Acehnese needs taken into consideration in reconstruct program<\/p>\n
Ruslan Sangadji and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh<\/p>\n
Fifteen-year-old Iksan Nulkhairi reminisces about the last
\ntime he laughed with his parents and little brother, all of whom
\nwere killed or went missing in last month's tsunami in Aceh.<\/p>\n
His tears have since dried up and his hopes of being a
\nmechanic have been shattered.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, a mother who goes by the name Niar laid back on a
\nthin mattress inside a tent, straightening a grubby bandage on
\nher injured left leg.<\/p>\n
She has not seen her husband since before the tragedy, while
\nher 19-year-old son has returned to their village to try to
\nsalvage some belongings.<\/p>\n
\"I can't stand it without my husband,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Both are among hundreds of thousands of Acehnese who survived
\nthe natural disaster and are living as displaced persons in
\nvarious camps in the province. It is these people, those
\nstruggling to get back on their feet, who are the main targets of
\nthe government's program to reconstruct Aceh.<\/p>\n
What exactly do they need?<\/p>\n
\"This is where Muslim scholars can play the role of their
\nlives. They should play the biggest role in order to preserve the
\nAcehnese's Islamic values. The scholars could visit displaced
\npersons camps and help the people cope with the tragedy through
\nreligion,\" former North Aceh regent Tarmizi A. Karim said.<\/p>\n
\"This is not just about getting houses and buildings rebuilt
\nin Aceh,\" he said, \"but how the people can recover from this
\nordeal and go on with their lives after so many elements of their
\nlives vanished in a blink of an eye.\"<\/p>\n
On the morning of Dec. 26., the predominantly Muslim province
\nwas hit by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale and
\nensuing tsunamis.<\/p>\n
More than 178,000 people were killed and approximately 400,000
\nothers are living in overcrowded tents, living with the threat of
\ncommunicable diseases and malnutrition.<\/p>\n
The Aceh Muslim Scholars Consultative Assembly's head Tengku
\nMuslim Ibrahim said that renewing and reviving both the religious
\nand social lives of the Acehnese should also include
\nstrengthening the role of meunasah (small mosques located in
\nhouses and neighborhoods).<\/p>\n
\"Traditionally, for locals a meunasah is not just a place to
\npray, but also a place to study and to communicate. So using
\nmeunasah to bring these communities together could help restore
\nthe physical and emotional well-being of the Acehnese,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For the Acehnese, he said, a meunasah is also a gathering
\nplace where various community issues are discussed. Therefore, it
\nis essential to rebuild meunasah so that the Acehnese can return
\nto the life they knew before the natural disaster.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab, who is
\nalso the disaster mitigation center head, has assured that such
\nconcerns will be taken care of by the government in its
\nreconstruction program for the province. However, reviving the
\nprovince's economy is still the main priority.<\/p>\n
\"We are working on these issues of rebuilding their lives. Of
\ncourse, we're not talking only about physical things, although
\nthey are also important. We're working on things. The first thing
\nwe need to address is how to rebuild the economic condition of
\nthese people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Alwi said the government, for example, planned to repair and
\ndeploy boats for fishermen so that they could return to the sea
\nand start making a living again.<\/p>\n
\"We're also thinking about opening plantations for them. As
\nfor the orphans, we guarantee that these kids will be taken care
\nof. Many people are very concerned about them and plan to help
\nbuild boarding schools. The government is fortunate to see that
\nkind of help,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Alwi did not elaborate, but assured that the government would
\ndo its outmost to rebuild the lives of the Acehnese as a
\ncommunity based on a strong culture, instead of only physically
\nreconstructing the province.<\/p>\n
Alwi also acknowledged that the full recovery of the Acehnese
\nas a community could take a lifetime, but gradual steps had to be
\ntaken immediately.<\/p>\n
\"And what needs to be prioritized right now, of course, is the
\nphysical reconstruction of Aceh. We can't expect the Acehnese to
\ncarry on with their lives without the physical tools they need,\"
\nhe asserted.<\/p>\n
UNICEF representative for Indonesia Gianfranco Rotigliano
\nsaid that education was what mattered when it came to the future
\nof children.<\/p>\n
\"They need to reengage with their future and dreams, and one
\nimportant way is through education. They lost many things in the
\npast, including parents, but they can't lose their hope of being
\nsomething,\" he said.<\/p>",
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