Emergency Response director sees tsunami response in Indonesia.

Areas of Indonesia affected by the tsunami are "very much still a mess," said Roy Winter, the General Board's director of Emergency Response. "This is going to be a five-to-six-year response." In mid-April Winter was one of seven representatives of US denominations in a Church World Service delegation to two major tsunami response areas: Banda Aceh and Meulaboh.

The Church of the Brethren is supporting CWS's tsunami relief effort. To date, the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund has given $320,000 to CWS for tsunami relief in Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka.

Winter and the men in the delegation visited Meulaboh, south of Banda Aceh along the coast of Sumatra. Some 13,000 people died or disappeared in the 314 villages in the area, Winter said. Before the tsunami, the area was closed to tourists or foreign visitors because of the civil war, but now foreigners are allowed to visit. Winter was impressed by the work of local officials, especially a Muslim sub-district head who obviously had the wellbeing of his people at heart. Most of Indonesia is Muslim, Winter explained.

The official showed the delegation the need to rebuild boats for fishermen, who are among the poorer members of the community, before rebuilding homes for the relatively wealthy landowners. He was very respectful of the CWS response to the disaster, Winter said. "He was also supportive and cooperative of using good disaster response and development principles."

The official took the delegation to view the mosque where he and other worshipers were caught by the tsunami when it hit. The building filled completely and many in the congregation survived by holding on to ceiling fans for an hour before the water subsided. Then the bodies of those who did not survive were carried into the mosque--only to be swept away again by a second wave. That personal story--and the high-water marks on the walls--brought home the extent of the destruction, Winter said. "We were on holy ground," he said.

In Meulaboh, Winter saw people living in tents beside their destroyed houses--for some the only way to claim their land after government records were lost in the disaster. Indonesia has declared a "green zone" from the coast to 500 meters inland, in which rebuilding will not be allowed, Winter reported. The government is to buy property in other locations for those who lived in the green zone. "This means whole communities are waiting for the government to relocate them, when the government does not have the funds to buy the land," he said. Tents provided by CWS and others are considered temporary, but Winter fears many will live in them for a long time. Rebuilding of homes has already begun in areas that have received a lot of international attention, he said, therefore CWS plans to begin its rebuilding program in "forgotten villages" where other agencies are not at work.

CWS has helped rebuild a water treatment plant in Meulaboh, where clean water has been a major issue. The plant serves 300 households and some 5,000 refugees in tent cities. CWS also is cleaning wells contaminated by the tsunami, digging new wells, and providing latrines and communal bathrooms. "While I was there I heard nothing about disease outbreaks," Winter said, citing this as a major achievement of the emphasis on clean water and good sanitation. The CWS response in Indonesia also has included material aid distribution and medical teams carrying Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA) Clinic Boxes to remote villages to do medical care and to offer counseling services.

CWS had 100 staff--mostly Indonesians--working in Indonesia before the tsunami hit. Since that time, some have been reassigned to tsunami response, and some new staff have been hired to respond to the need, Winter said. Other CWS staff continue ongoing development programs throughout the rest of the country. "I cannot say how impressed I am with what they do," Winter said. Many are taking months away from their families to do the work, he added.

Winter encourages Brethren to send letters or cards of appreciation to the CWS staff in Indonesia. Send cards and letters to: CWS Staff--Indonesia, Emergency Response, Brethren Service Center, P.O. Box 188, New Windsor, MD 21776-0188.

Source: 05/25/2005 Newsline
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