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technology & resources
Catastrophe unItes
10 years after the Christmas
tsunami in Indonesia
A natural disaster brought peace and,
for now at least, the chance of a future
by Jacopo Pasotti
efore the tsunami hit, going
“B
the reconstruction efforts. According to
out at night was dangerous.
Katja Brundiers, a sustainable development
Not a day would pass without
expert at Arizona State University, the
a clash between the military forces and
tsunami “provided an opportunity. It broke
the GAM rebels. We would always hear
the inertia of years of conflict, attrition and
gunshots,” says Ayi, a fisherman and
injustice, making a fresh start possible.” She
spokesman for the Banda Aceh fishing
maintains that natural disasters give
community. The guerrillas of the Free
distressed societies a chance to change.
Aceh Movement (GAM) were out to obtain
A fresh start for Banda Aceh was made
independence for the Aceh province, if not
possible by international support. Brundiers
the entire island of Sumatra.
explains that, often, “to take advantage of
A gateway to Islam and the landing stage
opportunities you need outside help.” After
for Dutch invaders of the 19th century,
the disaster, the international community
GAM militants believe Aceh deserved to be
provided a fund of $654 million (€526 M)
more than just a province on the outskirts
for reconstruction.
The GAM have not been completely
of Indonesia, a country made up of
The hospital, airport, roads and schools are
eradicated, anything but: they have
thousands of islands and almost as many
all new. And there have also been social
transformed into a political party. And a
ethnic groups. The often-savage conflict
developments, such as immigration. “Now
powerful one. The current Aceh governor
raged for at least 30 years.
we have Balinese, Javan and Malay
is a member of GAM. The grip of Islamic
Ayi lost his boat in the tsunami. Now he
restaurants. In the evenings the bars are
law is slowly tightening after having
owns another, and has a second in the
full of people, and there’s a feeling of
loosened its prescriptions right after the
making. On 26 December 2004, the colossal
optimism,” says Togu Santoso, an
disaster. Moreover, for the faithful, a
wave, triggered by a fearful underwater
Indonesian urban planner.
majority in the province, the tsunami was
earthquake of 9.3 magnitude, swallowed up
One such optimist is the owner of the drinks
a warning from God.
270,000 people and destroyed 15,000
and souvenir kiosk near a monument to the
At the moment the question is, now that
boats. But it also swept away the conflict.
tsunami. He used to be a GAM militant. The
funds have been depleted, is Aceh safer
The catastrophe hit everyone: rebels and
former rebel proudly passes round a photo
than before? And have science and
common folk alike. It dealt a devastating
of himself in his military uniform. He says,
technology provided people with the
blow to a region that was already on its
“Things are better now, I’ve finally got a
means to prepare for the next appointment
knees, isolated by decades of conflict.
good business.” His is a small business; the
with a natural disaster?
After the disaster, the militants soon
wave swept away 104,000 such small
Indonesians are generally optimistic or,
handed over their weapons and joined in
businesses.
perhaps, just fatalistic. “Allah has punished
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PH. JACOPO PASOTTI
Catastrophe unItes |
- Banda Aceh, three
children in a school
show drawings in
which they’ve
reproduced the
tsunami catastrophe.
RICCARDO VENTURI/CONTRASTO
REUTERS/DAMIR SAGOLJ/CONTRASTO
- Tourists posing for
photographs in front
of the monument
dedicated to the
Banda Aceh victims of
the 2004 tsunami.
us for our sins. It won’t happen again, and if
technology is by no means foolproof. In
says Munadi. “Tsunamis like these occur
it does, Allah will have willed it," explains
2011, the evacuation sirens didn’t go off
rarely, and like we forgot the one of 1907,
Burdin, a woman who runs a small bar in the
despite a tsunami warning being put out. It
we could forget this one.”
fish market. On the one hand, religion has
was a technical error.
Forgetting means setting the stage for a
helped people overcome the traumatic
The result of ten years of studies is that
new disaster. That’s the lesson: building
experience quite rapidly. On the other,
“now the world knows about the problem of
skills and knowledge is just as important as
some now believe that all attempts to
tsunamis,” explains Khairul Munadi, head of
finding a strategy for passing it on to future
reduce the risk are another way of
the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Centre.
generations. As things stand, this is a
challenging God’s will.
“We’ve learned a great deal. For example,
priority shared by both the stern
In the meantime, scientists have developed
how to detect the premonitory signs of a
commanders of the Islamic GAM party and
tsunami warning systems for the
tsunami in the making.”
the scientific experts. Whether this
population. A complex network of
Today, science – risk-mitigation knowledge
collaboration will stand the test of time,
geophones, buoys and satellite
– is faced with a new issue: how to ensure
we’ll have to wait and see. ■
communications should be able to warn
that what has been learned is not forgotten
people of the danger in just a few minutes
in the next decade or century?
Jacopo Pasotti is a geologist who writes
via radio, television, Twitter, Facebook and
“In 1907, there was a similar event. We
about and photographs scientific,
text messages. Even though a few false
found reports of it in some archives and in
environmental and social issues. He also
alarms in recent years have shown that the
the oral histories of several communities,”
teaches science communication.
january February 2015
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