Acehnese refugee struggles with uncertainty in Jakarta

Acehnese refugee struggles with uncertainty in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The woman wept in the middle of a mattress on the floor of a
well-furnished room as she described how she saved the lives of
her four children when the tsunami struck Aceh on Dec. 26.

"That morning my children and I were going to a nearby food
stall to buy some donuts for breakfast, when some people began to
scream, 'The sea is rising, the sea is rising, watch out.' So we
joined the other people who were running to higher ground," said
Cut Ermi, 41, while breast-feeding her three-year-old daughter
Nurjanah.

Cut Ermi and her four children are among the 1,260 Acehnese
who have been flown from Banda Aceh to Jakarta since Jan. 2, with
93 of them being placed at the Dharmais Cancer Hospital in West
Jakarta for medical and psychological care.

Ermi is being treated at one of the 10 VIP rooms at the
hospital, a temporary refuge furnished with a modern bath, a
couch and a TV. Her oldest son, M. Firdaus, suffers from
pernicious anemia and requires blood transfusions.

Ermi said her husband left their home early on the morning of
Dec. 26 and she has not seen him since. Ermi believes it is a
miracle that she and her children survived the tragedy.

"I am terrified every time I think of it," she told The
Jakarta Post. "I can't sleep because the sound of the cars in the
street below reminds me of the sound of the rushing water."

With tears running down her cheeks, she speaks of the
uncertainty of her family's future.

"I am not ready to go back there now, maybe for at least
another year. I have nothing left there," said Ermi, who was
evacuated from the disaster area by the Red Crescent Society of
Indonesia.

"All this time I have been living with the help and support of
kind people. They have done so much for us. I cannot keep living
like that. My plan is for my children to go to school again and
for me to reopen my food stall," she said.

Ermi said her younger brother, who lives in Bekasi, on the
eastern edge of Jakarta, asked her and the children to move into
his small house, but she refuses to be a burden on him.

"I would love to be able to put cooking utensils in here to
prepare nasi gurih to sell, but this is not my home", said Ermi,
who has been at the hospital for seven days.

Sukristina, the head of VIP services and the acting
coordinator for Acehnese refugee emergency services at the
hospital, said, "The refugees can only stay here for up to 14
days, but we can be flexible depending on their situation."

She said that after seven days at the hospital, during which
time they had received aid in the form of food, clothing and
books, the displaced Acehnese were determined to become
independent and return fully to society.

"In Ermi's case, we have found a sponsor who will help her
with a place to live and finance Ermi's efforts to restart her
business selling nasi gurih," she said.

Since the arrival of the 93 Acehnese on Jan. 6, the hospital
has helped all but 15 of them either return to Aceh or find a
place to stay in Jakarta.

The efforts of the staff at the hospital are among the many
programs that have been put in place by the medical profession to
aid tsunami victims.

The director of mental health services at the Ministry of
Health, Yulizar Darwis, said recently that the ministry would
collaborate with health and medical organizations to set up
guidelines to treat tsunami victims suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder.

It has been estimated that as many as 605,000 Acehnese could
suffer from chronic psychological problems if they do not get the
proper treatment right away. Many tsunami survivors have
exhibited symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, depression and
phobias. (001)