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Tsunami Diary
By. Marco Garcia
Living in Hawaii has given me an appreciation of the ocean. Watching huge winter waves crash on the shores of Oahu is amazing as well as frightening.
Growing up in Texas, it is hard to imagine that waves can get that big. It's something man has little control over as well as predict.
When the earthquake and tsunami struck South Asia in late December 2004, the world rallied to assist those in need. Hawaii became the South Pacific headquarters
for United States military aid being sent to the afflicted areas. Since I am part of the working media, I was given an opportunity to hitch a ride with the Air
Force traveling to Thailand from Honolulu and then onto to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, ground zero of the tsunami. This amazing opportunity gave me a chance to document
a startling part of history.
The U.S. military staged their relief efforts from Thailand. After several days of struggling to adjust to military protocol and time waiting for available military
flights from Thailand to the Sumatra Coast, I arrived in the Aceh Province in mid January, approximately three weeks after the tsunami struck South Asia. Although three
weeks had past since the tsunami struck the Sumatra Coast; terrible conditions existed throughout the region.
Getting off the airplane was like walking into a Hollywood set. Corpses laid in the streets filling the air with the stench of death. Military helicopters flew over the
city delivering relief to the hardest hit areas. Smoke from multiple fires filled the air. The azan, or call to prayer, could be heard all over the city as men bowed to
Mecca in the local mosques. The sights, sounds, and smells were overwhelming.
The massive scope of the destruction and the relative isolation of the region hindered aide reaching the area. Major roads were cleared of debris but a majority of the
city lay in ruin. Clean water and adequate housing was limited and many Indonesians were living in the ruins of their destroyed city. Thousands of bodies were buried in
mass graves all over Banda Aceh.
An 8.9 Richter scale earthquake struck just off the coast of Sumatra generating the massive tsunami wave. Within a matter of thirty minutes, the city of Banda Aceh lost
more than 200,000 people. The wave swept coast killing thousands instantly. Thousand went missing. Many survivors had no one to bury. Many of the dead had no one to
claim them. Many had no one to find them.
As I walked the ruins of the city, you could see the water line on second and third story buildings. Mud filled hallways and buildings of most 2nd story homes and buildings.
I walked among the living looking for the past. I sloshed through sandy mud, over iron roofs, tin can smashed cars, sofas, felled palm trees, TVs, pain and misery. Many
things I stepped over were every day items we have in our homes. Microwaves, TV's, rooftops, walls, sinks, and clothes. Sides of homes and wooden boards were used to
cross flooded fields and roads. I found a wet photo album. Inside were pictures of marriages, graduations, children, and happiness. I saw faces and smiles. Eyes lit
up and joy on their minds.
I came back to Hawaii with a devastating portfolio of images. A majority of my images were not published due to missing deadlines and waning international media interest.
More than 200,000 people lost their lives in Aceh alone and the American media began to focus again on other subjects. I feared people would loose interest and forget
about Aceh and many others who were lost to the tsunami.
I approached the Honolulu based East West Center, (http://www.eastwestcenter.org) an educational and research organization established by the U.S. Congress, which raised
relief funds for the victims of the tsunami devastated region. I shared my work with the Center and there was an immediate interest in having my images shown to a larger
audience. The Center agreed host a one man gallery show on the disaster. However, the curator found my photo story to be incomplete. The arranged for my return to the
Aceh region to document the recovery effort as a means to finish and complete the tsunami story.
I returned to Indonesia in May 2005 and found a mix of amazement and tragedy. Much of the debris and rubble had been cleared and a majority of the city returned to
normal. Many homes and businesses that survived the initial earthquake and tsunami were restored with life going about as usual. The buzz of motorbikes replaced the
buzz of helicopters and dust replaced the ever present mud. Tents and shantytowns popped up in neighborhoods that once housed the affluent. Smoke still filled the sky as
fire burned away the garbage but people were completely different.
No longer were the survivors walking around in a zombie-like state nor were bodies scattered around the city. Locals opened greeted me with the ubiquitous "Halo Meester,"
and "Whea you frum, Meester?" Many international aid groups were still present in the region but the bulk of international attention was gone. Relief was thinner and
sadly, many people I met on my second trip talked openly of their desperation and loss of hope. Many spoke of the corruption in the Indonesian government and the lack of
progress in the rebuilding process.
Yet, in many areas, I found children playing in fields. Families gathered together for weddings and celebrations. Buzz saws ringed the air in the countryside as people
began to rebuild their shatter villages and towns. Hope for renewal was evident and I was able to capture this side of the tragedy as easy as it was to document the
sadness.
With my story complete, the East West Center put on a powerful gallery show capturing both the sadness and joy of the tsunami. People from all walks of life attended the
gallery show and viewed a side the media did not cover. My images were able to present the hope, the rebuilding, and the strength of the Aceh people. The images were not
just photographs of loss and disaster. I documented the strength and resilience of the survivors to move forward. All those who had lost something were able to smile at
me and greet me with such kindness. I witnessed the struggle to rebuild, to survive.
The gallery show was a huge success and the East West Center pushed forward with a book project. The book, "Hope for Renewal: Photographs from Indonesia after the
Tsunami," features all the color photographs from the gallery show. The book can be found on the East West Center's website:
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/res-rp-publicationdetails.asp?pub_ID=1960
All proceeds from the book will support the relief and recovery efforts through the East West Center Tsunami Relief Fund.
Shooting an event like this takes lots of nerve, strength and a calm mind. The ability to disappear, or blend in with the background is a very important skill but sometimes
being a Westerner in a foreign land proves to be impossible. Candid pictures have to be quick and slient. An on camera flash is impossible due to all the attention it
draws to you. You have to completely rely on ambient or natural light. The ominous weather in the Aceh region muted the light challenging me with the available light.
If I had shot the tsunami tragedy with film, I would have had to take everything from 100 ISO film to 3200 ISO film. This would have also forced me to carry three or more
camera bodies just to match the challenges of the environment. At any instant, I would find myself shooting in bright daylight at 100 ISO then completely switching to
ISO 1250 to shoot the interior of a destroyed home. The wonderful thing about shooting digital is the ability to switch the ISO instantly. My Canon digital cameras and
1GB and 2GB cards allowed me to shoot completely unhindered.
I also faced shooting was the unpredictable weather. One moment it would be a humid summer day and then switch to a horrendous rainstorm. The dust and dirt I encountered
were also major factors.
Travel and sleeping arrangements in a destroyed city also proved to be difficult. Anytime I would have to move to a different area, I would have to throw my cameras in the
back of a pick up truck or saddle a motorbike. Take proper care of flash cards was never an option. Once I would finish with a card, I would pull it out of my camera,
place it in my right pocket while pulling a fresh one out of my left pocket. I did manage to find time to stick them into my waist bag but sometimes time and effort are
not always present. However, I never had to worry once about damaging my Lexar cards.
Lexar flash cards and digital's flexibility gave me the freedom to shoot without worry. As my first major international project, I could not think of shooting anything
other than Lexar cards.
View Marco Garcia's Bio
Tsunami Photos
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