'Embezzlers of aid should be shot'

Relief supplies have arrived in Aceh from all over the country and the world. But the absence of a competent coordinating authority has left many survivors, especially those outside refugee camps, without food, clean water or medicine for over a week. Despite the tragedy, some of the people The Jakarta Post talked to saw a silver lining amid the devastating calamity.

Idham, 27, sells computer accessories in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. He lives with his aunt in Cililitan, East Jakarta:

I think there are several good things that we can take from this tragedy. First of all, the war in the province has temporarily eased. I hope after the relief mission, the war can be terminated entirely.

However, the government must be more serious in its handling of the relief programs to save the land and the people so that the rebuilding of Aceh can run smoothly and successfully. Anybody who embezzles the aid funds should be shot to death, because they are no good.

If the Acehnese see that the government and other ethnic groups are serious and sincere in helping them, I believe they can see that all Indonesians care for them, and hopefully the insurgent groups, such as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), will lose popularity and fade away.

Fifi, 24, works for a film distributor in Central Jakarta. She lives with her parents in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta:

The tragedy reminds us that we must be obedient to what God has told us to do. Who else can we turn to except God? This is a warning for us all, not only for the Acehnese, that we are powerless to stop natural disasters.

I hope that the tragedy can also serve as a unifying force between the people of Aceh and the people from other parts of Indonesia. We're all crying for the province that was hit hardest by this natural disaster.

At least the Acehnese may be able to see that people from other regions are different from the government and its bureaucrats, who the Acehnese feel have been unfair in their treatment of Aceh for so long.

It is the government that must become introspective now after this tragedy to prevent more rebelliousness by the Acehnese.

--The Jakarta Post