Report from Banda Aceh

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محتوى الصفحة: Home > مجلة النقل الدولي "Transport International" > Issue 19 April 2005 > After the Tsunami > Report from Banda Aceh

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Shigi Wada, ITF Asia Pacific regional secretary, reports on his trip to banda Aceh, capital of the Indonesian province at the epicentre of the tsunami

At the time of our visit, although some essential public service workers including the police and the army had resumed working, many workers were not yet in any condition to go back to work. As the city centre was completely destroyed, many workplaces also disappeared. Some state owned companies announced that they would pay salaries to the victims including those who are still missing. However such arrangements for salaries and compensation were yet to be determined at the time of writing.

Effects on the transport sectors

Railways: There are 17 major railway stations in this part of the island of Sumatra, though rail operations were stopped in 1967. The government had promised to resume operations by 1995, but the lines still remain closed. Nonetheless there were six employees of the Indonesian railways in Banda Aceh to look after the tracks and property, and many ex-railway workers were living in the area. The local rail office was damaged in the tsunami and the telephone lines were down. The railway workers’ union was struggling to get information about casualties at the time of our visit.

Civil aviation: There are no Garuda Indonesia cabin crew based in Banda Aceh. They go to Banda Aceh on flight duty and stay there between flights. Three cockpit crew and 13 cabin crew were staying in a hotel in the city centre for Hajj (Mecca pilgrim) flights when the tsunami came. The first floor of the hotel they were staying in collapsed, and immediately afterwards the lower floors were flooded. Some crew were injured and one later died.

The Garuda Indonesia ground staff and airport workers and their families in Banda Aceh were also among the victims of the tsunami. The airport itself was not damaged and is now housing an aid operation centre for civil aviation workers. IKAGI and the (non-ITF-affiliated) APG pilot union raised donations from their members and sent food and medicine to Banda Aceh using their crew baggage allowances.

Ports: Eleven local ports suffered heavy damage. Information on the extent of casualties and damage in these ports was being compiled by a visiting official of our affiliate SBSI at the time of writing.

Shipping: In addition to two capsized vessels which were already reported by the KPI union, we found one tugboat type electric power plant ship, which was supplementing the city’s shortage of electricity before the tsunami. It was carried into the town by the tidal wave and stuck three kilometres inland. Among the 16 crew members, 10 were killed and six survived. Many fishing boats carried by the wave remained in the streets. Casualties among the fishery workers seemed to be very high. There is no organisation covering fishery workers in Aceh province and figures were not yet known at the time of writing.

Road transport: Many minibus and taxi workers were among the tsunami victims. The city’s bus terminal was completely washed away. However, we were unable to gather precise information on the extent of casualties among road transport workers.

Following the disaster, there was a general hike of minibus and taxi fares. Some reports suggest fares rose tenfold, which prevented local people from using public transport. We saw many cars hired by international agencies. Fleets of trucks and dumping trucks were in operation – many hired by international agencies such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme.

Tourism: Although it was not a recommended destination for tourists, due to the insurgency in the region, the west coast of Banda Aceh was increasingly becoming popular among Australian surfers. There were small hotels alongside the coast, which were destroyed, along with most of the travel agencies, which were located in the city centre. A lack of trade union organisation in the region makes it impossible to find out the exact casualties and damages done to the workers in the industry.

In general, due to the insurgency in the region, national trade union organisations did not focus on Aceh. Few trade unions existed beyond public sector unions such as the teachers’ union PGRI and the electricity union SPPLN.

الصفحة الرئيسية للأقسام:
Issue 19 April 2005

صفحات أخرى لـ After the Tsunami:

نسخة الرسومات الكاملة

إمكانية الدخول | مساعدة الموقع | خريطة الموقع

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