Achenese resilience will conquer over tsunami devastation

Apr 22, 2005

Communication, connection on the ground and culture are the key forces behind the re-building of tsunami-ravaged Banda Aceh.

This was the message put forth by UNESCO guest speaker Professor Stephen Hill, who last night (21 April) presented a free public lecture at the University of Wollongong focused on the Boxing Day tsunami called ‘The Day the Ocean Moved’.

He also assured his audience that the incredible strength, independence and resilient spirit of the Indonesian people would drive the recovery process.

Professor Hill stressed that it wasn’t just about direct assistance like financial aid, clothing, food and shelter but about educating the people of Banda Aceh, being sensitive to mental and emotional trauma and starting to re-capture an intangible cultural heritage.

Professor Hill is Regional Director of UNESCO’s Jakarta-based office in Indonesia and an Honorary Professor at the University of Wollongong. He is at the front line of the response by the United Nations to the Aceh disaster and spoke about his role in leading a number of projects on education, human trauma response, environmental damage and recovery, rebuilding communications and media networks, and building Indonesia’s disaster preparedness and warning systems.

He took his audience on a visual tour, showing personal photographs of the devastation the tsunami left in its path.

“The power of the Boxing Day tsunami was equivalent to 1,000 Hiroshima bombs,” he said.

“It reached up to 30 metres in height -- the destruction that followed can barely be comprehended.” Professor Hill witnessed this destruction first hand and is now playing a key role in re-building what he calls a radically distorted society.

“Islands have literally changed – some have risen, some have tilted – the environmental impacts are unparalleled. And then there is the impact on the region’s people…”

He spoke about the problem of salination poisoning and the need to educate the Achenese people about how to deal with this issue, as well as the build up of sedimentation as a result of the massive wave that exploded on to the beach killing hundreds of thousands of people.

However, Professor Hill was eager to communicate that it wasn’t just about destruction, but about the spirit and will of the Achenese people.

“Indonesia is a very independent, self sufficient country so this is going to have a major impact on the way individuals are going to be able to piece their lives back together.

“Already people are returning to Ache and trying to bring a sense of normality back to their surroundings. The people are doing it for themselves – we just need to facilitate them.”

Professor Hill said that ideas are being canvassed for extensive planning of mangroves and other flora as a set of buffers to diffract possible future waves as they come ashore. He also spoke about the necessity of an effective early warning system and the need for the education of children who have lost their schools.

“Above all there is an urgent need for people to be prepared. UNESCO is trying to educate people through stories and songs to embed the issues of tsunamis deeply into cultural expression.

“It could be 50 years before the next tsunami so the society has to remember and react quickly based on past experiences.”

For 37 years, Professor Hill has worked on science, technology, education and development concerns in Asia and the Pacific and has been consultant to most countries and international agencies in the region. His 16 books include The Making of Scientists, The Human Face of Development, Future Tense?, The Tragedy of Technology and Crossing Innovation Boundaries.