“The Human Story of the Tsunami”

This chapter takes the reader to the people, what they suffered, and what was left behind of resilience to take action to recover. Unexpected gaps in human capacity existed. For example, a disproportionate number of the more senior government managers and university personnel were killed as they had had the income to live closer to the beaches. Trauma persisted and was disabling, so that it was unwise to hire local drivers as many had suddenly ‘frozen’ and kept driving straight ahead into whatever was in front of them. Many children were now traumatized orphans in need of compassionate care. Some had lost up to 40 relatives and been swept by the wave for two or three kilometers before being able to hang onto something and escape. UNESCO worked with these traumatized children using music and performance to heal. As the chapter then demonstrates, the Acehnese share a strong and resilient culture which led them to resist the intrusion of Islamic troublemakers from other provinces who sought to develop fundamentalist Islamic commitment. Previously a generally closed society because of the danger posed by the separatist GAM movement, a positive outcome of the Tsunami was to break down the barriers.