Peace in wake of tsunami

From the ashes: The peaceful port of Meulaboh – one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami in Acheh. — AFP

BANDA AChEH: When a tsunami engulfed Indonesia’s Acheh a decade ago, it not only killed tens of thousands of people but also wiped the slate clean in the conflict-racked, poverty-stricken province and paved the way for peace.

The province on the northern tip of Sumatra island was ill-prepared when disaster struck – in ruins, mired in poverty and with barely any functioning infrastructure after almost three decades of conflict.