津波のトラウマを克服する「希望のサーフィン」　スマトラ沖地震から１５年

【バンダアチェＡＦＰ＝時事】サーフボードを脇に抱え、デリ・セチャワンさん（35）は打ち寄せる波に全速力で向かっていった。（写真はインドネシア・アチェ州ロクンガの海岸をサーフボードを持って歩くデリ・セチャワンさん）
　セチャワンさんにとってサーフィンは、肉体的な挑戦にとどまらず、自らの心に立ち向かっていく挑戦にもなっている。セチャワンさんは１５年前、この海岸を襲った津波で家族と友人のほとんどを失ったのだった。
　１５年前スマトラ沖地震に伴い発生したインド洋大津波によって、インドネシア・アチェ州の州都バンダアチェ郊外にあるセチャワンさんの生まれ故郷ランプクはほぼ壊滅した。その悲惨な体験にもかかわらず、セチャワンさんは海を癒やしだと考えている。
　「サーフィンは私の津波のトラウマを治療する最良の方法だ。波に乗っているとすべての恐怖は消え去る。過去を受け入れ、心安らかになる」とセチャワンさんは語る。
　２００４年１２月２６日、スマトラ沖でマグニチュード９．３の地震が発生した。それにより高さ３０メートル近くに上る津波が発生、タイ、スリランカ、インドなどインド洋諸国全域で２２万人以上が死亡した。この津波は、史上最悪の自然災害の一つといわれている。
　インドネシアは最も被害を受けた国で、少なくとも１７万人が死亡した。だが、まだ発見されていないまたは確認されていない遺体が多数あり、実際の死者数はこれを大きく上回る可能性が高い。
　インドネシアで最も多くの犠牲者を出したのは、バンダアチェだった。ランプクの住民７０００人のうち、生き残ったのはわずか３００人だ。セチャワンさんの母親、２人の祖母、幼い弟は全員死んでしまった。多くの友人も亡くした。
　だが今、ランプクの住民にとってサーフィンは新しい人生を始める手助けとなっている。
　津波から数年間は、生き残った住民らは海を恐れていた。しかし、セチャワンさんは災害から１年たったとき、恐怖に立ち向かうことを決めた――海に戻ったのだ。
　「海岸に打ち寄せる波は私たちの友だ。津波でみんなを殺したのは深海から来た波だ。最初に海に戻ったとき、そう自分に言い聞かせた」
　現在プロのサーファーとなったセチャワンさんは国内外の試合に参加しており、１１月にはアチェ・サーフィン大会を主催した。
　ランプクの住民数は、２０００人まで回復した。セチャワンさんはランプクの海岸を、絶望の地から希望の地に変えたいと願っている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/12/26-10:18）

Surfboard tucked under his arm, Dery Setyawan sprints into the crashing waves.
It is not just a physical challenge but an emotional one -- most of his family and friends were swept to their deaths when a tsunami hit these shores 15 years ago.
His hometown of Lampuuk was almost destroyed entirely, but despite his devastating loss, the father-of-two sees the water as a way to heal.
Surfing has been the best cure for my tsunami trauma. When I am on the waves, all my fears are gone and I can embrace the past and be at peace with it, he says.
On December 26, 2004, a monstrous 9.3 magnitude quake struck undersea off the coast of Sumatra. It sparked a tsunami nearly 100 feet (30 meters) high that killed more than 220,000 across a string of Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
Reaching as far as East Africa, the tsunami unleashed energy equivalent to 23,000 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima -- and is considered among the deadliest natural disasters in history.
Indonesia was hardest hit with at least 170,000 killed, though the true death toll is likely to be higher as many bodies have yet to be recovered or identified.
The Indonesian city of Banda Aceh reported the highest number of casualties. Hastily dug mass graves are still being uncovered from this area with dozens of bodies pulled from the ground over the past year, including a woman whose driver's licence was still in a wallet tucked into her pants pocket.
For Setyawan and others from Lampuuk, just outside of Banda Aceh, surfing has become a way to help them start again.
Water is part of our lives here. This is where we live, interact with family and others and make money for living, the 35-year-old father tells AFP as the disaster's anniversary approaches.
- Mass graves -
His town was almost lost as the towering waves crashed ashore, ripping palm trees from the roots and flattening buildings.
Of Lampuuk's 7,000 residents -- just 300 survived. Setyawan's mother, two grandmothers and infant brother were all killed, along with many of his friends.
He remembers the water crashing into his home the force dragging him some 200 metres till he hit some debris and clung on for his life.
In years immediately following, the surviving residents were fearful of the water.
We'd only look at the waves just to check whether the water level had gone down, Setyawan said, referring to a tell-tale sign that a tsunami may be approaching.
But after the first anniversary of the disaster, Setyawan decided to face his fears.
He went back into the water.
Waves from the beach are our friends, the ones that killed people during the tsunami were from the deep ocean. That was how I convinced myself before getting in for the first time, he recalls.
Now a professional surfer, he's competed in international and domestic competitions, and organised last month's Aceh Surfing Championships.
Today, Lampuuk has been rebuilt with tsunami evacuation signs everywhere.
The population has grown to 2,000 -- still a far cry from its original population, but Setyawan aims to transform the shores from a place of despair to one of hope.
He also formed a local surf club and set up a beachfront restaurant, and is confident of the tourism potential.
Surfing is one way of attracting people to come to this place again after the tsunami, Setyawan explains.
- 'Another wound' -
Volcano-dotted Indonesia is one of the most disaster-hit nations in the world due to its position straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.
In 2018, three natural disasters hit the Southeast Asian archipelago in six months. A tsunami, triggered by an earthquake, hit Palu on Sulawesi island killing 2,200 with thousands more missing and presumed dead.
Hundreds died after a series of powerful earthquakes on the island of Lombok and then in December another tsunami, this time caused by a volcanic eruption, struck the coastal regions in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands. Hundreds lost their lives, and more than 14,000 were reported injured.
Back in Aceh, one local government relocated hundreds of people who once lived in obliterated Kampung Baro village.
But some residents opted to stay put, despite the risks.
Relocation would mean another wound for us, said tsunami survivor and fisherman Muhammad Saleh.
Moving away from the sea would be like a wound on top of a wound because our life depends on the sea.
The disaster, however, helped to heal some old wounds.
Less than a year after the tsunami, Aceh's separatist rebels and the Indonesian government agreed to end almost 30 years of bloodshed in a peace deal that gave the region more autonomy.
Thousands are expected to gather Thursday in Banda Aceh, which now has a dedicated tsunami memorial museum.
The day will bring back haunting memories for survivors like Abdul Hadi Firsawan, who wishes he could somehow be reunited with his mother, father and two siblings -- all missing and presumed dead.
I still pray that I could see my parents again, but it's been 15 years, he said, adding: If that's no longer a reality then I'm sure I'll meet them in heaven.