ON Saturday, December 26, a terse message appeared on the cellular telephone of Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare, Alwi Shihab. He was on an airplane with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, en route to Jayapura in Papua. At first he could not believe the message, reading it twice, then immediately passed it on to the president: Aceh and part of North Sumatra had been devastated by a tsunami. They were all shocked and speechless.

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