More than five years after the devastating tsunami hit Nias Island, a few questions remain: Have its people recovered? And after the pouring in of aid, do they see any improvements in their lives? Big traditional houses are seen in the megalithic complex of Bawomataluo village
ore than five years after the devastating tsunami hit Nias Island, a few questions remain: Have its people recovered? And after the pouring in of aid, do they see any improvements in their lives?
With these questions and more on my mind, I arrived on a cloudy noon with light drizzle at Maru Sirombu Beach in Sirombu, West Nias. For the locals, it was a fine day, and many people were out and playing on the beach. Children and teenagers were having fun swimming and playing soccer.
While the sea water was clean and the air was fresh, the sandy beach was not as clean as I would have expected. Plastics and mineral water bottles were scattered here and there, but the locals did not seem to mind.
On weekends, Maru Sirombu Beach is the only recreational site for local residents of this area. But every time the water recedes, the villagers begin to worry. They remain traumatized by a tsunami that struck the island on Dec. 26, 2004.
Many of them, especially those who used to live along the seashore, remember clearly how water rose to the height of the coconut trees and destroyed their houses, and left them with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.
Most locals survived because they ran to a nearby hill. The earthquake itself, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, had killed more than 500 people in the island alone.
Suwarni, one of the survivors, acknowledged that she and her husband were still traumatized by natural disasters. Her house, built on the seashore, was swept away in the gigantic tidal wave. After the disaster, she had moved in to a relative’s house for around two years before she got a new house built by Delasiga, a group working to rebuild what’s left of the island and empower its people.
The group’s community projects included the construction of hundreds of houses for the tsunami survivors, the allocation of scholarships for disadvantaged students, and the construction of free healthcare centers.
“The new house is comfortable, well-built and quake-proof. But then again we still panic every time there is an earthquake. We normally will run to the hill,” Suwarni told The Jakarta Post.
“I miss my old house. It was built by the beach so it was easier for my husband who is a fisherman to go fishing,” Suwarni said, adding that now it takes about 20 minutes by motorbike to get from her new house to the beach.
After the tsunami, she said, her husband and other local fishermen became reluctant to go out to sea and this of course has affected their income.
“Today, they don’t catch as many fish as they used to. They choose to catch fish near the seashore.
Then, if something happens, they can quickly land and run for a higher ground.”
Besides fishing, local villagers also rely on copra. However, Suwarni said, today’s copra production is not as good as it was in the years before the disasters.
“The earthquake has affected our crops. The coconut trees died before they were harvested so we can’t use them to produce copra.”
“We don’t know what to do about this. I hope the government will help us solve these problems,” the 41-year-old said.
Not only do local people need assistance in fishing and farming, they also need help with education.
Zuraiyah, a teacher at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Al-uswah Tetesua Islamic school, said her school is short on textbooks.
“Many students don’t get text books because we don’t have enough to distribute to every student.”
“A number of students don’t even have their own exercise books because their parents are too poor to afford them.”
As for computers, the school, which has 90 students as of June, can only still dream about them.
“There was an NGO pledging to donate some computers to us. The organization gave our teachers a four-month training to run the applications. But until now, we have never received a single computer. We never heard of the NGO ever again.”
Zuraiyah and other teachers don’t want to dwell on this and continue to teach their students with limited resources, focusing on Islamic studies.
She said they didn’t want to place too much hope in the local administration.
“The administration always says it has enough funds to build this and that. But where does the money go?”
But having said that, Nias is a hidden treasure waiting to be found. It has a rich culture including traditional music and dances such as the Maluaya (war dance), Moyo (eagle dance) and Feta Batu (music from stones), including the famous Hombo Batu (stone jumping).
What remains of the ancient megalithic culture of Southeast Asia can be found on the island, which covers an area of 4,472 square kilometers. The richest form of megalith complex is the village of Bawomataluo in South Nias. Stone structures include columns, seats and round tables standing tall in front of the chief’s wooden house, which has the finest architecture.
In terms of natural beauty, Nias also has beautiful places that have the potentials to be developed as tourist destinations such as the aforementioned Sirombu Beach and Sorake Beach, a favorite spot for surfers.
Johannes Hammerle, a German-born priest who has been living in Nias for more than 30 years, said the tourism industry was not well-developed there.
“Once there was a plan to develop Sirombu into a tourist destination after the tsunami struck the area,” Father Johannes said.
“But the earthquake that hit the area a couple of months later delayed the plan and it has yet to be realized. Many people have left the village because of the natural disasters. It’s like a dead zone.”
So what do Nias people need right now?
“They need paved roads that would link one village to another. The good roads are indispensable for the food distribution,” he said.
Father Johannes is the one who initiated the building the Nias Heritage Museum, which houses more than 6,000 artifacts and Nias architecture from around the island.
The two-hectare site, located in Gunung Sitoli, is more than just a museum as it also houses a small zoo with several local species, a garden and a playground for children, right on the beach.
Father Johannes actively encourages Nias people to maintain the traditional wooden houses to preserve the local culture.
“Many people have decided to leave their traditional houses because of the costly maintenance they require. The government should provide some money for houses’ maintenance,” he said.
Devi Aryani Marufalau, a 15-year-old student from Sirombu, realized the potential of her island, saying that there are more to Nias than what people usually know.
“Look! We have this beautiful beach. We believe it can be a tourist destination. The problem is the people here don’t know how to make the place more attractive. Also, we don’t have enough money,” she said.
Devi hoped the local government could start first by paving the roads leading to Sirombu.
“We thanked the government and NGOs for building the roads. But the roads have been damaged. And it makes people, especially tourists, reluctant to come here.”
“I want to finish my school, go to university and realize my dream to become a journalist so I can tell people out there about this place,” Devi said.
The journalist was invited by Posko Delasiga, an NGO working on post-quake reconstruction in Nias
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.