Journey to Aceh

BLANG PADANG. Tiga tahun lalu saya menjejakkan kaki di lapangan di jantung Kota Banda Aceh ini. Hampir tengah malam kala itu. Aroma busuk pekat menggantung di udara. Masker pelindung pun tak berdaya menahan bau yang menyerbu saraf penciuman. Esok paginya, saat terang tanah, barulah saya menyaksikan sumber bau, ribuan mayat yang berserakan di setiap jengkal lapangan. Ribuan mayat yang binasa karena amuk tsunami.

Tiga hari lalu, saya kembali menyambangi Aceh. Kali ini saya menginap di Wisma Nusa Cendana, Pungee, hanya sepelemparan batu dari Blang Padang. Serangkaian video kenangan berputar kembali di benak saya, mulai keruwetan evakuasi jenazah, orang-orang bertangisan mencari kerabat, sampai sukarelawan yang pucat pasi menyaksikan mayat di setiap jengkal jalanan. Setiap detail kenangan berputar dengan cepat, maju-mundur.

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It was a breezy, sunny day. The Neusu soccer field in capital Banda Aceh was abuzz with positive energy. A dozen or so small boys were playing soccer, while several young men jogged around the field — A happy scene amid the sadness left by the deadly tsunami that killed more than 100,000 people in December 2004.

The idyllic Sunday morning, however, came to an abrupt end when members of Wilayatul Hisbah or morality police arrived at the scene.

“All of you, get into the car!” they shouted at the boys and adults on the soccer field.

Ahmad Sobirin, a social worker with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) who was jogging around the field, was also asked to come to the office of the morality police. “”Your knees are not properly covered,”" one officer told Ahmad.

At the office, Ahmad and the young boys received a lengthy lecture on Islamic law or sharia which requires Muslims to cover certain parts of their body in public.

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Safari layar tancap di Aceh. Bergerak dari barak ke barak, kami bertemu kenangan dan semangat korban tsunami.

MULIADI namanya, 14 tahun. Remaja tanggung ini belum pernah sekali pun menjejakkan kaki di gedung bioskop. “Hana peng” kata dia, maksudnya “tak punya uang” dalam bahasa Aceh. Kalau pun sekarang ada uang, Muliadi menyambung, mana ada lagi gedung bioskop tegak berdiri di Banda Aceh. “Sudah habis kena tsunami.”

Berseri-seri wajah Muliadi. Senyumnya lebar mengembang. “Kakak mau putar film di sini, persis seperti bioskop? Apa filmnya? Kakak bawa televisi sebesar apa? Nanti tivi-nya ditaruh mana?” Beruntun pertanyaan Muliadi. Dia bahkan tidak tahu bahwa pemutaran film di bioskop tak ada urusan apa dengan pesawat televisi ukuran berapa pun.

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Tempo magazine reporter spends a year in devastated province, writes story about recovery, charity fatigue and reconstruction

It doesn’t take an expert to speak honestly about what’s happening in Aceh a year after the disastrous earthquake and tsunami struck the territory.

Mardiyah “Diyah” Chamim has proven this — although now she’s a bit of an expert herself.

The Tempo magazine reporter had never set foot in Aceh or written about a national disaster before; usually covering what she calls “soft” news — like health stories and social issues.

However, after nearly a year in Aceh, Diyah has written a fascinating story about Aceh’s struggle to get back on its feet — Sejarah Tumbuh di Kampung Kami (History Grows in Our Kampung).

“I cannot give something beautiful enough to those who lost their loved ones, so the writing in this book is dedicated to them. These are their stories: What I’ve seen, what I’ve heard, what I’ve felt and what I’ve pondered during my stay in Aceh and Nias,” she said.

For Diyah, a reporter with Tempo magazine, getting to the province as a journalist was a struggle.

“I knew from the time the tsunami struck that I would never be assigned there because there are reporters that are well-known specialists in Aceh-related issues,” she said.

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