World responds to Aceh's pain<\/p>\n
Sudirman Nasir, Victoria, Australia<\/p>\n
The catastrophic Asian tsunami has not merely destroyed
\ncountless cities and villages and killed over one hundred and
\nfifty thousand people, but has also stimulated a genuine
\nspontaneous desire among people to help. Such a spontaneous
\nwillingness to help the victims can be seen in many cities
\nworldwide. The international community has given its full
\nattention and shown a universal will to overcome this disaster.
\nIt is such a candle in the dark.<\/p>\n
As an Indonesian currently studying in Melbourne, I witnessed
\nthe generosity of many people in this country. Many, many people
\nare donating cash. Many readers have expressed their sympathy
\ntoward people affected by the disaster through this newspaper. My
\nneighbor, a charming old lady, knocked on my door and asked
\nsympathetically whether my family back home were alright. I know
\nthe Australian people and Australian government are playing a
\nleading role in helping their Asian neighbors and that makes me
\nvery proud studying and living in this wonderful city. The
\nIndonesian community in this city are also trying their best to
\ncollect funds for the victims.<\/p>\n
As a former student activist in Indonesia, many friends
\ninformed me through e-mail and text messages that university
\nstudents, NGOs, religious leaders and religious institutions and
\nthe media have played a key role in collecting aid from the
\npeople to help the tsunami victims in Aceh and North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
In many cities in Indonesia, students standing on the streets
\nwith a box in their hands are appealing to people to donate. At
\nthe same time, the press is reporting the rising death toll,
\ninspiring people to help, lobbying government agencies to assist
\nin distributing the aid, providing transparent reports about the
\nusage of people's donation, and becoming watchdogs of
\ngovernment's performance in helping those victims.<\/p>\n
There are many people; ordinary people, big and small
\ncompanies who are willing to help. One student studying at the
\nIslamic University of Indonesia in Makassar city told of a beggar
\nwho gave his daily earnings to the student to be delivered to the
\naffected people.<\/p>\n
Many friends said that the solidarity and genuine desire to
\nhelp was even stronger than the solidarity experienced during
\nthe \"May 1998 revolution\" that ended Soeharto's 32-year rule.<\/p>\n
Aceh, the province at the tip of Sumatra Island has suffered
\nthe most in the Asian tsunami with an estimated 100,000
\nfatalities. However, the exact figure will never be known. One of
\nIndonesia's leading actors, Slamet Rahardjo Jarot, who played
\nTeuku Umar, the legendary Acehnese hero who fought against the
\nDutch, in the acclaimed epic film Cut Nya' Dien, said that such a
\ngenuine outpouring of concern for the Acehnese was a strong
\nindication that most Indonesians, especially the ordinary people
\ndeeply love Aceh.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the pain of the Acehnese people is the pain of
\nIndonesians as well. So far, Aceh is still under civil emergency
\nrule, and the role of the Indonesian Military is very strong in
\nthis area. Thousands of Acehnese have died in the conflict
\nbetween the Indonesian Military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Emha Ainun Najib -- a moderate Muslim and one of
\nIndonesia's most prominent writers -- said that the long
\nsuffering of Aceh, not just due to this natural disaster, but
\nalso the chronic political conflict, is another reason why many
\nIndonesian people feel great empathy for Aceh. He also maintained
\nthat the Indonesian government must learn from the disaster and
\nfrom the genuine concern of the ordinary people to better serve
\ntheir people.<\/p>\n
Beside the emergency aid; to treat the injured, to provide
\nfood and shelter, to bury the corpses, to build facilities for
\ndrinking water and sanitation, to prevent infectious diseases and
\nto release trauma -- Indonesia also needs long-term aid to
\nrebuild infrastructure and facilities, to provide employment in
\nthe affected areas, and to establish an early warning system and
\ndisaster risk-reduction strategy.<\/p>\n
In the context of Aceh, it is urgent to continue efforts for
\nconflict resolution and peace building. Many Indonesian NGOs
\nconcerned with human rights issues are asking the government to
\nacknowledge that the separatist movement in Aceh is the result of
\neconomic and political injustice. Many Indonesian NGOs also
\nmaintain that it would be hypocritical for the government to
\nallow international involvement to provide aid for Aceh after the
\ntsunami but prevent international involvement in conflict
\nresolution and peace building in the province.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, this natural disaster will be a blessing in
\ndisguise in the form of a genuine desire from the Indonesian
\ngovernment and the GAM to resume dialog. Besides emergency aid
\ndue to the natural disaster, it is apparent that the primary
\nneeds of the ordinary people in Aceh now and in the future are
\npeace and prosperity. Conflict, violence and corruption will only
\nprolong their pain.<\/p>\n
The writer is currently studying at the University of
\nMelbourne. He can be reached at s.nasir@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au<\/p>",
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