Fw: poetry

Here is a very powerful poem about the Aceh disaster from our AMURT Global
Coordinator!


A family celebrates with rice and sweets
Children's happy voices fill the streets
Marriage talk captivates a group of mums
A dog devours the leftover crumbs
A call to prayer revives the faith
Everyone in Aceh feels very safe

Tsunami beast who let you free
To ravage human reality
Tsunami beast who gave you power
To unlock hell at this dark hour

Inhuman screams
Ripping dreams
Arms appeal
If God is real
Hold me tight
Ease my fright
Stability stumbles
Houses crumble
Death's jaws close
Nobody knows
How many lost
Such human cost
For what?

Tsunami beast who let you free
To ravage human reality
Tsunami beast who gave you power
To unlock hell at this dark hour

The dead claw at the living nation
Pleading for an explanation
Why me? I birthed six children,
This phantom hand still wants to feed them.
The dead scream but nobody hears
In the wasteland that the living fear.

Tsunami beast who let you free
To ravage human reality
Tsunami beast who gave you power
To unlock hell at this dark hour

A tsunami wave has hit the coast of Sumatra
Relief workers have already made their departure
Donation are being taken by 1-800 BE KIND
Ex-Presidents Bush and Clinton wish to remind
The American people to give cash like them
Because this is not political, it's humanitarian.

Tsunami beast who let you free
To ravage human reality
Tsunami beast who gave you power
To unlock hell at this dark hour

60 countries, passports stamped,
Resettle people in the camps
Bring in water, heal the sick,
Bury the corpses, make it quick
Ease the trauma, heal the pain
Don't worry, it won't come again

Tsunami beast who let you free
To ravage human reality
Tsunami beast who gave you power
To unlock hell at this dark hour

A mother wants
Her son
To learn English
So he can thank the foreigners
After being
Chased away
From her home
By Tsunami Beast
She still has thank yous
In her heart
Maybe
It's not
All bad

Tsunami beast who let you free
To ravage human reality
Tsunami beast who gave you power
To unlock hell at this dark hour

Who gave me power? Who set me free?
Why! the One who controls Destiny
And sets the rules of Natural law.
I play the music, That writes the score

Peter Sage, WDC

WEEKLY SUMMARY

Field Operations
AMURT has already begun the cleanup of the destroyed and damaged brick factories in Neuheun in the first phase of the rehabilitation of 42 brick factories in that village. The tools have been ordered to begin the repair of the damaged kilns and money has been advanced for some owners to begin repairing their brick warehouses.
AMURT and GTZ are finalizing the costing of their joint housing rehabilitation project also in Neuheun village. A collaboration agreement for the repair of 14 houses and construction of 31 houses will soon be signed at a cost of about $250,000. AMURT is preparing the final plans for the housing construction of Nusa and Lam Asan villages. In these two villages AMURT will repair 78 houses and rebuild 70 houses. A sponsor is still to be found for these two big projects.
We have identified another 85 destroyed brick factories that we want to rebuild in seven villages of Aceh Besar District. We are looking at a more environmentally friendly burning technology that uses coal instead of wood. A project proposal and sponsor are still to be finalized.
The Jakarta International School has committed itself to funding our elementary school in Klieng Meuria village at a cost of $70,000. They have committed an initial $25,000 and will do fundraising to raise the remaining amount. Meanwhile we are looking for a new land on which to build the temporary High School in Klieng Meuria.
AMURTEL have signed an MoU with the Dept. of Education to construct a Kindergarten in Bada Village for 80 children. The funds for the $20,000 construction will come from Didi Ananda Devanistha’s successful music/theatre concert, AMURTEL USA and from our general AMURT fund.
AMURTEL have approached an international NGO called IACO and are attempting to finalize an agreement for IACO to build three other kindergartens for AMURTEL in Aceh Besar. Meanwhile, AMURTEL are finalizing the plans for these three kindergartens and are hunting for funds.
Dada Pavananda and Brother UsaKanta of Australia have distributed 180 resettlement kits (stoves, pots, cutting knives, etc.) to IDP’s in Aceh Barat on the West Coast. They have sent in a proposal to AMURTEL for 27 sewing machines for a women’s livelihood project in Meulaboh. AMURTEL is attempting to acquire funding for 75 sewing machines to support women’s livelihood in Meulaboh and two camps in Banda Aceh.
Also in Meulaboh we have linked with a local NGO, Sunspirit and have identified 408 IDP’s whom we wish to train in organic farming techniques and help them to rebuild their livelihoods. These IDP’s lost everything in the tsunami and have relocated further inland where the local village chiefs have kindly offered them land on which to re-settle. AMURT/Sunspirit are attempting to form farmers coops with the IDP’s and have outlined an extensive program that includes provision of tools, seeds, fertilizers, training, community gardens and water catchments strategies to ease them into their new form of eco-friendly farming. FAO has shown keen interest to assit this project.
Our English classes in three camps continue with all the children showing a very strong interest in learning.

General Situation:
Our staff has grown since our last report and will continue to grow as we enter into the implementation phase of our projects.
AMURT has 8 full time staff and AMURTEL has 2 full time staff. We have 9 part-time volunteers assisting of which 3 are local and 6 non-local.


Dada Shiilabhadrananda, Banda Aceh