My name Asnawi Nurdin, and since 2005 I have been working in a local NGO-Forum Bangun Aceh (FBA) in Aceh Province, Indonesia. I write this short reflection as a victim of the tsunami in 2004, and as a post-disaster humanitarian worker. After more than 10 years, the magnitude of the disaster and the lessons learned from the human efforts is lasting memory for me and every Acehnese. My concern is that if a disaster of similar scale happens again, how ready are we as the "potential victims"?
If you who are reading have ever been to Aceh after the tsunami, very undoubtedly you know exactly how severe and complex the impact of the tsunami is. The 2004 tsunami hit the west, the north and the east coast of Aceh. The impacts caused by disaster includes the loss of 200,000 lives, the destruction of infrastructure and assets, livelihoods and resulted in trauma and suffers for survivors for many years. After the tsunami, within days, international assistance arrived from around the world while national capacity to was not sufficient at all. All the …show more content…
Indeed, some disasters can be predicted. However, I am worried that the people are not really aware, ready and able to save themselves at the time of the disaster and are able to rebuild themselves after a natural disaster.
I feel, the efforts undertaken by many parties to prepare resilient communities, still so far from a 'finish' line. I am very worried because my community to this day is still very vulnerable to disasters while sooner or later, a the communities to have to stand at the frontline and die without preparation. Hence, I call for a sustained investment for us, the community and local leadership to be resilience in one side, and save more efforts and money in the other.
Therefore, international society needs to show more prove their commitment to investing in local capacity by paying particular attention to the context of vulnerable
If you who are reading have ever been to Aceh after the tsunami, very undoubtedly you know exactly how severe and complex the impact of the tsunami is. The 2004 tsunami hit the west, the north and the east coast of Aceh. The impacts caused by disaster includes the loss of 200,000 lives, the destruction of infrastructure and assets, livelihoods and resulted in trauma and suffers for survivors for many years. After the tsunami, within days, international assistance arrived from around the world while national capacity to was not sufficient at all. All the …show more content…
Indeed, some disasters can be predicted. However, I am worried that the people are not really aware, ready and able to save themselves at the time of the disaster and are able to rebuild themselves after a natural disaster.
I feel, the efforts undertaken by many parties to prepare resilient communities, still so far from a 'finish' line. I am very worried because my community to this day is still very vulnerable to disasters while sooner or later, a the communities to have to stand at the frontline and die without preparation. Hence, I call for a sustained investment for us, the community and local leadership to be resilience in one side, and save more efforts and money in the other.
Therefore, international society needs to show more prove their commitment to investing in local capacity by paying particular attention to the context of vulnerable