Abstract
In December 2004, the earthquakes and tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia had a major impact on the care situation of children in the region. With almost 200,000 people estimated to have died, and more than 550,000 homeless, the capacity of families to care for their children was seriously challenged (Nazzaruddin and Sulaiman, 2013). One of the biggest assumptions made immediately after the tsunami, however, was that the catastrophe created thousands of ‘tsunami orphans’ in Aceh and elsewhere (Moore, 2005). Original estimates were as high as 50,000 orphans, with the Indonesian government announcing it would build 50 orphanages to accommodate them (Gunawan, 2005). But by 2006 the Family Tracing and Reunification Network (FTR) had registered 2,831 children unaccompanied or separated from their parents. Disparity with original estimates was explained due to the ‘tragic logic’ that many of the children thought to have been orphaned had, in fact, been swept away to their deaths (Moore, 2005).
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© 2015 Harriot Beazley
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Beazley, H. (2015). Inappropriate Aid: The Experiences and Emotions of Tsunami ‘Orphans’ Living in Children’s Homes in Aceh, Indonesia. In: Blazek, M., Kraftl, P. (eds) Children’s Emotions in Policy and Practice. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137415608_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137415608_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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