Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2005 1:44 PM
In Meulaboh now in the South East of Aceh. Came here by helicopter, and that was my first time in it. Compared to flying in a plane it's a world of difference. Taking off goes smooth and before you know it you reach a nice altitude. They don't go high, so you keep a good view down. There I could see the scale of the destruction of the tsunami. The giant hand that swept the coastal area. This afternoon I was on the coast, and other then in Banda Aceh the rubble is not removed yet. Quite impressive, because the people are coming back. Mostly to claim their property, because thieves are praying for the plots. Spoke to a man today. He was sitting in front of a makeshift hut. 'I lost my wife in the tsunami, and I still didn't find my children. I come here to relax.' There is reconstruction going on. A local entrepreneur started a boat workshop. Since seventy per cent of the Meulaboh population are fishermen, the demand for boats is high. They're expensive. 'No problem,' says the freshly started business man. 'People buy a boat as a group. Then it becomes affordable.' The smiling boat maker delivered five ships, and he has others under construction.