Frustration Builds as Residents Raise White Flags Over Inadequate Flood Relief

For weeks, desperate and upset inhabitants in the nation's westernmost region have been displaying white flags due to the government's slow aid efforts to a wave of lethal deluges.

Triggered by a uncommon cyclone in last November, the catastrophe killed over 1,000 persons and made homeless a vast number across the region of Sumatra island. In Aceh province, the hardest-hit area which was responsible for almost half of the fatalities, many still do not have ready availability to potable water, food, electricity and medicine.

An Official's Emotional Anguish

In a indication of just how difficult managing the disaster has grown to be, the governor of a region in Aceh wept openly in early December.

"Does the national government not know [what we're experiencing]? It's incomprehensible," a weeping the governor said on camera.

However President the nation's leader has rejected international help, maintaining the situation is "under control." "The nation is capable of overcoming this disaster," he informed his cabinet in a recent meeting. The President has also to date disregarded calls to declare it a national emergency, which would unlock special funds and facilitate recovery operations.

Mounting Discontent of the Government

The leadership has been increasingly criticised as reactive, inefficient and disconnected – adjectives that certain observers say have come to characterise his presidency, which he won in last February riding a wave of populist pledges.

Already this year, his flagship multi-billion dollar school nutrition scheme has been plagued by scandal over mass food poisonings. In August and September, a great number of citizens protested over unemployment and soaring living expenses, in what were the largest of the most significant protests the nation has seen in decades.

And now, his administration's response to the recent deluge has proven to be another problem for the official, although his poll numbers have remained stable at about 78%.

Urgent Calls for Aid

On a recent Thursday, scores of demonstrators assembled in Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, holding pale banners and calling for that the national authorities opens the door to foreign assistance.

Standing in the gathering was a young child holding a piece of paper, which said: "I am just three years old, I want to mature in a safe and sustainable place."

Although usually regarded as a symbol for capitulation, the pale banners that have popped up across the province – on collapsed roofs, beside eroded banks and outside mosques – are a plea for global support, those involved contend.

"These banners do not mean we are admitting defeat. They serve as a distress signal to attract the attention of the world outside, to inform them the situation in Aceh now are very bad," explained one local.

Complete settlements have been wiped out, while extensive destruction to infrastructure and facilities has also cut off many areas. Survivors have spoken of disease and hunger.

"How much longer do we have to cleanse in dirt and the deluge," cried another demonstrator.

Regional authorities have reached out to the United Nations for help, with the provincial leader stating he welcomes support "from all sources".

National authorities has said relief efforts are ongoing on a "national scale", noting that it has disbursed some billions ($3.6bn) for rebuilding efforts.

Disaster Returns

For many in the province, the circumstances brings back painful memories of the 2004 Indian Ocean Boxing Day tsunami, arguably the most devastating calamities ever.

A powerful undersea earthquake unleashed a tsunami that created walls of water up to 100 feet in height which slammed into the Indian Ocean coastline that morning, killing an estimated 230,000 lives in more than a score countries.

Aceh, previously devastated by a long-running civil war, was one of the worst-impacted. Residents explain they had just completed reconstructing their lives when disaster struck again in last November.

Relief arrived faster after the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster, although it was considerably more destructive, they argue.

Numerous nations, global bodies like the World Bank, and private organisations directed vast sums into the rebuilding process. The national authorities then created a dedicated office to oversee funds and aid projects.

"All parties responded and the people bounced back {quickly|