Early return to Ambon may 'open old wounds'

By Jupriadi

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Soekarno-Hatta seaport has been unusually busy over the past few weeks. Men and women of all ages have been jostling their way onto the ferries which will ship them back to Ambon, the capital of Maluku recently devastated by a communal war.

They are migrants of Bugis-Makassar ethnicity who were displaced from January's Muslim-Christian fighting in Ambon and surrounding islets.

The latest incident occurred April 20 on Banda Island where four people were killed.

These bloody clashes have killed more than 200 people and sent tens of thousands of Muslim Sulawesi migrants fleeing. Over 300 houses were destroyed and hundreds of shops and markets were reduced to rubble in its wake.

The journey back to Ambon was organized by volunteers grouped in Committee for Crisis Handling (Kompak), which provides free tickets to those wanting to return to Ambon.

As of April 15, the committee has sent back 1,700 of an estimated 15,000 Bugis migrants who came home to their native villages in South Sulawesi. They are from the regencies of Bone, Sengkang, Wajo, Enrekang, Sinjai and Ujungpandang.

The committee is highly active in encouraging the displaced migrants to go back and start business in Ambon. Bugis ethnic play a major role in the trade sector there.

Although the efforts to send the Bugis back have received enthusiastic responses from the migrants in general, the move has sparked controversy among onlookers.

Advocates from the committee and military argue that the move is important to show the world that the authorities have restored security to Ambon.

But critics say that the organized return is "too early and too risky" as the conflicting sides are still traumatized from the recent events which pitted Christians against Muslims in an area where a previous harmonious co-existence was widely acclaimed.

They warn that the move is the military's publicity campaign to exhibit a sense of restored control of security in Ambon while the fact is tension remains high.

Darwis, a sociologist from the University of Hasanuddin in Ujungpandang, is among the ardent critics of those opposing the current organized return of the Bugis migrants to Ambon.

"I think the repatriation is highly risky," he says.

He says although he appreciates the volunteers' efforts to persuade the Bugis to go back, he warns that the move could create new problems.

"One to two months is not enough time for the people to overcome their trauma. Besides, Ambon is still nervous so their arrival there could create new problems."

If the repatriation continues without carefully considering the psychology in Ambon, it will have a boomerang effect, he said.

But volunteers say they have calculated the risks involved, and believe that the Bugis' return program needs acceleration.

Committee chairman Tamzil Linrung argues that repatriation would help restore the "image of security in Ambon".

"Their arrival will strengthen the belief that Ambon is safe now," Tamzil says.

He brushes aside fears that indigenous Ambonese may take revenge.

The Bugis migrants intending to return were quarantined and trained how to live side by side with indigenous Ambonese.

The training the volunteers offered proved to be effective. Many who had vowed never return to Ambon have reportedly changed their minds.

The migrants left Ujungpandang for Ambon optimistic that a bright future lies ahead. They seem to understand how they would deal with life in Ambon after the unrest.

Becce, a 32-year-old housewife, said while waiting for Bukit Siguntang that would ferry her and other migrants back that she had always wanted to return no matter what.

"I kept praying for that until they (volunteers) offered us free tickets to Ambon," she said, brimming with optimism. She said she did not harbor grudges against anyone and the only thing on her mind was a plan to rebuild her business.

Another waiting passenger, Idrus, 40, said although he lost his house in the Muslim village of Mardika, he never lost his dream of starting all over again in Maluku.

He said he could not say no when volunteers offered him a free ticket back.

Maj. Gen. Suaidi Marasabessy, who chairs a special team of military officers in charge of handling the Ambon affair, has lent strong backing to the repatriation program.

He says it would give a boost to rebuilding efforts and show the outside world that Ambon is returning to normal.

"Assisting this program receives our priority," he said.

Volunteers claim that 2,000 Bugis have registered for repatriation to Ambon.

Another Kompak executive, Agus Dwikarna, said although the repatriation program received an enthusiastic response, things had to be implemented carefully due to the sensitivity involved.

"We have been organizing seminars on ways to send the migrants back. We have the security authorities' guarantee for their safety," he said.

The program also received assistance from various local and international organizations, said Agus.

Darwis' fundamental question to why the Bugis migrant repatriation is so hasty remains unanswered. There's plenty of time to embark on an information campaign on how to rebuild the devastated relations between the migrants and indigenous natives.

Time will prove which side of those involved in the debate is right.