Banda Aceh: Voices of Hope
March 20-23, 2005
At a few minutes past eight in the morning on December 26, 2004, an earthquake occurred
just off the western coast of northern Sumatra. The earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis
which hit the shores of 12 different countries, with waves of up 30 m high, devastating coastal
communities. With the estimated number of deaths reaching almost quarter of a million men, women and
children, this has become the most lethal natural disaster in the history of humanity.
This is an account of a personal journey made almost 3 months after the disaster struck, to Aceh,
in the far north of Sumatra, where as many as 3,000 villages and urban communities have been destroyed
or badly damaged, with a greater number of dead than all other regions and countries combined.
My visit captured not only images of destruction that have come to represent the tsunami, but also the
strength, resilience and hope of the Acehnese people. I hope my photos convey the overwhelming sense of
hope through the smiles, friendship and playfulness I saw in the men, women and children of Banda Aceh.
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