Asian Tsunami: One Year On

Commemorations were held all over South Asia today to remember the thousands of lives lost a year ago in one nature's nastiest disasters.

A minute's silence was held in the provincial capital Banda Aceh to mark the exact moment the first waves came ashore, and a siren then sounded, part of Indonesia's new tsunami warning system.

Speaking in Banda Aceh, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid tribute to those who had tried to rebuild their lives over the past year. "You have reminded us that life is worth struggling for," he said.

In Sri Lanka, small private ceremonies were held to mark the moment the waves struck. Thousands of people lit coconut oil lamps on beaches on the southern coast after dark.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attended the ceremony, laying a foundation stone for a memorial.

"I think you need to come back," Swedish survivor Pigge Werkelin, who lost his two young sons and his wife in the disaster, told Reuters news agency.

"You need to go to the beach, you have to see children on the beach, you have to see everything... I must do it and then afterward I can put it behind me."

According to Oxfam, one year after the south Asian tsunami, more than half of the people in affected areas are back to work and economies are quickly returning to normal, according to a new report by Oxfam International.

In their new report, “Back to Work,” it estimates that as many as 60% of the people who lost their jobs are earning a living again, and predicts that 85% of jobs will have been restored by the end of 2006.

“A year after the tsunami, more than half of the people who lost their jobs are back at work, most fishing boats have been replaced, and thousands of acres of farmland have been replanted,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. “Some problems remain, of course, and we continue to focus on solving them. But the public’s generous response and the resilience of the tsunami survivors have made the rebuilding of livelihoods one of the principal achievements of the entire aid operation.”

According to community surveys, those affected by the tsunami placed the restoration of livelihoods at the top of their list of priorities, even above shelter.
“A year after the tsunami we are seeing an impressive recovery,” Offenheiser said. “Getting people back to work, in addition to giving them an income and some control over their future, has been critical in helping them deal with the trauma. We are well on the road to recovery.”