By IPS Correspondents
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Mar 31 2005 (IPS)

”Home sweet home.” This motto explains many tsunami victims’ desire to return to their homes, even if they have been levelled in the December disaster.

Indeed, after living for two months in refugee camps or government barracks, some people from the coastal areas of the capital of Aceh province have chosen to go home.

Fatimah, 50, and Nurhayati, 54, residents of Tuha subdistrict in Aceh Besar regency, are just two of those who have decided that it is time to go back, rebuild their houses and get on with life.

Soon after getting home, the two women joined hands with other residents in the sub district to build modest four by six metre barrack blocks. Each block of barracks houses between four and six women.

It is no easy task. It is hot and humid, especially because all the trees were swept away or destroyed by the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people in this province at the tip of northern Sumatra. Rubble from buildings is still scattered everywhere, making the air dusty.

A total of 40 people from Aceh Besar were killed on Dec. 26. But, only Fatimah, Nurhayati and 10 other women have opted to return home. The other women who refused to return home continue to live in government barracks in safe areas, or with relatives in inland areas not affected by the tsunami.

Nurhayati survived the tsunami because she and her husband were out of the sub district it happened – but she believes that most of her family and children died in the disaster.

But although she has decided to go home, actually doing it was far from easy. Entering the sub district for the first time after the disaster, her eyes glistened with tears. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing except rubble and debris.

”Our sub district used to be a densely populated area,” rued Nurhayati.

According to local statistics, the sub district used to be home to over 1,800 residents. After the tsunami disaster, only 232 people were left, 40 of whom are women.

The women said that they would resume their roles in the community, although they were short in number. ”We have no problem with it. The main problem will be for the men, as they have will have to look for wives outside the subdistrict,” said Fatimah.

The women of the sub district face many other problems beyond the impact of the tsunami itself.

They expressed concerns about the security situation arising out of the war between the Indonesian military and the Free Aceh Movement, known by its Indonesian acronym GAM, which has been fighting for a separate state since 1976. More than 10,000 have been killed in the conflict.

Tuha sub district is not far from the Ujung Pancu highlands, a GAM stronghold. As the area is a GAM base, the Indonesian military, known by its Indonesian acronym, is also active there. The area was heavily bombed by OV-10 Bronco planes when the TNI launched a major offensive against GAM bases in May 2003.

At first, Fatimah and Nurhayati had hopes that the tsunami would provide opportunity for peace efforts and lead to an end to the conflict, but these turned out to be false. ”Until today, TNI soldiers are still often patrolling around our neighbourhood. They often visit Ujung Pancu in search of GAM members and, of course, they pass by our neighbourhood,” said Nurhayati.

According to Nurhayati, none of residents in Tuha subdistrict are GAM members. GAM members in the area are normally residents from the neighbouring subdistrict of Lamteungoh, the talk here goes.

GAM members often descend from the highlands to Tuha subdistrict to visit relatives or seek food. The Tuha residents cannot turn them away even if it means they become the targets of TNI troops, residents say. They are frequently interrogated and a good number of them are traumatised by the experience.

Said Nurhayati: ”Until now, I still tremble when I see people in military uniforms. I think that it would be better dealing with the tsunami disaster than be interrogated by soldiers.”

(Nani Afrida of the ‘Jakarta Post’ wrote this story under a media programme on reporting on conflict run by Inter Press Service Asia-Pacific, with the support of the Japan Foundation.)

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