The World Within a Province

A WELL-BUILT 11-meter-wide road welcomes drivers entering the provincial capital on the Banda Aceh-Meulaboh highway. On the journey, a vista of green hills and rice paddies stretches out to fill their vision. Donated houses, uniform in appearance, group together in several locations. It's an enjoyable ride. The asphalt is still in prime condition, and traffic is light. "Many Acehnese refer to it as the American Road," Banda Aceh resident Akhyar Akhi told Tempo in November.

He makes a point. The road was built with US$240 million in US government aid through the United States Agency for International Development. The agency constructed the 153-kilometer sector of the Banda Aceh-Meulaboh Highway project from Banda Aceh through to Calang.

There is more than just the American Road. Post-tsunami, the names of foreign donors and countries have spread everywhere, adhering to whatever they built. Banda Aceh's Al-Makmur Grand Mosque, for instance, is known as 'the Mosque from Oman', as it was rebuilt with a grant from the Sultanate of Oman of around Rp17 billion. In the hills near Neuheun village in Mesjid Raya, Aceh Besar regency, is 'Jackie Chan Village', so named because the kung fu film star raised the money for its construction.