Acehnese needs taken into consideration in reconstruct program

Ruslan Sangadji and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

Fifteen-year-old Iksan Nulkhairi reminisces about the last time he laughed with his parents and little brother, all of whom were killed or went missing in last month's tsunami in Aceh.

His tears have since dried up and his hopes of being a mechanic have been shattered.

Elsewhere, a mother who goes by the name Niar laid back on a thin mattress inside a tent, straightening a grubby bandage on her injured left leg.

She has not seen her husband since before the tragedy, while her 19-year-old son has returned to their village to try to salvage some belongings.

"I can't stand it without my husband," she said.

Both are among hundreds of thousands of Acehnese who survived the natural disaster and are living as displaced persons in various camps in the province. It is these people, those struggling to get back on their feet, who are the main targets of the government's program to reconstruct Aceh.

What exactly do they need?

"This is where Muslim scholars can play the role of their lives. They should play the biggest role in order to preserve the Acehnese's Islamic values. The scholars could visit displaced persons camps and help the people cope with the tragedy through religion," former North Aceh regent Tarmizi A. Karim said.

"This is not just about getting houses and buildings rebuilt in Aceh," he said, "but how the people can recover from this ordeal and go on with their lives after so many elements of their lives vanished in a blink of an eye."

On the morning of Dec. 26., the predominantly Muslim province was hit by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale and ensuing tsunamis.

More than 178,000 people were killed and approximately 400,000 others are living in overcrowded tents, living with the threat of communicable diseases and malnutrition.

The Aceh Muslim Scholars Consultative Assembly's head Tengku Muslim Ibrahim said that renewing and reviving both the religious and social lives of the Acehnese should also include strengthening the role of meunasah (small mosques located in houses and neighborhoods).

"Traditionally, for locals a meunasah is not just a place to pray, but also a place to study and to communicate. So using meunasah to bring these communities together could help restore the physical and emotional well-being of the Acehnese," he said.

For the Acehnese, he said, a meunasah is also a gathering place where various community issues are discussed. Therefore, it is essential to rebuild meunasah so that the Acehnese can return to the life they knew before the natural disaster.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab, who is also the disaster mitigation center head, has assured that such concerns will be taken care of by the government in its reconstruction program for the province. However, reviving the province's economy is still the main priority.

"We are working on these issues of rebuilding their lives. Of course, we're not talking only about physical things, although they are also important. We're working on things. The first thing we need to address is how to rebuild the economic condition of these people," he said.

Alwi said the government, for example, planned to repair and deploy boats for fishermen so that they could return to the sea and start making a living again.

"We're also thinking about opening plantations for them. As for the orphans, we guarantee that these kids will be taken care of. Many people are very concerned about them and plan to help build boarding schools. The government is fortunate to see that kind of help," he added.

Alwi did not elaborate, but assured that the government would do its outmost to rebuild the lives of the Acehnese as a community based on a strong culture, instead of only physically reconstructing the province.

Alwi also acknowledged that the full recovery of the Acehnese as a community could take a lifetime, but gradual steps had to be taken immediately.

"And what needs to be prioritized right now, of course, is the physical reconstruction of Aceh. We can't expect the Acehnese to carry on with their lives without the physical tools they need," he asserted.

UNICEF representative for Indonesia Gianfranco Rotigliano said that education was what mattered when it came to the future of children.

"They need to reengage with their future and dreams, and one important way is through education. They lost many things in the past, including parents, but they can't lose their hope of being something," he said.