Europe Asia News

The floods, triggered by a rare cyclone in November, killed more than 1,000 people across the island of Sumatra and displaced hundreds of thousands. In Aceh, the hardest-hit province where nearly half of the deaths occurred, many people still lack easy access to clean water, food, electricity and medical supplies.

Last Thursday, dozens of protesters demonstrated in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, waving white flags and demanding that the central government open the country to foreign aid.

Among the crowd was a young girl holding a piece of paper reading: “I am only three years old, and I want to grow up in a safe and sustainable world.”

White flags, typically seen as a symbol of surrender, were waved by protesters on damaged rooftops, eroded riverbanks and outside mosques. Protesters say the flags represent a call for international solidarity.

Provincial authorities requested support from the United Nations, and the governor of Aceh said he was expecting help “from everyone, everywhere.”

However, President Prabowo Subianto insisted that the situation was “under control” and rejected foreign aid. Last week he told his cabinet, “Indonesia can overcome this disaster,” and has so far ignored calls to declare a national disaster that would release emergency funds and speed up relief efforts.