Nias Recovery News

Survivors remember the dead in Nias on anniversary of quake

National News - March 29, 2006
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Nias

Survivors prayed at mass graves for lost family members Tuesday on the first anniversary of the devastating quake that killed 850 people on Nias Island, North Sumatra.

Hendrawan, who was trapped for five days under the ruins of his home, said he still felt the pain of bereavement. He lost his wife and two children in the massive 8.7-magnitude quake that struck late at night when many people were asleep.

"I'm grateful that I survived, but now I'm on my own," he told The Jakarta Post before bursting into tears in Fodo, Gunung Sitoli.

The 41-year-old joined thousands of others who said quiet prayers in memory of their loved ones, while mass prayers were held in other areas of the predominantly Christian island.

There also were solemn remembrances at Merdeka field in Gunung Sitoli, with the main commemoration to be held at 11 p.m., the time of the quake.

As the observances were held, reminders of the struggle to rebuild were all around, with children studying inside makeshift tents erected outside their damaged school buildings.

"Many times I feel sorry for my students because it's hard to concentrate on your studies when rain and wind are coming in," Aliran Masniar Zebua, 28, a teacher in Afia village, told Reuters.
A year on, some 13,000 survivors still live in tents while only 1,448 houses have been built for displaced people.

Officials blame slow reconstruction on logistical difficulties and lack of infrastructure connecting damaged parts of the island, famed for its ancient culture and ideal surfing conditions and home to about 710,000 people.

"Nias was not particularly well-serviced by roads and good quality bridges and good quality ports even before the earthquake, so you can imagine now what the situation (is)," International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Paul Dillon told Reuters.

The IOM, along with the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR), has been one of the main players in building houses in the past year.

"In one sense, there has been a lot of progress but there is a heck of a lot more to be done," Dillon added.

BRR's chief Kuntoro Mangkusubroto urged all Nias residents to support reconstruction work.
"Let's all of us build Nias, make it more developed than it used to be, especially since there is support from the international community," said Kuntoro, who presented more than 1,200 new houses to survivors Tuesday.

For some lucky individuals, the anniversary finally brought them a new roof over their heads.
"Praise the Lord, I am very blessed to have this house," Yaaro Saromatia, a 35-year-old civil servant, told Reuters outside his newly built brick home in Dahara village.

Hendrawan is still living in a home provided by the local church. "I don't receive assistance from the government," he said.

Jakarta Post - Survivors remember the dead in Nias on anniversary of quake.mht

Labels: 2006

posted by BRR Perwakilan Nias @ 7:37 PM