Tsunami-torn areas was Re: [Sca-cooks] black pepper wars

[ysabeau]

I just thought I'd give you some perspective. Phlip, while you are 
freezing your tuchus (sp?) off in Connecticut, what are you using 
to heat your house? Northern Sumatra (specifically Banda Aceh and 
Lhok Seumawe) is one of the primarily producers of liquid natural 
gas. This is the gas that is used to heat homes, provide 
semiconductor chips (through a complicated chemical process), and 
many other things that you take for granted. I'm not trying to 
pick a fight, but I'm trying to point out that this WILL have a 
direct effect on you.

I lived there for three years. This area of the world has been 
decimated because of a civil war that broke out when the U.S. 
decided to exploit the natural resources of the region. The 
Indonesian government sold the mineral rights to U.S. countries 
and did little to put the money back into the local region's 
infrastructure. There has been a bloody civil war raging there 
since the mid-1970's as a result of this. The U.S. was a major 
part of trying to put down the insurgency by sending over CIA and 
other operatives to help the Indonesian government maintain 
control over the region so we could continue to get our natural 
gas and oil products. There were (and up until the tsunami) 
massacres occurring on a regular basis with hundreds of people 
being killed. About five years ago, the guerrillas began to win 
the war and they evacuated all non-Indonesians from the area 
because they could no longer protect us. I'm not sure if they 
closed the plant at that time or if it continued to run using only 
Indonesian or single-status personnel. 

The majority of these people lived in what we would call shanties. 
The better built homes were made of cinderblocks, but the 
construction was poor (or the tropical humidity got to them) and 
the cinderblocks would start to disintegrate rather quickly (based 
on what I've seen in the U.S.). The village that was closest to 
where I lived consisted of houses made out of 2x4s, plywood, and 
corrugated steel. The roads were dirt except for a couple main 
roads between cities and a few in the cities/towns. I live about 
100 yards from the beach and I'm sure the house I lived in is 
gone. 

These are not people who expect a whole lot out of life. They 
considered our lifestyle to be extravagant...kind of the way the 
average person in the U.S. would consider Donald Trump's 
lifestyle. When it comes down to it...how many TVs do you really 
need? How many cars do you need? Do you really need 100+ channels 
on your TV? What if you had to get up and walk to the corner store 
and carry your groceries home instead of hopping in your car and 
putting a week's worth in the trunk? So when what little they do 
have is washed away, it really hurts. They can't just go to the 
store to get another pot to cook rice in, because the store is 
gone as well. 

The Indonesians I met were very happy people and it didn't take 
much to make their day. They were willing to work hard and didn't 
expect a whole lot (by our standards) in return. Our gardener 
would routinely bring us fresh vegetables and fruits from his 
village when he would return from his weekend off. He would refuse 
any money my mom would try to pay him for it because he felt like 
he was making enough money (about $20 a month in 1980) as a 
gardener. My father taught him English and basic skills so he 
could get a better job at the plant. Even after he left us, he 
would still bring us fresh veggies on a regular basis.

I could go on and on...but I won't bore the list. If anyone would 
like me to expand on this in private I will be more than happy to 
discuss it. I loved Indonesia and the Aceh people. I had always 
hoped to go back some day and I still do. Unfortunately, many of 
the places I would have liked to re-visit have most likely been 
washed away.

Anyways, this is my hot button.
Ysabeau  




---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Melanie Wilson" <MelanieWilson at dragonflight.co.uk>
Reply-To: Melanie Wilson <MelanieWilson at dragonflight.co.uk>,
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2005 08:22:51 -0000

>>As well, as horrendous as the damage in the Tsunami-torn areas 
is, the
>actual area damaged is confined to the coastal areas.
>
>As in much of the area worst affected the land is relativly small 
islands 
>often most of the land is affected.
>
>> I've not looked
>at where the spices are grown, but I suspect most of them are 
grown,
>and probably mostly processed, away from the coastal areas.
>
>In some areas aid cannot be landed as the ports are destroyed
>
>> Even the
>high death and injury tolls are only a fraction of the population 
in
>those areas.
>
>In many costal areas it is suggested only 1 in 10 people survived
>
>>Some port facilities may be damaged, but the exporters
>will figure out how to get around that.
>
>They will but it will take time and money, it is hoped their 
econamy will 
>re-establish asap so that they can have something to live on, I 
can do 
>without spices, but the people of the affected areas cannot do 
without 
>income indefinatly
>
>>Part of the problem in understanding this is that when the media 
maps
>out the damaged areas they tend to color in whole countries.
>
>try the bbc website their information is pretty sound so far.
>
>>India,
>even Sri Lanka, are being entirely colored in, although the 
damage is
>confined to just their coastal areas.
>
>No not really the worst damage may be, but even in Nepal there 
were 1 m high 
>waves and damage as a result.
>
>
>>Unfortunately, as the sea level continues to rise in the next 
century
>due to global warming,
>
>The Maldives it is thought will vanish within 50 years. Bear in 
mind however 
>that Global temprature changes are normal, The Bronze age and 
even much of 
>the SCA period had a much warmer global climate than we see today.
>
>Mel
>
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