Dateline ACT

Indonesia 0106

Surviving a potential second disaster

By Dino Satria, ACT International

Meulaboh, Indonesia, January 24, 2006--Despite the cool morning air, Said Abdul Rahman was wiping the sweat off his forehead as he solemnly cleaned his pedicab, known locally as a becak, before going to work on a recent day. Rahman, as he is usually called, is a 55-year-old becak driver and tsunami survivor who has received a new becak under the livelihood-recovery program of Church World Service (CWS) Indonesia, a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.

Photo by Zulkarnaeni, Church World Service-ACT

“I have to start very early in the morning and head to town, where many people need my service,” he said cheerfully while checking the brakes on his becak and making sure it was firmly positioned.

The becak is one of the most preferred and environmentally-friendly means of public transportation in Meulaboh, offering an affordable service and a larger load capacity than one would imagine. According to the association of becak drivers in Aceh Barat, known as BPGAPPENCAK, before the disaster, there were at least 1,000 becak drivers in Meulaboh. BPGAPPENCAK said at least half that number lost their lives in the tsunami, and most of the surviving drivers lost their becaks or found them damaged.

Before the tsunami, many becak drivers rented small houses in the densely populated town center of Meulaboh, where opportunities for informal employment were available. But now, they can no longer return to these houses because they have either been destroyed or their owners are not allowing them to be rented anymore.

Rahman used to rent a 5-by-4 meter wooden house that was considerably small for his family of five and the two relatives who were living with them. Living conditions in the house were generally unhealthy, with poor access to clean water and sanitation facilities.

The Rp. 30,000 (US$3) a day he earned was enough, Rahman said, to buy food for his family, pay for school expenses for his two children, aged 7 and 9 years, and pay for other household expenses. “But there was no money left for savings,” he added.

People living in poverty not only have limited access to financial capital, education, health services and facilities, but they are also socially marginalized as many people look down on them, their professions and their background.

Despite the difficulties of urban life, Rahman, who has been living in the city for ten years, still believes the city offers better opportunities for the future compared to his home village in Aceh Tengah.

Homeless but “lucky”

“Our house is now completely destroyed. The tsunami did not leave anything intact, and we are now unable to go back there anymore,” explained Rahman about his rented house. “But we were lucky - no family member was lost.”

Most people in the area lost one or two family members - and sometimes more - in the tsunami. “Now I live in this hut,” Rahman said as he pointed to a 4-by-4 meter hut, which he had built himself from a worn-out tent, reinforced with wood and other debris left by the tsunami. Located approximately five kilometers from the city, Ujong Beurasok is a camp site for at least 200 households that have survived the tsunami, including Rahman and his family.

“I will stay here until the government has a place for us to stay. I cannot afford to rent a house anymore,” said Rahman. There have not been enough government-built temporary living centers (TLCs) and barracks to accommodate all the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Aceh Barat, and currently approximately 5,000 IDPs are still living in tents. The cost of renting a house in Meulaboh has increased drastically because of limited availability and, ironically, the high demand from NGOs.

Livelihood support

“At least now I don’t have to pay rent for my becak,” said Rahman of the becak provided to him by CWS-ACT. He was paying rent of Rp. 5,000 (US$0.50) a day on his previous becak, a significant proportion of his income.

“Since the tsunami, income has decreased for becak drivers. I can only make Rp. 15,000 (US$1.50) a day. On a good day, I can make Rp. 20,000 (US$2),” explained Rahman. That amount is enough for his family at the moment, as food is still being distributed for free by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and his wife is participating in a cash-for-work program with another NGO.

When asked what would happen if these programs ended, Rahman did not reply immediately, but it was clear that he had thought about this many times. “I guess I would have to work longer hours and my wife has to find other work soon,” he replied. Without land or other natural resources, a permanent home or a suitable shelter to live in, skills or education, savings or financial capital, Rahman and his family were extremely vulnerable before the disaster, and they have become more so since. While they survived the tsunami, the resulting distress to the household since then has left the family barely able to cope with what may come next. A second disaster is in the making as the most vulnerable families, such as Rahman’s, face
a downward spiral into poverty if assistance does not enable them to sustain their own well-being.

For CWS-ACT, livelihood recovery is more than just providing tools, capital and skills. It is ultimately about empowering people like Rahman and his family to lift themselves out of poverty and live a dignified life with greater voice and greater choice.

In addition to Church World Service-Indonesia, the other ACT members in Indonesia responding to the December 26, 2004, tsunami are Yayasan Tanggul Bencana Indonesia (YTBI) and YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU).

Dino Satria is a program and information officer for Church World Service Indonesia, a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.

This feature article was taken from the Church World Service Indonesia Tsunami and Quake Response Summary Sheet #2, 2005 and used with permission.