Tsunami survivors desperate to have decent homes

Tsunami survivors on Mentawai Island are facing a bleak Christmas and New Year’s as authorities have fallen behind the deadline to provide them with decent shelter.

South Sipora community figure Rijel Samaloisa told The Jakarta Post that survivors were forced to collect remaining materials from their damaged homes to build temporary living quarters.

“They can no longer endure living in tents that leak when it rains. They have built temporary huts made from used materials and with sago palm roofs,” Rijel said on Wednesday.

Their food supplies are also reportedly dwindling fast and little remains for Christmas.

“We have not received food supplies for the past two weeks despite Christmas being just around the corner. This is deplorable,” said Rijel, former Mentawai Islands regency councilor.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) initially planned to build 278 temporary housing units for tsunami survivors in Bosua and Beriulou villages in South Sipora.

However, construction has yet to commence because the survivors have rejected the location decided upon by the regent in Beriulou village because it is 8 kilometers from their original place of residence and is flanked by a river and a ravine, which they consider risky.

“A number of tribes have donated 40 hectares of land in two locations that are only 2 km from the survivors’ original village. They prefer the location but the regent has yet to approve it,” said Rijel.

Rijel added that the survivors had been neglected after the media stopped focusing on them.

“The problem has not been resolved but the government tends to be less motivated due to the lack of media attention,” he said.

On Pagai Island, tsunami survivors in two villages have been forced to build their own homes, supported by Lumbung Derma, a coalition of non-governmental organizations in Padang.

Among the NGOs giving assistance is the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, the Legal Aid Institute and Mentawai Citra Mandiri Foundation.

Lumbung Derma coordinator Khalid Syaifullah said displaced families in Maonai hamlet, Bulasat village, South Pagai and Tumalai hamlet, Silabu village, North Pagai were currently building wooden homes in a new location located some 1.5 km from their devastated village.

“They have refused to live in the temporary homes built by PMI [Indonesian Red Cross] due to the distance of around 8 km from their original village, so they relocated to the area donated by other residents,” Khalid told the Post.

The survivors are working together to build houses using timber from the forest. Lumbung Derma has provided assistance in the form of corrugated iron sheets for roofing, nails, building equipment and donated chain saws.

“They are currently staying in makeshift huts built from remaining materials from their damaged homes before their new homes are completed, while we will supply the building materials,” said Khalid.