Eyes of the storm

The head of a mannequin peers out from the mud of Banda Aceh, a chilling reminder of the devastation wrought by the Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami.

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By Corporal Cameron Jamieson - filed 31 January 2005

The eyes tell you what the mind refuses to comprehend.

When asked to say what they have seen, the ADF personnel who have come face-to-face with the carnage in Banda Aceh will speak of the wreckage and mud that covered the city.

What they don't talk about is the human wreckage that was everywhere.

Invariably the Australians will tell you that they saw "stuff", a common term for the bodies and body parts that they have seen or found.

But the look in their eyes tells you of the horror they have witnessed.

For those who have worked to clear the drains around Banda Aceh, there have been other horrors to deal with.

All who have participated in these clearing operations understood the importance of their work, as it was likely that an infectious disease outbreak would occur if the foul water that pooled around Banda Aceh was left to further stagnate.

But much of the drain clearing had to be done by hand or with hand tools, and with each handful or shovelful of debris moved came the chance of finding more "stuff".

The images of Banda Aceh portrayed on the television are an accurate picture of what happened to the city, but what they can't convey is the stench of mud and death that attack the senses until you become desensitised.

But your senses soon return when you leave the city and return to normality, because when you see those television images again the horror of what you have seen returns ten-times over.

You can relate to where the images were taken - the avalanche of building material rushing along with the seawater through the streets of the shopping district, the father with his drowned child in his arms walking near the river, and the row of dead children at the hospital looking as if they are asleep.

All Australians can be justly proud of what the ADF has done to save lives and relieve the suffering of the Indonesian people in Aceh.

But the whole truth of what was seen may remained locked forever within the eyes of the witnesses.