Random Scenes of Indonesia

Beaches of Aceh

This is the same beach where the tsunami struck nearly 3 years ago. They say the wave was higher than the top of the coconut trees. It doesn't take much imagination to picture what it would have felt like to stand on that beach with that kind of wave approaching. But now, just like it was before, the ocean waves go in and out, the trees sway slightly with the wind, and the sun sets with magnificent splendor.

Floods

For four days before I arrived in Aceh, rain had pounded the area, resulting in numerous floods. However, that didn't prevent us from driving out to one of the farmer trainings in the NGO truck.

Water Buffalo - Doing Their Own Thing

Water buffalo (locally called kerbau) roam freely throughout the swamps, grass fields, and roads of Aceh. These large animals, usually much heavier than a typical cow, are each owned by Acehnese farmers, but not restrained by pens, fences, ropes, or anything else. They're released in the morning and then spend all day just kinda doing their own thing - grazing, taking mud bathes, and hanging out. In the evenings, as if they have their own built-in clocks, they return to their owner's place, where they are tied up for the night. Free-range means that water buffaloes are one of the most common obstacles to cruising down the road unobstructed. As the picture below shows, sometimes you have to stop, honk, and wait for the buffalo to mosey out of the way. Water buffaloes can also make driving a motorcycle dangerous. Not that they'd charge you or anything, but their middle-of-the-road "deposits" make the road slick, and also have a splatter effect when hit straight on.

Farmer Meetings

While in Aceh I had the chance to sit in on some farmer training sessions put on by one of the NGOs working to improve agriculture in the area. Their projects focus on two crops, chili peppers and rubber trees. I'm guessing you never knew that rubber bands come from a tree. Here's a few pics. Enjoy!I sat amongst the farmers as their project leader gave an update

The farmers watch intently a video on treating rubber tree diseases

This farmer is wearing the traditional hat and sarong (man-dress), still frequently used in rural areas. In larger cities, however, the sarong and hat are only used for special occasions and for prayer times.

The village where the rubber tree training was held

The village leader gave opening words and prayer

This little girl came along with her dad for one of the training sessions. It's not that she wanted to learn about agriculture, but being left motherless by the tsunami 3 years ago, she rarely left her father's side. This was only one of many stories of loss.

Meulaboh - Tsunami Destruction

The city of Meulaboh, Aceh, was one of cities hardest hit by the December 26, 2004, tsunami that struck many countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, including Indonesia. As best as I can tell from talking to people and checking internet sources, an estimated 25,000 of the 40,000 people from this city were killed. I recently spent a week there observing NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) relief and development work among farmers in areas surrounding Meulaboh.
Part of the city of Meulaboh pre-tsunami

The same part of Meulaboh post-tsunami

I found this picture on the internet and am 90% sure that the big house with a red roof right above the airman's shoulder is the house I stayed at during my week in Meulaboh. It's about a mile or so from the beach and its construction was almost finished when the tsunami came. It held up under the wave and floods, and was soon after finished off and used as a home to house NGO workers.

An "on the ground" view of the tsunami destruction soon afterwards. Three years later, most of the city has been rebuilt, and yet rubble and houseless foundations still dot the landscape as a reminder of the magnitude of destruction.

HERE IS A NEWS ARTICLE WRITTEN SOON AFTER THE TSUNAMI:

"The large town of Meulaboh, which had a population of 40,000, has been almost completely levelled. A Sydney Morning Herald journalist who flew over Meulaboh described the scene. “[I]t looks like the people of Meulaboh never got the chance to run. Picture the bombed Hiroshima—that’s what it looks like ... Meulaboh had not received any outside help or emergency supplies such as medicine, food or water ... We could see tiny figures walking among the debris. They must have been desperate for food and water”.

A police officer who left Meulaboh on Tuesday morning told Agence France-Presse that when he left “they only had enough food for a day. I told my men to try to sustain themselves by eating coconuts, but they will only last for another day. I saw residents in the area scavenging for dirty rice on the ground.” Sea water, debris, corpses and sewerage have contaminated drinking water in virtually every affected area.

According to a military spokesman, the first six tonnes of supplies arrived in the town via two naval vessels on Thursday—five days after the tsunami hit. A Sydney Morning Herald reporter who reached Meulaboh yesterday described the suffering as “unimaginable”. Most of the survivors had received no food, drinking water, medicines or outside help and were desperate. Yuda Suria, a father of two, begged: “Please help me. Please. We have had no rice or water for two days. How can we live?”

Estimates of the number killed in the town vary from 10,000 to 20,000. If the surrounding district is included, the figure could be 40,000. As of Thursday, many areas had yet to be reached, including islands off the west coast. A police officer who reached Meulaboh on Wednesday reported that only several hundred of the 6,000-strong fishing community of Calang survived. After a helicopter tour, provincial military commander Major-General Endang Suwarya said 75 percent of the west coast was destroyed and whole communities wiped out."

Adventures in Flying

Flying out of the coastal Acehnese city of Meulaboh was a little different than flying out of, say, LA International Airport. First of all there was no Starbucks or perfume stores. That was just the start of the differences. When we showed up at the airport (the building above) at 7 am for our 8 am flight, there wasn't anyone there yet, so we opened the unlocked gate and walked in. Eventually a guy showed up to check us in along with the 2 other passengers (making a total of 4 passengers and the pilot). There was no terminal to wait in, so we hung out under a tree until a guy from the airplane hollered from about 50 meters for us to come over and load up.Our plane was a Cessna C208b Caravan 1, capable of seating up to 10 passengers.

This carcass of airplane that tried landing without its landing gear rests next to the airstrip overgrown with grass, a gentle reminder that you really ought to be a little nervous if you fly planes this size.The airstrip (already behind us in the picture) sat less 200 meters from the ocean, the same ocean from which emerged the huge tsunami waves that destroyed so much of the coast up to 2 miles inward. Now 3 years later, a 2 lines of simple look-alike houses (to the left side of the pic) line the road, a sign of the rebuilding efforts of these people and relief organizations from around the world.

I road shotgun for the entire one-hour trip from Meulaboh to Medan. The pilot (an American guy) and I chatted about the views we were seeing below us, his kids college applications, and his days in the Gulf War. After awhile I started asking him about the airplane's instruments and how to fly, realizing that if he had a heart attack the stick was in my hands. Not that I was worried, but just wanted to be prepared!