KAMPUNG SAWANG - A Tragic Situation
By Rick Cameron at 30 Jan 2005 - 12:59
No matter how much anyone does for the people of northwest Sumatra--no matter how much food and water and medicine and tools and supplies anyone brings--things can never be the same again. The coastal hamlet of SAWANG near the village of LANGUAN shows this painfully.
156 people lived in this idyllic seaside kampung. Residents lived on fish, vegetables, and fruit, and tapped their rubber trees to sell in the city of CALANG, 15 kilometers away.
The tsunami hit the village with full force. 114 of the 156 died. 42 survived: 38 men, one woman, and three children. All the surviving men lost their wives and all their children; all the surviving children lost both their parents; and the lone surviving woman lost her husband and children.
All of the leaders of the community died. A village elder, apparently the new spokesman, told us, "I can't think, and we don't know what to do now." Half of the villagers, out of desperation, set out yesterday on the day-long walk to the CALANG. They hope to bring back food to their village--but CALANG itself was absolutely devastated by the tsunami, which killed most of the residents of that beautiful and thriving town of 15,000.
The survivors are in great pain, and there appears to be no way out. A month after losing his parents, the three-year-old still cries almost continuously for them. Sometimes he stops to call out for his drowned father, "Ayah, Ayah," and then starts crying again.
So there they are, a group of 42 unrelated people, almost all men. Their village is now little more than an encampment; they are living in makeshift shelters on a hillside. They are several kilometers from any other sign of civilization. They subsist on coconuts, fruit from a few trees, and what's left of their vegetable garden. In some ways, they are better off than other villages: they still have tools, and a well with fresh water. But their rubber trees are not worth tapping; there is no way for them to get the latex to market. And of course, all their fishing boats and equipment are gone--washed away by the sea that has sustained them for generations.
Until our arrival yesterday, this community had seen no aid at all, save for one insufficient food drop from a helicopter. We immediately brought them two small boats full of food, lamps (with kerosene), clothes, and hygiene supplies. They still have an urgent need for roofing iron, seeds, and more food, and we will continue to supply them in the future.
Those that have survived to this point are reasonably healthy, although there is one suspected case of malaria. But there are many flags visible along the beach, marking the gruesome remains of the many victims still not buried. We will return to the encampment today with body bags, gloves, boots and masks.
But despite what we give them, the community seems lost and hopeless without its women. To rebuild their community in a physical way seems feasible, but how can anyone measure the loss of all of their wives and children?
There are countless small kampungs like SAWANG, scattered along this devastated coast. Some of the villages came through a little better; some, a little worse. But for the hard working people of this area, life will never be the same. It's hard to imagine their lives will ever again be as full as they were when they woke up to a normal village morning on December 26th, 2004.
No matter how much anyone does for the people of northwest Sumatra--no matter how much food and water and medicine and tools and supplies anyone brings--things can never be the same again. The coastal hamlet of SAWANG near the village of LANGUAN shows this painfully.
156 people lived in this idyllic seaside kampung. Residents lived on fish, vegetables, and fruit, and tapped their rubber trees to sell in the city of CALANG, 15 kilometers away.
The tsunami hit the village with full force. 114 of the 156 died. 42 survived: 38 men, one woman, and three children. All the surviving men lost their wives and all their children; all the surviving children lost both their parents; and the lone surviving woman lost her husband and children.
All of the leaders of the community died. A village elder, apparently the new spokesman, told us, "I can't think, and we don't know what to do now." Half of the villagers, out of desperation, set out yesterday on the day-long walk to the CALANG. They hope to bring back food to their village--but CALANG itself was absolutely devastated by the tsunami, which killed most of the residents of that beautiful and thriving town of 15,000.
The survivors are in great pain, and there appears to be no way out. A month after losing his parents, the three-year-old still cries almost continuously for them. Sometimes he stops to call out for his drowned father, "Ayah, Ayah," and then starts crying again.
So there they are, a group of 42 unrelated people, almost all men. Their village is now little more than an encampment; they are living in makeshift shelters on a hillside. They are several kilometers from any other sign of civilization. They subsist on coconuts, fruit from a few trees, and what's left of their vegetable garden. In some ways, they are better off than other villages: they still have tools, and a well with fresh water. But their rubber trees are not worth tapping; there is no way for them to get the latex to market. And of course, all their fishing boats and equipment are gone--washed away by the sea that has sustained them for generations.
Until our arrival yesterday, this community had seen no aid at all, save for one insufficient food drop from a helicopter. We immediately brought them two small boats full of food, lamps (with kerosene), clothes, and hygiene supplies. They still have an urgent need for roofing iron, seeds, and more food, and we will continue to supply them in the future.
Those that have survived to this point are reasonably healthy, although there is one suspected case of malaria. But there are many flags visible along the beach, marking the gruesome remains of the many victims still not buried. We will return to the encampment today with body bags, gloves, boots and masks.
But despite what we give them, the community seems lost and hopeless without its women. To rebuild their community in a physical way seems feasible, but how can anyone measure the loss of all of their wives and children?
There are countless small kampungs like SAWANG, scattered along this devastated coast. Some of the villages came through a little better; some, a little worse. But for the hard working people of this area, life will never be the same. It's hard to imagine their lives will ever again be as full as they were when they woke up to a normal village morning on December 26th, 2004.
posted by Island Aid at
11:59 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home