Grass roots amongst the rubble

12 June 2006

This semester I am studying at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta. Early last Saturday morning, I was woken by a long deep rumble and a shaking bedroom. My first thought was ‘Merapi’. (For several weeks our attention had been focused on heightened volcanic activity at Mount Merapi). My neighbours rushed out onto the street, shaken, confused, trying to see if the mountain had erupted. But the plume of smoke and ash rising from the volcano didn’t match the intensity of what we had experienced.

With images of Aceh so fresh, it is not surprising that an hour later we heard cries of ‘tsunami!’ Although Yogyakarta is too far from the coast to be at risk from a tsunami, trucks full of wounded people began fleeing towards the mountain. They feared a second wave of destruction. As panic spread, the main streets heading north became congested with cars, trucks and motorcycles. Eventually police vehicles with loud-speakers helped spread the message that there was in fact no tsunami. A kind of order returned.

During the day, information accumulated. As every hospital quickly filled to overflowing it became clear that a major disaster had occurred. Groups and networks began to mobilise – those with first aid or medical skills immediately went out with medical teams and local rescue workers.

At first I, like many others, felt completely helpless. No skills, no transport. But people had already started to do whatever they could. They gave blood at the hospitals, and distributed water to people waiting hours for medical attention in hospital car parks. On the second day, we bought packages of cooked rice for injured people who had already waited more than a day outside hospitals. The few stores that were open were packed with shoppers, so stock quickly ran out. People feared further earthquakes, and were stocking up on supplies. But already groups were getting out to affected areas which desperately needed medics, medical supplies, basic food and shelter.

By Monday, an awesome array of spontaneous relief efforts could be seen on nearly every street. Mosques, church groups, community organisations, and scores of small informal networks were at work. Small groups pooled their resources to donate, collect and buy supplies, and somehow to get them out to places damaged by the earthquake. Vehicles of all descriptions plied the routes out of the city.

Despite this massive effort, the overwhelming scale of the disaster was now becoming apparent. Along any

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Grass roots amongst the rubble

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