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Thursday, October 06, 2005
Red Cross helps tsunami victims observe Ramadan
Still suffering from the December tsunami that killed 130,000 people in Indonesia, residents of the Banda Aceh province got a boost from Canadian aid workers at the beginning of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
A Muslim ceremony known as 'meugang' provided a unique opportunity for the Canadian Red Cross to help bring some normalcy to the distraught lives of the tsunami survivors.
Meugang is an Acehnese tradition in which extended family get together to share a meal before the start of the month-long religious daytime fast.
'They want to have at least four kilograms of meat. They want syrup and dates...to end their fast when evening comes,' Canadian Red Cross worker Russ Froese told CTV.ca in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
With many out of work, it has been a struggle for the men to provide meat for their families.
'The head of the household - if he can't provide the meat - it's sort of like 'how we provide the turkey at Christmas?' It's a matter of pride that they do this for their family,' said Froese.
Often, if the man cannot get the meat, he will assume large debts from people who loan money.
'They indicated to us that they really needed help, so we decided that this was something that would really involve the community and get the spirit going,' says Froese.
Canadian aid workers, led by the Red Cross's Lilly Heinrichs, rounded up 14 water buffalo, 100 cows, sugar, flour, and other items to help almost 20,000 people with their celebrations.
There were huge logistics in one area, Lamno, where the roads are still washed out, forcing the Red Cross to barge items in by boat.
Each village has a spiritual gathering place, comparable to a community centre, where the food was brought in and distributed to the families through the village leaders.
One of those leaders is Usman Rahman, from the fishing community of Kajhu, where 80 per cent of the area was wiped out during the tsunami. Rahman lost six of his eight children and most of his extended family as a result.
As village leader, Rahman was given 22 cows and truckloads of other food to distribute to the people.
"There was a tear in his eye when he got this," Froese said. "It's very personal for all of them at this time."
While foreign aid groups are making an impact, it is the resilience of the locals that is proving to be most dramatic.
"It's just the people. The people they amaze me. They are so resilient… they carry so much emotional weight," Froese said. "For us to be able to help in a tradition that is so important to them in this critical time, we at the Red Cross feel very proud to be able to do that."
Froese said Canadians should be very proud about their donation efforts, which initially aided in preventing disease and setting up relief camps.
"Now we're moving into the permanent housing stage and this is something that's going to take a while because the issues are very complex," said Froese.
"So in the meantime for us to bolster community spirit through things like this… we're also bolstering the camps to make them better conditions because some won't be in their housing for another year or so."
With last weekend's Bali bombings some wonder about the reception of the Western aid-workers.
"We stand out but they recognize that we have been here right from the start of the disaster. They know we're here to help them," said Froese.
Housing problems, land rights and lost government records are only a few of the huge issues that officials are facing.
Currently, the Canadian Red Cross is in the process of planning and building 12,500 permanent homes in Banda Aceh.
Canadian Red Cross says sufficient funds have been raised to address the immediate and long-term needs related to the tsunami.
Source: CTV.ca - Canada
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