I’m currently traveling in Asia to a few of the countries affected by the December 2004 tsunami to document how the Red Cross is helping communities recover and rebuild.

My first stop was Indonesia.

The northern coast of Sumatra is one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever traveled. If it was in the United States the stretch of coast from Banda Aceh to Calang would be nothing but five star resorts and million dollar homes, but these beaches are mostly undeveloped.

While traveling from community to community, I’ve heard many sad stories as people talk about how the tsunami personally touched their lives. One such story comes from the small fishing village of Paton Makur near Calang, Indonesia. I first saw Mr. Ibnu Abas, a 50 year-old father of eight who has lived in the village for more than 40 years, carrying several colorful fishing nets past the community center where the American Red Cross was teaching children how to properly wash their hands and pick-up garbage with educational games and competitions. I found out later that several of Mr. Abas’ children were participating in the activities.

I decided to follow Mr. Abas on his journey, which ended up being a little less than a mile long walk to his small motorized canoe-like boat on a small stretch of beach. I watched as he loaded three large fishing nets onto his boat and pushed it into the water, which I found out happens everyday at 4pm. Before he headed out to sea to set the nets, I asked him if I could follow him along his journey the next morning and he kindly agreed.

The next morning I arrived at the same location at 7 a.m sharp. I wasn’t surprised to see Mr. Abas patiently waiting and ready to go. He reminds me of my father, an early riser that is always busy doing something and unfailingly three steps ahead of me.

I quickly jumped into another slightly larger boat of a fisherman that had agreed to take me out so I could film Mr. Abas’ journey. Armed with only pen and paper, a digital camera and a camcorder, I swiftly pulled out my Flip video-camera and started recording.

It took about twenty minutes to get to the sight of the first net. I was full of anticipation as he began to pull the net out of the water. The first few grabs yielded nothing more than seaweed, but then, much to my surprise, a medium size lobster was flopping in his net. He quickly untangled it set it aside to sell at the market later. As the morning progressed he caught a few more lobsters, maybe a dozen fish and a few conch shells, but this voyage was much more than a fisherman just catching fish.

On December 26, 2004, the village of Paton Makur was completely destroyed by the tsunami. Houses, neighbors, children, friends were washed out to sea, never to be seen again. Mr. Abas lost his his house and his thirteen year-old son to the waves that day. I can tell by the expression on his face and the tears forming at the corner of his eyes that it’s something he thinks about constantly.

Now, four and a half years after the tsunami, Mr. Abas and his family are living in a new house built by the United Nations with clean water and a sanitation system provided by the Red Cross.

Mr. Abas is hopeful for the future and plans to open a fruit and vegetable stand to earn additional income for his family.

Filed under: International, Video