Aceh's reconstruction should be based on village mapping

Azwar Hasan, Banda Aceh

If we ask tsunami-affected Acehnese what they desire most, they will almost invariably reply that their greatest desire is to go back to where they used to live, in spite of the fact that their homes have been completely destroyed. Their emotional ties to the land where they and their ancestors were born, where they grew up, the place where they experienced the joys and sadness of their lives, are places that they cannot just leave behind.

There are no other places for them to start afresh after the fury of the elements took everything they owned and many members of their families. Refugee camps are only a temporary measure and the same applies for those who have sought refuge in the houses of their relatives.

These internally displaced people, as the survivors of the tsunami are categorized, want to return to the place where they were born and to their houses of which nothing is now left.

On the other hand, the desire of many, other than the survivors themselves, to immediately provide much needed help -- first of all temporary or permanent housing -- is hampered not by lack of funding or building allocation but by lack of government policy, the unclear status of the land and its use. Ironically, several survivors have returned to their places of origin and are badly in need of temporary shelter.

Although many non-governmental organizations are committed to start rebuilding, there is unclear information on policy, permits and other post-earthquake measures from the government to rebuild their homes in the same place. It is all very confusing and yet everybody wants the survivors to return to their normal lives and activities.

An initial step as an effort to bridge these hurdles is what the locals themselves have started doing, that is, remapping their village reflecting present and future village conditions. The community-mapping process is quite simple; it is enough to trust the locals to survey their land and village on their own. The assumption is that only the residents of a given village know with a great deal of certainty the status and ownership of each parcel of land.

Additionally, it makes sense that it should be the residents to decide how their village should be rebuilt, not outsiders who come with big ideas and concepts and treat the locals as mere laboratory objects for donors and other groups. It is an unwritten law (convention) to recognize land ownership. Although there is no formal certification for the land in question as is the case in modern societies, nonetheless ownership is recognized by the local residents.

Not only land, for instance, but also mango trees and their ownership, are known and recognized within the Acehnese community. From these conditions it is possible to conclude that there is no party nor institution more knowledgeable or that commands more authority on matters of land and survey, status and ownership than the locals themselves.

Why should the people of Aceh have to wait and live with uncertainty? Haven't they suffered enough already?

Just imagine what it must feel like for locals who want to map their village and explain to the outsiders that this is "our village now and in the future". A simple map would certainly be of great help to anybody wanting to reconstruct Aceh. If all villages hit by the tsunami could come up with a map developed and recognized by its inhabitants -- and by the government -- perhaps problem such as where to start to rebuild Aceh and the waiting and uncertainty could be minimized.

With minimal direction and training, the community can survey and determine the borders of their own land. More than that, their overwhelming enthusiasm to undertake this task is a great motivator in pushing along the village mapping process. For example, in a relatively short time Desa Deah Glumpang, Kelurahan Punge Jurong, Desa Lamkuweuh, in the municipality of Banda Aceh has successfully developed a village map.

The same can be said for other villages such in the sub- districts of Meuraxa, Jaya Baru Banda Aceh and Lhok Nga Aceh Besar. Of course, not all things proceed that smoothly because of technical hurdles and this is quite understandable in a participative process such as this. If this sort of effort could be intensified, guided, supported and spread out to all the affected areas, it would not take long to complete and it would help everybody.

The survey of Gampong Kamoi was undertaken by the people themselves and at the smallest dwelling level, the community. Every community produces a map of the physical conditions facilitated and described on a sheet of paper to eventually produce a more accurate and professional, real physical condition of the village.

It is expected that village mapping can provide clarity and certainty for the affected community and for all those who intend to immediately commence the reconstruction of Aceh. There is no more effective and efficient way than the direct participation of the survivors themselves in the reconstruction. It gives them hope for a return to normality and kicks off the healing process.

These efforts of community self-starting needs the support of the government, which is supposed to be the protector of the people, and not just make life more difficult because of its formal authority, but incompetence, for a number of reasons, to proceed with a more practical approach.

A ravaged post-tsunami Aceh has made this province the largest laboratory in the world for a number of disciplines and experts because of the opportunities created and also by the large amount of funds inundating the province. We should all take these opportunities as the positive side of the disaster instead of causing a further disaster in another form that in the end will produce the same result: the continuous marginalization of the people of Aceh.

The writer is the Team Leader of the Aceh Governance and Development Program (AGDP/USAID). He can be reached at azuardi@cbn.net.id