On a sunny morning on the west coast of Aceh, mothers chat near a calm blue sea as children play nearby. It is almost unbelievable that 10 years ago, on Dec. 26, 2004, waves 18 meters high surged through this village and many others, leaving about 170,000 people dead.

Indonesia’s government, donors, NGOs and individuals contributed roughly US$7 billion in aid for Aceh and the government established a high-level bureau based in Aceh to coordinate recovery. What did these resources buy?

Initially progress was slow; frustration was high. But 10 years on, a very different picture has emerged. Life has returned to something that feels normal. It’s a recovery in which Aceh, Indonesia and the world should take pride — but it did not come quickly, easily or cheaply. 

We led an international team of scientists for the Study of the Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery (STAR). Beginning five months after the disaster, we searched for 32,320 people first interviewed as part of a 2004 survey in nearly 500 communities along the coast. Of the 30,000 survivors, we interviewed 96 percent in follow-up surveys between 2005 and 2010 to measure the immediate impact of the tsunami and subsequent recovery in badly damaged communities in comparison to communities not directly affected.

The tsunami tore apart networks of family, friends and neighbors. In some communities, 80 percent of the population perished. Within four months, nearly two-thirds of those in severely damaged communities had moved away. 

It took time to establish property rights and assemble construction materials, but within five years these individuals lived in family-owned homes at the same rates as before the tsunami. They formed new families through marriage. In communities where tsunami mortality was higher, we saw a greater fertility increase in the five years after the tsunami. Recently married couples had their first babies and mothers whose children had been killed gave birth again.

Some women were pregnant when the tsunami struck, and their needs were particularly acute. Two years after the tsunami, children in utero at the time of the tsunami were shorter for their age than Acehnese children born before the tsunami, probably reflecting their mother’s stress and reduced resources. 

But within three years, in terms of height-for-age, most of these children had caught up to or even surpassed their older counterparts. Post-tsunami assistance provided a health advantage that may turn out to be permanent.

Not everyone recovered to the same degree. The loss of one or both parents took a toll on children aged 15 to 17 years. Five years after the tsunami, these boys left school and entered the work force at higher rates than boys whose parents survived. Older girls who lost both parents married sooner. Among younger children, schooling outcomes did not differ although gaps may emerge. A man whose wife died was much more likely to remarry than a woman whose husband died. 

Major shifts in the labor force accompanied reconstruction. Among adults from heavily damaged communities, the proportion of young males and young and middle-aged females working increased, but employment rates declined markedly for middle-age males and modestly for older males and females (relative to rates for individuals of the same age but from other areas).

Over the last decade, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis have struck the US, Pakistan, China, Myanmar, the Philippines and Japan.

Aceh’s example is striking. The hard work and perseverance of families and communities — combined with the commitment of the provincial and national governments and the generosity of the international community — have helped Aceh recover to a degree simply unimaginable in the months after the disaster. When the next natural disaster strikes, Aceh provides a compelling reminder that recovery efforts really can make a lasting difference.

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Elizabeth Frankenberg and Duncan Thomas, of Duke University, and Bondan Sikoki and Cecep Sumantri, of SurveyMETER Indonesia, led a team studying the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/24/aceh-example-slow-permanent-recovery-after-2004.html