The "new normal" in Banda Aceh

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by Linda Redwood-Campbell, Canadian Red Cross Medical delegate

It is Friday evening. It doesn’t really matter here because there is no real change in routine in the field hospital in Banda Aceh where I work as a medical delegate for the Canadian Red Cross.

We just ate our dinner. We have four Indonesian cooks who used to own restaurants in the area. Since their businesses have been destroyed, they are now working with us. The food is great. It is typical Indonesian cuisine - nasi goring, chicken, lots of veggies and for those seafood lovers, fish, squid and shrimp. The food is really the highlight of the day.

Is life returning back to normal after the tsunami? Good question. I would have to say, yes and no. The market has re-opened in Banda Aceh, however, in a different location. We had the opportunity to go to the market for an hour yesterday. There are lots of fresh vegetables, chilli peppers, carrots and greens, but apparently it is not the same selection as before.

There were some clothes for sale but prices are inflated since the tsunami. Around the city, there are many tents for internally displaced persons. I notice that there are occasionally cleared areas where housing developments are being built.

These will house some of the people who have lost their homes. Along the busy streets, I notice a clearing of about 10 metres in between buildings. I don’t think much of it until the driver says, ‘misgaves, misgaves’. The translator said, ‘he means to say, ‘mass graves’’. I sit in silence.

People who have been displaced are looking for jobs. Many lost their jobs, stores and equipment. One of our translators, a young man of about 24, lost his wife, 2 year old daughter, father, uncle, house and his store. In short, he lost his life. He still manages to come to work with us and help us with translation. Has life returned to normal for him? The ‘new normal’ perhaps. ‘Inshallah’ he says.

Another earthquake shook us again yesterday. We may need to slightly move part of the hospital to get further away from the damaged sports stadium. People are just terrified of earthquakes now. The tsunami hit 20-30 minutes after the big earthquake here.

With each earthquake now, people run out of buildings and scream. Some just tremble from fear. A man sat on a bench shaking and crying as memories of agony and struggle replay in his mind. No amount of consoling him helps him. Perhaps time will heal.

Medically, we are in a transition from the tsunami. We are seeing less tetanus cases and aspiration pneumonias, although we are still seeing injuries that were never even treated since the tsunami.

People now use the disaster as a point of reference for their symptoms. We still see many very infected wounds, skin infections, untreated broken bones as a result. Some people are finally just arriving to an area where there is medical care.

We also see some very rare and advanced conditions, things that would never see in Canada. We are providing surgeries to people who should have had surgeries when they were born. These people have been living with these disabilities and this is their only hope. People are being flown in by helicopter to our tent hospital. This is their last chance at health. We take this all for granted in Canada.

Many of the other international health organizations are leaving the field. That puts more pressure on us to provide more care. The local regional hospital is not in very good shape and many international groups that had been involved there are packing their bags.

Overall, it is a transition time here in Banda Aceh. This transition will take time to heal the wounds, but some wounds will just never heal.