Relief in Sight is doing a nice job of upsetting the status quo - a photographic exhibition that captures the crucial role of Australian aid workers and volunteers and the aftermath of natural disasters in the Asia Pacific region.
15-20 July 2008
Hyde Park Barracks, Macquarie Street, Sydney 2000
Indian Ocean tsunami, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 2005
A survivor tries to salvage anything that may be of use to her family after the Indian Ocean tsunami. In some villages up to 80 per cent of victims were women. In part, this is because many men were at work or fishing at sea when the tsunami hit. In addition to the loss of homes and possessions, women frequently suffer indirect losses in a disaster, such as productive employment outside their home. Through its overseas aid program, Australia creates opportunities for women to play a greater role in shaping their communities and their countries. After the tsunami, AusAID funded programs to help relieve financial and social pressure on female survivors and protect them from discrimination and violence.
Courtesy of Caritas
WORLDLY POSSESSIONS
Indian Ocean tsunami, Indonesia, 2005
‘People were starting to return to look for homes that were no longer there. Picking through rubble in the hope of finding some possessions or the body of a family member so they could give them a proper Muslim burial. Everyone was walking around in a daze, in utter shock and disbelief. Not much public emotion… just an eerie silence. It’s as though the living are dead too.’ Notes from the diary of photographer Stephen Dupont More than 127,000 homes were destroyed and as many damaged in Aceh and North Sumatra and 500,000 people were left homeless and without access to essential services. Australian aid helped rebuild communities and restore basic services. DID YOU KNOW? Weather-related disasters rose from an annual average of 200 between 1993 and 1997 to 331 per year between 1998 and 2002.
Courtesy of Stephen Dupont
