Tsunami victims rebuilding their lives: aid worker

VICTIMS of a deadly tsunami that hit a Papua New Guinea fishing village a year ago were still rebuilding their lives, an Australian aid worker said.

The tsunami, or tidal wave, hit a 30 kilo metre stretch of PNG’s West Sepik region on July 17 last year, devastating the Aitape community.

Community Aid Abroad (CAA) infor mation officer Nicole Haslam said the tsunami killed more than 2,000 people and left 10,000 displaced after it swept through the town, destroying houses, medical clin ics and schools.

CAA’s aid work is based around Aitape, which is on PNG’s north-west coast, close to its border with Indonesia.

Ms Haslam, who has just returned from a two-week assessment mission to the affected area, told AAP the area had always

been disadvantaged by poverty.

“The infrastructure there was nearly non-existent because the place was so poor,” she said.

“There was a very strong community life in this fishing village, and the tsunami affected everyone in some way. However, I saw signs of recovery and rehabilitation. I was amazed at how people had recovered and how they were managing to rebuild their lives.”

Ms Haslam said after the tsunami, most of the people moved inland to resettle-

ments. “Since then, some people have moved back to their traditional lives,” she said.

“Only in the last couple of months are people starting to go back to the coast.”

She said the community was supersti tious and had a number of explanations for the tsunami - including retribution.

“It is a very strong religious area and a lot of them thought they were being pun ished for something,” she said.

CAA would continue rehabilitation work in the region as long as it is necessary, she said.

In the aftermath of the disaster, the organisation provided aid to relieve water and sanitation problems.

Working with other aid agencies, it also helped build water tanks and wells for vil lagers who had to resettle.

CAA’s PNG appeal has raised

Audss2O,Ooo So Far. (Aap) ■

Facing the brunt of the tidal wave, traditional thatched village huts in Aitape did not stand much of a chance of survival, let alone the survival of their occupants. Many vil lagers are still trying to rebuild their lives