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8th –13th April 2005 – Iqbal Rawat (Trustee)
Day One
Myself and Moulana Idrees
arrived in Jarkarta on the 8th of April for a 5 days visit
following on from our visit to Pakistan relating to the Construction of the
Ummah Children Academy. The first day was spent in meetings with local
organisations we had worked with. We also visited the Markaz in Jarkarta
where representatives had been involved in carrying out relief and Dauwah
programmes in Bande Ache. Coincidently at the time of our visit there was a
major gathering taking place where brothers had gathered from all over
Indonesia. It was remarkable to witness so many brothers many who could
speak the Urdu language gathered for the sake of propagating the Deen of
Allah Subhanu Wataallah.
Day Two
On Saturday the 9th
of April we boarded a plane from Jarkara to Bande Ache via Maidaan. The
flight time was approximately three hours. On arrival we were received by
our local representatives who had organised a tight schedule as per our
request. The first day was spent mainly visiting the areas which were
affected by the Tsunami. We started our visit by visiting a mass grave on
the outskirts of Bande Ache where tens of thousands of Martyrs had been
buried.
We then visited the two main
routes by which the Tsunami had entered into the city. These were Ule-Lhee
and Lhok-Nga beech. Here we witnessed the greatest devastation caused by the
Tsunami. The areas were totally uninhabited and there was debris every
where. Although the cleaning up exercise had begun, much more work needed to
be done. As we walked amongst the Debris we could see the remains of
people’s personal artefacts. We could see slippers and shoes which had been
lost due to the rush which had taken place at the time of the Tsunami.
Families could no longer identify their properties and they had great
difficulty even identifying the land where their homes had once stood.
About a mile from the coast we
were directed towards a large ship which due to the force and strength of
the Tsunami had been washed onto the land and had crushed several homes
underneath it. Sadly there has been no effort as yet to attempt to move the
ship so that the people buried underneath could be identified and given a
decent burial.
As we stood at the edge of the
sea the thoughts of the Martyrs were with us and we prayed to Allah to help
those who were left behind, the majority of them children who had been
orphaned some had lost both parents. Just by the side of the sea we
witnessed the last remains of a Masjid which had been made Shaheed by the
impact of the Tsunami. Only the remains of the Mimbar was visible where once
the Imam had delivered sermons to the congregation.
Day Three
This next
day we had planned an emergency food relief programme which was organised by
our local representatives. Arrangements had been made to visit the remote
Island Pulau Nasi (rice). This was a 2 hour journey by boat. This remote
Island had a population of about 150 families whom were affected by the
Tsunami. Out of the 15000 Islands which make up Indonesia there were many
Islands like these which had still not received any aid whatsoever.
With
about 20 local volunteers we arrived at the seaport where the Boat was
situated. The goods from the truck first had to be loaded on to the boat.
The goods comprised of basic food items, toiletries and water. We assisted
the volunteers in loading the boat. We all then climbed on top of the boat
to start the journey. During the Journey the volunteers sang Islamic
Nasheeds to pass the time. On arrival at Nasi the goods were off loaded and
stocked in an orderly fashion. The chief of the island was awaiting our
arrival. The representatives informed him of our plans and requested
assistance in the distribution of the food parcels to the families most in
need. The families who were close to the port started to arrive and we
distributed the food parcels. It was amazing to see how the families would
organise appropriate transportation for themselves. Some used motorcycles
whilst others pushed wheelbarrows or carried the items to their homes on
their backs. Later on a truck arrived which would be used to deliver the
food packages to the remote part of the Island. The truck was loaded with
the goods and we set out on a 20-minute journey on a steep rockery road in
order to reach the remaining families. At the top of the Island we arrived
at a campsite where families had settled who had lost their homes. We met
many children who had been orphaned due to the Tsunami. The food packets
were then off loaded and distributed amongst the families. We then made our
way back to the bottom of the Island and embarked the boat to return back to
Bande Ache.
Day
Four
We changed
the agreed schedule slightly for this day where we decided to visit the
Islamic University. Here we met the Rector who informed us of the damage
that had been caused by the Tsunami where the accommodation of the teachers
had been destroyed. We were asked to provide assistance if possible.
The rest of
the day we visited the temporary villages and permanent housing projects
which were currently being implemented by our Turkish Partners IHH. We then
decided to carry out a mini project where we wished to provide each orphan
with 100,000 Rupias about £8. We purchased some envelopes and prepared the
gifts. We then visited 4 orphanages, which comprised of 70 orphans both boys
and girls. We found this project much rewarding and it made us appreciate
our situation and gave us additional zeal to try and help the orphans in
need. We had by now firmly decided that Insha-Allah with the help of Allah
we would also embark upon establishing long term orphanages for both boys
and girls separately. We are currently pursuing these projects.
See Pictures of the Visit
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