Why Acehnese still wait for houses two years after the tsunami disaster
January 12th 2007 21:44
- Aceh July 2006: Coastal landing craft takes on imported timber -
The world aid outpouring was to pass US$4.6 billion via the hundreds of organisations, both government and non government (NGOs), that rushed to help in Aceh and Nias in Indonesia's far north where the 2004 Boxing Day Force 9 earthquakes and tsunamis were centred.
But it wasn't until mid last year (2006) that housing reconstruction on a proper scale came to the majority outside the main cities of Banda Aceh, Meulaboh and Calang.
This is the AC report which Engineers Australia magazine (50,000 readers, mainly Australian engineers) used in Dec 06 issue. An electronic version, it gives links to detail compiled over the last two years.
For the main players, see Who's Working page. For an Aceh map see Maps.
Progress since 2004 Boxing Day disaster:
End-2004 - Tsunamis and earthquakes leave 170,000 people dead or missing in Aceh and half a million homeless.
End-2005: With Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) still more than half a million, Indonesia's Bureau of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for Aceh and Nias (BRR) vows the building of 120,000 houses.
Many still in barracks
Islands and coastal communities with roads cut or in a condition too poor for truck delivery didn't get proper scale building material shipments until July 2006. Since December 2004, the people lived first under canvas or with relatives, then in barracks awaiting houses promised by the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and NGOs.
Indonesian army engineers and counterparts from US, Australia, Holland, Singapore and other contingents helped in the clearing up. A huge task, it cleared millions of tonnes of debris for rebuilding. In addition to laying foundations for hospitals then for transitional barracks, the engineers put in the Bailey bridges that opened the materials supply line that IOM established.
Crumpled by force nine earthquakes, the mountainous route could only take four wheel drives initially, then 10-tonne and later 20-tonne trucks. IOM's convoys continued as the main supply line all through 2005 and into 2006, bringing virtually all IFRC and NGOs' import procurements via Medan from its container port, Belawan - the container hub port in North Sumatra.
Belawan continues to be the import bottleneck, even since WFPSS established a coastal shipping service in 2006. Financed by the World Bank Multi-Donor-Fund for the freight-free use of IFRC, NGOs and others, WFPSS materials handling has the flexibility of front ramp self-landing coastal ships (500 to 1,000 tonnes deadweight). But the import sourcing is still bottle-necked at Belawan.
The biggest surge in WFPSS-carried building materials came with 22,000 tonnes in July 2006, when IFRC and NGOs rushed for the last freight-free voyages. Since August when WFPSS began invoicing for freight the monthly tonnes have fallen to 6,000. During the freight-free period which started in April, IFRC and NGOs' monthly shipments averaged around 11,000 tonnes.
Inflation, graft, bureaucracy and NGOs' poor coordination
Building costs have soared in Aceh and Nias, along with rents pushed up in main centres like Banda Aceh by NGO personnel paying more than locals can afford. Price increases forced NGOs to cut the size and speed of building as Engineers Australia May 2006 report "Difficulties with project delivery in Aceh" covered.
Indonesia's all-permeating graft in the community caused homeless villagers to queue for officials seeking "rent", while building contractors charged for materials not used in the building and pocketed cost savings from using shoddy materials in sub-standard construction.
Oxfam and STC (Save the Children) were among NGOs affected, whose inspectors also uncovered syphoning of funds by local staff, which increased the dollars lost into millions.
"People are mad!" a village elder told a New York Times reporter, after STC inspectors held back 371 houses "little better than chicken coops".
His complaint "The aid workers gave promises, but they don't turn out to be reality" was the same as heard in villages all over Aceh and Nias.
Indonesia's layers of local administration further delayed the rebuilding, by making first call on aid funds from multilateral institutions. As a recent World Bank report noted, the increased bureaucracy is more about collecting rent than helping restore needed infrastructure. The Bank wants Government of Indonesia action on more infrastructure projects, addressing the low capacity to manage public funds and a concerted effort towards more transparency in funds use through a unified, comprehensive system for data.
Meanwhile, NGO-built houses with provision for water connection and electricity face a long wait for supply from local utilities.
What can aid organisations do to make a faster reconstruction next time?
Reflecting the consensus among the numerous NGOs, a paper to a UN-HABITAT's World Urban Forum by a Habitat for Humanity (HFH) said villagers made homeless by disasters like cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis may be saved the deprivation and depravity of barrack accommodation, if delegates decide to act on a shelter strategy where donor coordination in on-site reconstruction is matched with community based consultation.
The leading house builder in Aceh, IFRC, went further - with the desire for community based contracting as well as consultation: "It is quicker, costs less and builds more local skills and capacities than when outside contractors are used," was how Australian Red Cross CEO Robert Tickner explained it to a Sydney audience. "Perhaps most importantly, instead of waiting passively, people are helped to overcome the trauma of the tsunami as they literally take charge of rebuilding their own lives."
Numerous engineers and architects are addressing this too, like Sydney surveyor-builder Barry Clark and engineer Rod Johnston, consulting as Partner Housing, who are devising a range of pre-prepared house designs suitable for various locations.
Another local initiative aims at getting architects to disaster reconstruction locations faster. It is Emergency Architects, accredited by the United Nations and the European Union but still waiting on ATO's OK for tax-deductible donations here. EA people were in Aceh within two days after the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami hit. A team surveyed the ravaged coastline as well as helping local traumatised communities. Now EA Australia asks for volunteers, for teams of five to 10 people able to commit to three months to six months. "Either young and wanting to get field experience, or else older people, maybe in their 50s, who've worked for years and now just want to do some good in the world," according to EA's Andrea Nield - an architect specialising in hospital design.
As for Aussie aid organisations,
Australia's NGOs sent delegates to an ACFID meeting in Sydney last August. They recommitted to:
. Engage process-oriented people once the situation moves to reconstruction
. Engage the community in building on site
. Use procurement/warehousing common vouchers to overcome lack of coordination
. Make it a survivor instead of supply-oriented approach
. Coordinate in ways so survivors’ expectations aren’t raised unrealistically
. Make it a goal to turnaround survivor dissatisfaction
. Empower local women in the aid-giving process
. Address NGOs’ negative affects on crisis communities
. Apply the lessons this time, not just learn/unlearn as before
Ends
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