Nias-Five Years after the Deluge
The island of Nias lay broken and bowed after the devastation of the 2004 tsunami and an 8.6-magnitude earthquake the following year. Hundreds of lives were lost. Roads were destroyed, buildings and homes collapsed. Slowly but surely the people of Nias picked up the pieces of their ravaged land and lives, and began rebuilding. The Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation & Reconstruction Agency was there to help until 2009, followed by a number of helpful donors. The following is a report on how the people of Nias persevered, by a Tempo English Edition reporter, who recently visited the region.
August 25, 2010
EIGHT mothers were chatting cheerfully by the side of the road in Dahana, a village in Gunung Sitoli subdistrict, Nias regency. Whilst conversing, their hands were busy slashing the tall grass, picking up the rubbish in the waterway, and throwing it into the garbage disposal. Working like professional cleaning servicemen, they wore knee-high boots, gloves, and wide-brimmed round hats to block out the sun.
The asphalt road, which is 1,235 meters l
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