However, the disaster is still all too present in Palu, where many of the survivors still live in shelters and are distraught at the thought of their future. Many struggle every day to build a new life for themselves.
The sun was shining brightly on Friday (10/1/2020), yet Tommy had a gloomy look on his face as he stared into space, sitting alone on a plastic chair in an 18-square-meter tent in the shelter complex of Balaroa subdistrict in West Palu, Central Sulawesi.
The 63-year old’s hands were shaking when he grabbed the glass on the wooden table in front of him. Seeing her stroke-impaired husband having difficulties, Yati quickly helped him grab the glass. “His condition has been deteriorating as he has not had his medicine for a week,” said the 47-year old.
Because of his stroke, Tommy spends most of his hours resting. Yati has taken over his role as the family’s breadwinner. She sells cakes and cold beverages at the SD Inpres Balaroa state elementary school. The income is not enough to buy Tommy’s medicine. As a result, Tommy often “fasts” from his medication.
We want to have a permanent home to calm our minds and help us build a new life and a better future.
The call for Friday prayers sounded in the middle of the conversation. Yati called her only son, 12-year-old Rafli, and told him to go to the mosque immediately.
Yati was desperate, as Rafli would soon graduate from elementary school and have to enroll in middle school. “Where will I get the money for this?” she complained.
Yati also had no idea where her family would live in future. They had not received any permanent housing aid, as they had lived in a rented home before the disaster. Only survivors with house certificates are eligible for the permanent housing aid.
“We want to have a permanent home to calm our minds and help us build a new life and a better future,” said Yati, who has lived in the tent since the house they had been renting was destroyed by the liquefaction.
Temporary housing
Yati is not alone. Oboria, 32, has lived in temporary housing in the subdistrict of Tondo in Mantikulore district, Palu, for a year. She shares 12 sq m with her husband, six children and two elder siblings.
They all called the small space home. “This temporary house may be small, hot and leak when it rains, but we are trying to stay grateful. Everyone survived [the disaster] and we still have a place to stay,” she said.
They are one of 121 families of tsunami survivors staying at the Tondo temporary housing complex in Mantikulore district, Palu. Their homes on the beach were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami on Sept. 28, 2018. All of their belongings were swept away.
The family considers surviving the disaster a blessing, but building a new life and a future is not a simple task.
Without formal education, Oboria spends her days scavenging. Collecting plastic waste from dawn to dusk earns her between Rp 15,000 (US$1.13) and Rp 20,000. Her husband is a construction worker in Palu, Sigi and Donggala. He comes home every 10 days, bringing Rp 800,000 each time. They use the money for daily expenses.
Oboria’s name is not on the list of beneficiaries of the permanent housing complex that is under development near Tadulako University. Their old home was not within a red zone. “Our home was also destroyed, like the ones in the red zones, but it was only considered heavily damaged. We have yet to receive the aid. I am desperate,” Oboria said.
Aid
The Public Works and Housing Ministry plans to build 3,000 permanent homes in and around Palu this year.
Palu Mayor Hidayat said he hoped the city’s residents could live in the new homes built by the central government soon. Currently, many locals are still living in shelters and temporary homes.
Hidayat said he had prepared other types of aid for survivors ineligible for permanent homes. “We will give them capital assistance and small business training to help them rebuild their lives,” he said. However, rebuilding one’s life or hoping for something better in a disaster-struck region has never been easy.