Arsonists did not spare Ambon 'reconciliation school' in clash

Arsonists did not spare Ambon 'reconciliation school' in clash

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon

The torching of a school on April 28 that served as a symbol of
reconciliation appears to have put paid to the efforts to restore
peace in Ambon through education -- for the time being at any
rate.

Two months ago on March 2, students resumed their studies at
the Muhammadiyah senior high school after it was rebuilt
following an arson attack during the previous fighting. Now, the
school has had to be abandoned again following the latest attack.

The institution was once a model school for reconciliation
between warring Muslims and Christians. It was built by the Ambon
municipal administration in cooperation with the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) at a cost of some Rp 1.160 billion
(US$133,333).

The school, located on Jl. Ot Pattymaipau in Tanah Lapang
Kecil (Talake), Nusaniwe subdistrict, was almost completely
destroyed during the latest attack. Talake is on the demarcation
line between the Muslim and Christian communities that were
involved in clashes between April 25 and April 28.

After the 1999-2001 sectarian fighting ended with the signing
of a peace accord, the SMU Muhammadiyah senior high school was
made a model "reconciliation school" for students from different
religions.

It was intended to provide education for both Christian and
Muslim students at the school.

The local administration then merged the management of the
Muhammadiyah school with that of the SMU Negeri 9 senior high
school, whose teachers and students were mostly Christians.

The SMU Muhammadiyah later established a joint class for 40
students -- 20 Muslims and 20 Christians -- who were granted
scholarships in view of the outstanding grades they had achieved.

"We call the joint Muslim-Christian class a reconciliation
class. Those in the class have all been specially selected," the
SMU Muhammadiyah's deputy head of curriculum development, Ona
Husein, told The Jakarta Post in Ambon.

However, Ona along with 42 teachers and 245 students had to
return to their previous refugee camps after the fresh violence
that has killed at least 38 people in Ambon since April 25, the
54th anniversary of the South Maluku Republic separatist group.

It was the sixth time Ona has had to flee to safety since the
end of the previous conflict, during which she had to move around
from one shelter to another for more than two years.

"Every time I imagine this experience, I always start crying,"
Ona said in tears.

Despite the repeated attacks, the SMU Muhammadiyah
administrators have pledged to activate the reconciliation class
again after the security situation has returned to normal.

"Hopefully, our hopes will not be diminished. We consider this
disaster as a brief interlude in the search for true
reconciliation through education," Ona said.

She recalled that a sense of togetherness and of brotherhood
had once prevailed in Talake when students and teachers from both
the SMU Muhammadiyah and SMU Negeri 9 had been jointly involved
in education activities before April 25, even though they were of
different faiths.

Yet, the peace and calm only lasted for a short period
following the April 25 violence, which has been blamed on the
Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM) for commemorating the RMS'
anniversary.

Nur Lubis, the SMU Muhammadiyah deputy head of infrastructure
division, was also upset by the arson attack.

"Education must not be attacked as it has nothing to do with
politics. We have high hopes that Maluku will in the future be
able to create generations of people capable of competing with
other regions in the sciences and technology. If our schools are
set on fire, how can we compete," he said.

Apart from the SMU Muhammadiyah, six other senior high, junior
high and elementary schools have been selected to provide
examples of reconciliation. They are the Kartika Chandra VIII-1
Ambon senior high school, state junior high school 2, and the
Latihan SPG 1 state elementary school, Latihan SPG 2 state
elementary school, state elementary school 72 and state
elementary school 73.

The latest four elementary schools located in the Airmata Cina
area, which is dominated by Christians.

The six model schools were selected based on their strategic
locations. The Kartika Chandra senior high school and state
elementary school 2 are located in a mainly Muslim area on Jl.
Dr. Latumetten, which serves as the border with a Christian
community.

"The schools play significant roles in developing the
reconciliation process through education. We will rebuild those
that have been destroyed in the conflict," Ambon education and
sports agency director AB Tabalessy said.

During the previous fighting, at least 129 state and private
school buildings were burned down, as well as Pattimura
University and the Maluku Indonesian Christian University (UKIM).

The local government has rebuilt at least 55 of the buildings,
including the SMU Muhammadiyah and Al-Hilal elementary school 1,
both of which were set ablaze again for the second time last
month.