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The worst imaginable

By Corporal Cameron Jamieson

Cpl Cameron Jamieson at work in Banda Aceh.

I was tasked with collecting a variety of material for the Service newspapers and magazines, but my main priority was stories for the new Operation Sumatra Assist section on the Defence Internet site.

The thing that assaults the newcomer to Banda Aceh is the stench. It is a strong mixture of mud and rotting flesh. Debris is strewn everywhere, yet you can see that order is returning to the city.

Every day you can see the difference as the wreckage is cleaned away and more people return to the city. It provides a glimmer of hope.

I flew on a number of sorties with the Iroquois of A Squadron, 5 Aviation Regiment, in order to get air-to-ground and air-to-air photography. The destruction along the west coast is complete; entire villages have been wiped from the face of the planet. I saw a multi-span bridge that now ends in the sea - the other shoreline is gone.

Banda Aceh before and after

I have nothing but the deepest admiration for the ADF personnel who helped to clean out the debris from the buildings and drains around the hospital and in the city.

It was filthy work that brought with it all the expectations and chances of finding more bodies and body parts.

You could see it in their faces as they worked - there are no smiles or the exchange of glances; everyone is solemn, their mouths are thin and pale, and their eyes are dull and expressionless.

It is common to hear people say that nothing prepared you for what you saw in Aceh. I have seen widespread destruction in Bougainville and Bosnia while on previous operations, but this was different.

I think I was partially prepared to deal with the reality of the situation because of my previous military training and experiences. So I was expecting the worst, and that's what I saw - the worst imaginable.

On the positive side was the reaction of the Indonesians to the presence of the Australians. They knew that our compassion and sympathy was real. Even in Medan, in northern Sumatra, strangers would come up to me and say "thank you".

I have never felt prouder to be an Australian.

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