Monday March 21, 2005

Enterprising Indonesians cash in on tsunami disaster

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) - Under the barnacle-encrusted hull of a giant coal barge, Tarmizi places three cans of Coke and a bag of straws on a table made of planks nailed to the stump of a coconut palm, and awaits his first customer of the day.

Where most people saw a huge obstacle dumped by the Dec. 26 tsunami on the road linking Banda Aceh with towns along the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, Tarmizi saw a business opportunity.

Using a few wooden beams and tarpaulins stamped with the logo of U.S. Agency for International Development, Tarmizi has built himself a cafe under the barge "Bintang 10,'' which has become a symbol of the destructive force off the killer waves that swept over Aceh, killing more than 126,000.

Three months after the disaster, the 47-year-old former cement factory worker is one of a small band of entrepreneurial Indonesians seeking to make a few dollars out of sightseers in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province.

The 50-meter (yard) long ship, loaded with coal, was picked up and dumped about 250 meters (820 feet) from the Indian Ocean coast _ with a huge tug boat still attached by a rope to its prow.

It is a must-see for foreign aid workers and locals alike _ many of the foreigners driven out by locals who charge 500,000 rupiah (US$50; euro37.50) a day for the hire of their cars. Before the tsunami, many Acehnese earned about 1.5 million rupiah (US$150; euro112.50) for a month's work.

On a recent afternoon, as a group of orphans flew kites on the nearby beach, Acehnese took photos of one another standing in front of the ship, which now provides cafe patrons cool shade from the searing sun and shelter from Aceh's occasional drenching rainstorms.

"I think they should leave the ship here as a monument to the tsunami,'' said 44-year-old Amir Dian, as he sipped a Coke.

Dian was visiting Banda Aceh from the central Sumatra town of Padang to fill in forms related to the death of his sister and her two daughters in the disaster.

"I think it would be good to start a tourist business here for the locals,'' he said. "You could not do it for foreigners - they think it's dangerous because of the conflict here,'' he added, referring to a 30-year insurgency by separatist rebels. Until the tsunami, Jakarta banned virtually all foreigners from the province.

"But I think people will come here from other places in Sumatra to have a look,'' he added.

Passing aid workers and Acehnese heading along the coast road - which takes an enforced detour around the giant ship - often stop to have a look and a cool drink before setting off again on the road which was so badly damaged by the waves it only goes as far as the village of Lamno, 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the southeast.

Back in a Banda Aceh neighborhood where many international aid agencies have their bases, business is brisk at the "Lhong Raya Souvenier Shop,'' 23-year-old Muhammad Ridha said Monday.

From a single room in a family home, Ridha sells mementoes including traditional Acehnese curved-handled "rencong'' knives for 60,000 rupiah (US$6; euro4.50) and Acehnese hats called "kopiah'' for 15,000 rupiah (US$1.50; euro1.12).

"Before the tsunami we had a store downtown selling to local tourists,'' Ridha said. "Our shop was damaged by the waves, but since we moved we have been far busier - there are a lot of tourists and foreign aid workers buying things.''-AP

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