After the publication in 2001 of Fr. Johannes Hammerle’s “Asal Usul Masyarakat Nias – Suatu Interpretasi†(The Origins of Nias People – An Interpretation), a new book: “Ho Jendela Nias Kuno – Sebuah Kajian Kritis Mitologis†(Ho, the Window to the Ancient Nias – A critical and mythological analysis) on the same topic written in Indonesian was recently published. The book was written by Victor Zebua, a Niassan, a medical doctor who lives in Yogyakarta, Central Java. The book questions among others Hammerle’s interpretation of “Teteholi Ana’a†as a mother’s womb. The following is the “introductory†page of the book – translated in English by Nias Online. (more…)
Archive for the ‘English’ Category
Ho, the Window to the Ancient Nias – A critical and mythological analysis
Saturday, January 13th, 2007Nias Online to New Site
Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007Nias Online (the English version, this site) has moved to the new location at: https://niasonline.net/eng/ and become the subdomain of Situs Yaahowu (the Indonesian version). The news update will be displayed in the new location (niasonline.net/eng/). Read Hammerle’s paper entitled: “Society and Culture in Nias” presented at a Conference in Vienna, 30 – 31 October 2006.
Survey finds Nias survivors feel abandoned
Sunday, December 24th, 2006Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Eight out of every 10 people in Nias, North Sumatra, are unsatisfied with the rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the tsunami-ravaged region, according to a survey.
The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) found that only 21 percent of 419 Nias respondents saw improvement in the construction of main roads, while only nine percent said their water and sanitation was better since the reconstruction projects started last year. (more…)
Britain is slowest to pay out tsunami aid
Sunday, December 24th, 2006By Sebastien Berger, South East Asia Correspondent
The British Government has the worst record for honouring pledges to help to rebuild the area worst affected by the Boxing Day tsunami, it emerged yesterday.
As the second anniversary of the disaster approaches, the Government has only given a fifth of the money it pledged to the biggest international consortium working in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Entire villages along hundreds of miles of Aceh’s coast were swept away by waves caused by an underwater earthquake and 168,000 people were killed. (more…)
The Boxing Day Tsunami Two Years Later
Saturday, December 23rd, 2006Thang D. Nguyen
22 December 2006
Two years after one of the world’s worst natural disasters, Indonesia has made some unlikely gains but corruption and red tape still leave their scars .
Sometimes a tragedy is the very thing that triggers progress. This is true in the case of Indonesia, one of the most-affected countries by the Asian tsunami that happened on Boxing Day two years ago. (more…)
Post -Tsunami reconstruction: 2 years on
Saturday, December 23rd, 2006Brussels, 20 December 2006 – Two years after the tsunami hit South East Asia, the European Union (EU) and the international community have successfully made the transition from providing immediate humanitarian aid to reconstruction aid: helping local authorities and communities re-establish their lives within a longer term vision – re-building homes, livelihoods and infrastructure 100% of the €123 million humanitarian aid and 96% of the €350 million in medium and long-term reconstruction pledged by the European Commission has been contracted. The first concrete results are now being seen. Full story …
INDONESIA: SUMATRA QUAKE ‘KILLS AT LEAST FOUR’
Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Medan, 18 Dec. (AKI) – An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale on Monday at 04.39 am shook Penyabungan town, Mandailing Natal district on the west coast of North Sumatra, a local meteorology and geophysics office spokesman, Buha Simanjuntak, confirmed after the quake, quoted by Indonesia’s Antara news agency. Simanjunta said at least four people were killed and several houses destroyed by the earthquake, whose epicenter was located at t a depth of 33 km below sea level, 98 km southeast of Penyabungan town and 58 km northeast of Lubuk Sikaping, Pasaman district in West Sumatra.
Tsunami risk still high in Sumatra
Friday, December 15th, 2006Another major earthquake and tsunami will strike the western coast of Sumatra sometime in the next few decades, according to researchers studying the region’s history. And the predicted tsunami has a significant chance of hitting densely populated areas, the team says.
Tsunami prediction for Sumatra and the Indian Ocean region has become a priority since the devastating tsunamis of December 2004 and March 2005. In the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jose Borrero of the University of Southern California and colleagues reported on Dec. 4 a new tsunami prediction model based on past behavior of earthquakes and tsunamis in the area. “This is an important study and wakeup call for more action to do something to reduce the risk to coastal populations,” says Roland Burgmann, a geologist at the University of California, Berkeley.
How tragic tsunami beach rose again
Wednesday, December 13th, 2006Two years ago, the tiny Indonesian village of Sorake Beach captured the hearts of Star readers after it was devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami. Richard Heath tells how Star readers’ cash has helped transform the settlement. (more…)
Achievements of the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD) in Aceh and Nias, Dec 2006
Wednesday, December 13th, 2006Summary of achievements
On Boxing Day, 2004, an earthquake centred in the Indian Ocean and measuring between 9.1 and 9.3 on the Richter scale – the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph – triggered a series of tsunamis, causing one of the deadliest disasters in modern history.
Nowhere else was this disaster felt more powerfully than in Aceh, where 168,000 people died, over 500,000 were made homeless and the equivalent of 120 average Australian suburbs (120,000 houses) were totally destroyed. A stretch of coastline equal in length to the distance between Sydney and Brisbane was destroyed. Full story …
Nias rebuffs the idea of joining the “Tapanuli Provinceâ€
Saturday, December 9th, 2006Nias religious, cultural and political figures have rebuffed the idea of joining the “Tapanuli Provinceâ€. In a meeting held last Saturday (2/12), Nias Regent, Binahati Baeha, asked the opinions of the Nias religious, cultural and political leaders and youth and women representatives on whether Nias should support the formation of and eventually join in the Tapanuli Province. They unequivocally rejected the idea.
Officials oversee NGOs’ tsunami projects
Friday, December 8th, 2006 Publication Date：12/08/2006 Section：Front Page
By Edwin Hsiao
A supervisory delegation from Taiwan inspected the progress of reconstruction work in several sites of tsunami-stricken Sri Lanka and Indonesia Nov. 28-Dec. 2, almost two years after the catastrophe devastated several South and Southeast Asian countries and killed more than 200,000 people.
Flight Information Update
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006Nias Online has just contacted Medan Merpati Office and been informed of the air carrier’s daily flight times serving the following route: Polonia (Medan) -> Binaka (Gunungsitoli). The Medan Merpati Office contact number is also privided. Please click on the “Flight Information” button on the top menu or on the right side of this page.
ACT Dateline, Indonesia: Carpenter builds again for his family’s future
Tuesday, November 14th, 2006ACT Dateline, Indonesia 11/06
Carpenter builds again for his family’s future
By Lesvi Roselim, ACT International Hilina’a village, Nias, November 13, 2006–The sound of wood-cutting machines echoes in the air as we approach a carpentry workshop in Hilina’a village, in the sub-district of Gunung Sitoli on the island of Nias. Children run out to greet us, followed by a man with a rag in his hand. The old, simple wooden structure is filled with half-finished windows and doors, timber materials and various small carpentry machines. Hezisokhi Zebua, a carpenter, has been with the Church World Service (CWS) livelihood-recovery program since April 2006. The CWS program in Indonesia is a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, the global alliance of churches and church agencies working in emergencies.
Online Discussion: “Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation”, 13 Nov. – 22 Dec. 2006
Friday, November 10th, 2006Yaahowu website (Situs Yaahowu) will hold an Online Discussion on “Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation: Imagining Nias Conditions Post BRR-Nias Program” among Nias people who have access to internet. This Online Discussion, the second organised by Yaahowu will discuss the various issues relating to the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation process currently undergoing in Nias. Invitation to PIC-BRR Nias has been sent but, so far, the organiser has not yet recieved any response from BRR Nias. Discussion will start on Monday 13 November and end on 22 December. “Outsider” wishing to take part are welcome.
