3
OCTOBER 2015
Monash University
Photo: 123rf.com
news
Post-tsunami transformation
A decade after the Indian Ocean tsunami, conditions in the heavily
damaged Indonesian province of Aceh are generally better than they
were before the disaster struck, says Monash University geographer
Dr Craig Thorburn. Dr Thorburn was an adviser on an early
Australian aid tsunami recovery project and continued to research
the recovery process. He says the unprecedented international
response led to substantial financial investment in the region –
but this was not the only factor at play. In August 2005, a peace
treaty ended the long-running armed conflict between Acehnese
separatists and the Indonesian military, and the ensuing social and
political changes contributed greatly to the province’s rehabilitation.
Nearly a quarter of a million people died in Aceh and
500,000 were left homeless by the tsunami. Although
people in some villages are still struggling to resume
productive lives, most readily acknowledge that important
facilities and services such as roads and electricity
are better than they were before the tsunami.
With fellow researcher Dr Bryan Rochelle, Dr Thorburn
recently published The Acehnese Gampong ten years on: A postpost tsunami assessment. The report was commissioned by
the Disaster Response Unit of the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta a