1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,200 The 26th of December, 2004. With almost 300,000 dead, the tsunami which hit the coast of the 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:15,660 Indian Ocean will remain one of the world's worst disasters. 3 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:20,540 The northernmost point of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Aceh, was one of the most seriously 4 00:00:20,540 --> 00:00:26,160 affected regions. Here, as in the other places the wave struck, the European Union is heavily 5 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:33,340 committed to supplying emergency humanitarian aid and reconstruction. 6 00:00:33,340 --> 00:00:38,000 One of the first priorities is to restore the water supply systems. The European Union 7 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,740 is supporting the work of CARE. This Dutch NGO has been working for months to repair 8 00:00:42,740 --> 00:00:48,800 the reservoirs and to bring better hygiene conditions to the devastated areas. 9 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,920 The tidal wave has also deprived a large part of the population of all means of subsistence. 10 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,040 On the southern coast of the island of Sumatra, hardly one boat survived the assault of the 11 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:07,280 waves. Very few men have gone back to sea. On average, a new boat costs five years of 12 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:14,440 a fisherman's salary. This is what's motivated Serge Gruel. He works for Triangle. This French 13 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,640 NGO proposed a scheme to the European Union to help the fishermen to go back to work by 14 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:25,080 providing them with boats. 15 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,360 Triangle went to meet the fishing communities and together they saw which fishermen were 16 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:32,520 still alive. From that, lists were drawn up of which fishermen had lost which type of 17 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:40,320 boat and then what he'd need to go back into fishing as soon as possible. 18 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:44,760 A few kilometers away, European funding is helping Triangle to rehabilitate the small 19 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:50,480 local fishing port. Every evening as the boats come back in, all the bustle of the fish market 20 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:56,680 is back as people get on with all sorts of little jobs. Meanwhile, the people from Roundabout 21 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:02,760 and a few fish merchants are already bargaining for the best catches. It's a whole slice of 22 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,920 local life that's gradually getting back on its feet and lots of people who no longer 23 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:13,920 need assistance can look forward to a real future. 24 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:19,160 With hundreds of these sorts of projects and a total commitment of around 2 billion euro, 25 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:26,160 the European Union is the biggest contributor to post-tsunami aid and reconstruction. 26 00:02:29,620 --> 00:02:34,200 In the Indonesian province of Aceh, the European Union has even helped to quell the armed conflict 27 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:39,140 between the independence movement and the Indonesian government. Now the EU is working 28 00:02:39,140 --> 00:02:46,140 to reintegrate former rebels into civilian life. Peace and reconstruction go hand-in-hand. 29 00:02:46,660 --> 00:02:50,780 It's quite clear, Europe is committed on all fronts, but to ensure that the situation on 30 00:02:50,780 --> 00:02:54,780 the ground is efficient and coherent, there's a constant need for proper analysis of the 31 00:02:54,780 --> 00:03:00,260 situation and that's the job of the brand new Europe House in Banda Aceh. 32 00:03:00,260 --> 00:03:07,260 We are not managing projects here directly. We are more trying to get the feeling of what's 33 00:03:08,260 --> 00:03:15,260 going on and try to help to refocus our activities here in Aceh while at the same time try to 34 00:03:15,700 --> 00:03:20,820 talk to as many people, put them around the table and try to get as coherent activities 35 00:03:20,820 --> 00:03:22,140 as possible. 36 00:03:22,140 --> 00:03:26,300 We asked Francisco Fontan why one year on so many people are still living in temporary 37 00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:32,660 housing. His answer, you just can't imagine the size of the problem. 38 00:03:32,660 --> 00:03:37,420 To convince us, Francisco Fontan takes us to the land registry in Aceh. On these photos 39 00:03:37,420 --> 00:03:41,760 he shows us that in certain places the sea did not completely retreat and it literally 40 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:46,780 destroyed millions of hectares settled and found by local people. Some lost their land 41 00:03:46,780 --> 00:03:52,900 in the disaster and don't know where to rebuild. Elsewhere the countryside has been so devastated 42 00:03:52,900 --> 00:03:57,300 that it's necessary to redraw the boundaries of tens of thousands of parcels of land and 43 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:02,660 then find the owners or their heirs. A huge task to which the European Union is giving 44 00:04:02,660 --> 00:04:09,660 financial aid as well as all the ultra detailed satellite images from the European Space Agency. 45 00:04:14,580 --> 00:04:21,500 It's important because the pre-tsunami satellite imagery is probably the best form of evidence 46 00:04:21,500 --> 00:04:27,460 of what the occupation of the land looked like before the tsunami. In many areas the 47 00:04:27,460 --> 00:04:33,620 tsunami has destroyed all the evidence like fences and walls. Some of the evidence has 48 00:04:33,620 --> 00:04:38,340 also been destroyed in the clean up as well. 49 00:04:38,340 --> 00:04:43,020 Armed with the satellite photos, researchers investigate the ravaged areas. Where did this 50 00:04:43,020 --> 00:04:49,540 road go? Who lived there? Was there a drainage system? The slightest clue is used to restore 51 00:04:49,580 --> 00:04:56,580 everyone's land to them. Dozens of surveyors have been trained to speed up the mapping 52 00:04:57,700 --> 00:05:02,700 of the land. The local people are waiting impatiently for them to finish because of 53 00:05:02,700 --> 00:05:09,700 course that means the builders can move in. 54 00:05:11,820 --> 00:05:16,380 Indonesia estimates the cost of reconstructing Aceh at more than 4 billion euros over the 55 00:05:16,380 --> 00:05:21,380 next five years. Europe will take care of a good part of it. Already well represented 56 00:05:21,380 --> 00:05:26,460 on the ground, the European Union will continue to play a leading role in reconstruction and 57 00:05:26,460 --> 00:05:29,380 also to support the building of lasting peace in the region.