Abdul Khalik, Banda Aceh – Standing in front of his ruined house in Lampu'uk, Lhoknga in Aceh Besar regency, 35-year-old Effendi expressed his determination to stay and rebuild his house no matter what.

"This is our ancestral land. We'll live and die here. Even after the tragedy, I'm not afraid to continue living here," said the man, who lost his wife and all of his children in the December 26 disaster.

He then pointed to a small, unfinished wooden house visible among the many ruined houses in the village. Proudly, he said he had begun rebuilding his house without waiting for the government's assistance. "I collect wood from the debris around here. I prefer living here over living in a tent or some camp," Effendi said.

Located right on the coast on the northwestern tip of Sumatra, Lampu'uk was one of the hardest-hit villages. Out of its approximately 7,000 pre-tsunami population, an estimated 1,000 survived and all of the houses were razed. Only a mosque was left standing.

Half of the Lampu'uk residents now live in camps located among the remains of the houses in the village, while the rest live in camps in other areas.

It was the scale of the devastation that prompted a visit to the village by former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush during their trip to tsunami-hit countries last week.

Effendi's strong will to stay was shared by most of the survivors in the village, who told the former presidents they did not want, for any reason, to be relocated to another area in government barracks. The two retired Americans responded by telling them they would see to it that the villagers' homes were rebuilt

Hasballah, 36, one of the residents who lost all of his family members and belongings in the disaster, said he was happy that the two ex-presidents promised them houses in the village. "We don't want move to other areas. I told the former presidents that the land has given us what we need to live. We can grow rice and other crops and fish in the sea," he said.

However, the Indonesian government has set aside approximately Rp 200 billion (roughly US$22 million) to build over 800 semipermanent barracks to house over 50,000 displaced persons throughout the province.

But many Acehnese are staunchly opposed to being relocated to the government's plywood-walled, tin-roofed housing blocks, with some saying the whole project is waste of money. "Why didn't they [the government] ask us first what we want before building those barracks? I think it's just another project to benefit 'certain' people. Why can't they just build us houses?" asked Muhammad, a 43-year-old survivor currently staying at the Lambaro displaced persons camp.

Hundreds of refugees, who come from a number of tsunami-ravaged areas in Aceh, have been living in Lambaro camp since the disaster struck on December 26. Some of them have, however, agreed to be relocated to the barracks. "I've agreed to move because the government said they would build us permanent houses later. Besides, it's better than living in these tents," said another survivor.

National coordinator for relief aid in Aceh, Alwi Shihab, defended the allegation that the construction of the barracks was a waste of money and would only benefit certain people. "We have around 600,000 people that need a place to stay. The barracks will be useful for many of them while we also plan to build around 80,000 houses for 400,000 people," he said.

The United Nations has estimated that out of the 2.8 million people that have been directly or indirectly affected by the tsunami across Asia, 2 million people are in need of support and over 700,000 people have lost their homes.