Aceh Singkil - The small islands in Indonesia have started to become news again. Clandestinely, several islands in outer Indonesia have been offered to foreigners for private ownership. The buyers are interested because of the beauty of those islands. An example is the multitude of Island in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam called Banyak.
The islands are located at the Aceh Singkil regency. People can use small boats to reach the islands in two hours. "Banyak" means plenty. Before the tsunami, there were 99 islands. Now there are 63 islands left and the rest are inundated with water.
The biggest island is Tuanku Island, which is located in the middle of all the islands. The second biggest is called Bangkaru Island, which is also the farthest of them all. The other islands are Balai, Ujung Batu, Sawangla. Most of the people live on the Balai Island. The total population is 7,000 people, scattered among seven villages.
Banyak islands are a microcosm of Indonesia. Here the past has merged with the present. The majority of the people are fishermen. Fish, coconuts and coral reefs are the products that people normally trade. "Those who were born on Banyak Islands are destined to become fishermen," says Dahrusyid, a local.
Sadly, the people there have to use coral reefs as the element for construction. "What else can we do? There are no proper construction material. Only coral reefs here," says Nasrante from the Bale Island.
Despite living far away from urban areas, many houses in Banyak Islands have a satellite dish to watch both regional and national broadcasts. Without the dish, the screens on the television would only show scrambled dots. Therefore, people there also know the latest fashions or celebrity gossip from Jakarta.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com (21 Januari 2008)
