Education About Asia: Online Archives

Hope for Renewal: Photographs from Indonesia after the Tsunami

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Image shows a man standing on the second floor of a destroyed home
Remnants, January 14, 2005
A man rummages on the second floor of a
destroyed home in Banda Aceh.

Image of a woman with sad face
Passing by Mass Grave 1, January 15, 2005
A woman walks past a small mass grave in the
business district of Merduati in Banda Aceh.
Image shows two men holding a book in the ruins of house
Faith, January 15, 2005
Irwan and Rismadi find a still wet Koran in the ruins of their home in the business district of Merduati in Banda Aceh.
Image shows many people trying to reach for aid
Relief, January 19, 2005
Tsunami survivors reach for boxes of aid from US Navy helicopter crewmember Joseph Sabia, on Sumatra’s west coast.

We extend our gratitude and thanks both to the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai`i, and to Marco Garcia, the Hawai`i photographer who traveled to Aceh Province in northwestern Sumatra, Indonesia, in the days and months following the December 26, 2004, tsunami. Marco’s photographs capture not only the disaster, recovery, and relief efforts, but also the resilience and positive spirit of the survivors and those who came to their aid. EAA is also grateful to Betty Buck, formerly with the East-West Center, who told us about this effort and the 2005 exhibition. Many thanks, as well, to the East-West Center staff, particularly Linda Kay Quintana and Carol Wong, who helped us obtain the photographs. We also sincerely thank Marco Garcia for permitting us to reproduce his photographs here. The Hope for Renewal catalogue is available for purchase from the East-West Center at http://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications.

Image of broken City
Broken City, January 15, 2005. The above montage is composed of six sequential still photographs, creating a panoramic view of the Merduati District of Banda Aceh.

 

Scattered tents
Temporary Housing, May 7, 2005
Scattered tents provide housing for many of the
homeless in the port town of Krueng Raya.
Image shows a woman standing in the destroyed room
Dr. Rifina, May 10, 2005
Dr. Rifina, an Aceh dental teacher, walks around her destroyed classroom assessing damaged equipment.
Image of children with smiling
School is Out, May 9, 2005
Students at a primary school in Banda Aceh are smiling at the end of the day.