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Designate checks for UMCOR Advance #274305
and "South Asia Emergency." Online donations can be made at
www.methodistrelief.org. Those making credit-card donations can call
(800) 554-8583. *Clinton is a writer for Ecumenical News International. News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org
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