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Outlook: Indian Ocean Tsunami: 10 Years On

Fishing boat stranded on top of a house

24/12/2014

Indian Ocean Tsunami: 10 Years On

BBC World Service - Outlook, Indian Ocean Tsunami: 10 Years On

Tales of loss, and extraordinary survival, from the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh

The tsunami of 2004 devastated the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh. Matthew Bannister hears stories of loss and survival, like the woman saved by a fishing boat stranded on a house.

In 2004 a massive earthquake under the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami. The Indonesian city of Banda Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, was closest to the epicentre, and was devastated by the huge wave. Ten years on, reporter Candida Beveridge has travelled there to meet some of those who survived the tragedy, and have been at the heart of rebuilding the city.

The Tsunami Museum was built to remember the 160,000 inhabitants of Banda Aceh who died in the disaster. It also serves as a shelter to protect people against any future tsunamis. Syarifa Marlina has worked for many aid agencies over the past decade. She takes Candida on a tour of the museum, and the Lampuuk Mosque which, like many other mosques in the area, survived the tsunami unscathed. 

Fauziah Basyariah lost her husband and parents, but she and her children were saved by a fishing boat that was washed inland by the huge wave and came to rest on top of a house. Today the boat is still there, and Fauziah supports her family by making dried fish products, called 'tsunami', which carry a photo of the boat that saved her life.

The coastal village of Lampuuk was one of the worst affected communities, and one of the slowest to recover. The majority of the people living there were killed, and many who survived were too scared of the ocean to return. One who did was a teacher, Hurun. He lost his wife and three children in the tsunami, but is now remarried with a daughter. But he finds life in the village is very different than before.  

One of the few positive outcomes of the tsunami was that it ended the civil war. Separatist rebels, known as GAM, had been fighting for independence for over 30 years. Candida went to a rebel stronghold in the district of Beurin with two peacemakers, Nasruddin Ahmed and Rizal Usman, and visited a coffee shop set up to help the victims of the war.

Ibu Dahlia is a psychologist working at the Syiah Kuala university in Banda Aceh. She talks about the impact of the war, and tsunami, on the mental health of survivors.

One image that went round the world after the tsunami was of an emaciated seven year old boy, Martunis, pictured wearing a Portugal football shirt. He had survived 21 days alone in a mangrove swamp. The photo changed his life. He was flown to Portugal and ended up meeting his footballing hero, Christiano Ronaldo. Now he has a football scholarship and hopes to play international football one day, just like his hero.

(Picture: The fishing boat that saved many lives, including that of Fauziah Basyariah's, still stranded on top of a house. Credit: Candida Beveridge)

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