NIAS - A TRAGEDY IN PROGRESS

Recent comments by food distribution agencies indicate that the urgency of the situation in Nias is not yet well understood. Our team have just returned from one of the hardest hit and poorest parts of the island:

1. The Gomo subregency has a population of over 40,000 (estimated may exceed 50,000)and there is only one very badly damaged road into the town. Beyond the town there are no real roads. Motorbikes can make it back 2-3 km in some directions before hitting the mountains.



2. The traditional village just west of Gomo town is considered to be the first area settled on Nias. The tiny valley has very rich soil and good water and every inch of river flat or foothills slope is intensively cultivated with wet rice. There is very little land suitable for rice as the mountains are very steep and convoluted starting both sides of the township. There are 38 villages around Gomo and none can be reached by wheeled vehicles.

3. The entire area has been stripped of forest leaving poor regrowth that is now a patchwork of slash and burn subsistence crops. Cassava is the most common and some slopes are literally too steep to work standing. The people crawl to hang on. Soil erosion is happening on a massive scale.



4. Coconut groves are only found around the flat land and villages. There are not many compared to other parts of the island. Coffee, cocoa and nilam are grown as cash crops on land that is too steep or too poor for rice cultivation. Every possible area of land that is flat or gently sloping has been converted into rice terraces but these are few and far between. Much of this rice is rain fed rice and not irrigated so maximum of 1-2 crops per year rather than 3. No pesticides are used as the people cant afford them. Rice is fertilized with urea and the purchase of this is a big burden on the farmers.



5. Slopes are very unstable after the quake. There are many landslides visible and every ridge has huge crack running along the footpaths indicating that these will slide off as soon as heavy rain hits the area. Many irrigation ditches have been destroyed by the quake and pipes from springs have been damaged badly. The village we stayed in had no water nearby and no functioning toilets. Everyone was using the forest for ablutions and there is no water to wash afterwards. This is unthinkable for most Indonesians and there is now a huge risk of epidemic outbreaks due to direct contact with human waste. Pigs and dogs are not keeping up with cleaning up the supply.

6. Livestock numbers are very low. Very few buffalo, not many pigs and even chickens are scarce. I did not see any sago in the area.

7. The floods 5 years ago wiped out large areas of rice paddy and buried it under tons of sand. It is now too poor for intensive cultivation and used for beans or nilam. The markets are almost non-existent and produce very expensive and poor quality.

8. We heard stories from many people that indicate that villages have to bid for access to rice supplies handled by local authorities. We could not verify but there were few signs of WFP food in homes and the last distribution only reached 25 out of 121 families who lost homes. Assume that is what David was alluding to when he quoted Rp300,000 per Kg?? Nobody could pay that amount. That is the going rate for the village to pay to ensure that a little rice gets to everyone…. Or some.

9. We were the first westerners and the first medical team to visit the village. There were still many untreated wounds dating back to the quake and one person in critical condition. We arranged medivac by chopper but it was very hard to find a safe landing area without a house on it. The locals have no idea how to deal with a chopper landing and will rush too close out of curiosity more than anything else.


Husband and son died when this traders home collapsed in Gomo.

10. Almost all the ethnic Chinese traders who form the backbone of the Nias economy have suffered terrible loss. Their buildings were the biggest and almost all had two or more floors. A disproportionate number of traders were killed in the quake when their "ruko" style shop houses collapsed. The survivors are deeply traumatized and they may never return to the island. Nias farmers can no longer sell produce and buy rice to eat as has been their practice for decades. The chain is broken and it is hard to see how it can be fixed.

11. Crime is a way of life and stealing is so bad that there is no point in working hard to build up a surplus. It will be stolen before it can be used.
Most buildings still standing are dangerous and will have to be demolished adding to the work load. There are very few tents and those are only near the road. There were no tents in the hills and people were living in hovels made from scraps salvaged from wrecked buildings or still living in homes that have been braced to stop them collapsing. People are busy trying to deal with shelter and hardly anyone is working their land to grow food.

12. Expect the area to flood and to suffer massive landslides as soon as heavy rain falls. The last floods killed many thousands more than the March 28th quake. Disease kills many more than the floods.

We can assure readers that the rice is not getting through to a lot of people who desperately need it despite the very best efforts of some of the world's most experienced and well funded agencies. To ensure fair distribution requires a lot of manpower and a knowledge of local culture and social structure. To guide and encourage communities to adopt sustainable agriculture will take an enormous effort and an atmosphere of cooperation between the agencies responsible. We live in hope