Acehnese must define what's necessary for them

Acehnese must define what's necessary for them

Among the dozens of foreign non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) that arrived in Indonesia to help tsunami survivors was
Finland's FinnChurchAid. Accompanied by its local partners, the
NGO's representatives traveled to Meulaboh, West Aceh and Nias,
North Sumatra. The Jakarta Post's Kanis Dursin interviewed head
of humanitarian aid at FinnChurchAid Helena Manninen-Visuri in
Jakarta last week. The following is an excerpt of the interview.

Question: What is your organization doing in Aceh?

Answer: We have a relief program going on together with our
local partners. We have a water purification and sanitation
program in Meulaboh and surrounding areas. We distribute clean
water to IDP (internally displaced persons) settlements and clean
up wells. We also build latrines at IDP settlements. In Nias, we
have just started. There had been some distribution of relief
goods and water and sanitation projects on the island.

Who are your local partners?

Our local partners are the YTB (Development and Relief
Organization), a humanitarian group linked to PGI (the Communion
of Churches in Indonesia). The other one is Yakum Emergency Unit,
which specializes in the health sector and water and sanitation
and trauma healing.

What relief goods did you provide for tsunami victims?

In the beginning, our partners provided tents, food, medicine,
mosquito nets, household equipment, stoves, school kits,
mattresses and clothes. I heard they still need those goods,
especially in faraway villages.

There are a lot of organizations in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh,
but if you go to villages further away, there are no relief
workers, while the needs are so big.

How much money are you allocating for Aceh operations?

We have set aside 1.1 million euros (US$1,43 million) and will
consider the most urgent needs as the reconstruction process is
about to start.

What problems have to be resolved immediately?

I think it is the access. Roads and bridges have to be
repaired as soon as possible so that we can transport goods to
faraway villages. I also hope that telecommunications will be
restored soon as we want to ensure that local people and their
needs are being heard.

We have to respect the needs of local people as we want them
to take responsibility for the programs. We also don't want to
define what is necessary for the Acehnese. We want the Acehnese
to tell us what they need and we will support them.

What do the Acehnese need now?

The issue of their livelihoods is also very important. They
need some basic services, like health and education, and they
need to restore their livelihoods. Farmers should be helped to
cultivate their farms again, and fishermen must be supported so
that they can go fishing again. They cannot depend on grants for
ever and actually Acehnese themselves don't like the idea (of
depending on grants).

How can your organization help in the reconstruction work?

We have made some plans as to how to support reconstruction
and will take into account local people's needs. If they say
that, OK, here are 10 villages, then we can count how much money
we have in our pocket. (And) it is very important that the
reconstruction process is well coordinated as there are so many
organizations involved in Aceh.

What are your plans for Aceh and Nias?

Actually, they are being finalized and should be available via
the Internet next week or the week after. Our reconstruction
plans are for this year and next year only. We will take
responsibility for certain areas only.

Do you have plans for children orphaned by the tsunami?

There were some psychologists and nurses who really took care
of some children with trauma and mental problems. But so far, we
have no specific projects because the needs were so big that we
tried to cover the general needs of all displaced people. There
are a lot of specific problems that children have like trauma
healing.

What is your comment on suggestions that foreigners were out
to Christianize Muslim Acehnese?

I heard some religious (Christian) groups wanted to educate
child victims. Any missionary activities should not be allowed in
this kind of situation. For my organization and our local
partners, such a campaign is strictly forbidden. Our members have
all signed a code of conduct for humanitarian activities, the
same code of conduct signed by the Red Cross and the Red
Crescent.

Has the suspicion affected your operations?

I don't expect it to happen because we have not had problems
anywhere else. We work in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and many other
Muslim countries and it has always worked out fine.

But, should there be fears, we have to take time out and
explain the principles of our engagement, that no evangelization
or missionary activities are permissible during humanitarian
operations.

How long do you think you will stay in Aceh?

I would think at least two years, and then we will consider
the resources we have. We also have a principle that if we are
engaged in a relief operation, we must also participate in the
reconstruction and development. So, it may very well be that we
will stay there for three years.